Good day gentlemen, my first post ever. I joined many years ago, boat passion grew into big diesel sea ray's. Got little tired of that and bought a 30 eliminator for my part time fix.
Here's my problem, have 03 30 ft Daytona with stock 525's. 1;36 outdrive. Bought it with 32" props, (Brovo's) only has top speed of 92 at 5500 rpm's. yup, checked with previous owner he confirmed, somebody swapped props after he traded it in. Before I buy the recommended 34" props which I know will get me in the 112 mph range, (wonderful previous owner) which is way more than I care to drive.
My goal is to be as fast I can cruising at 3500 to 3900 RPM. Have NO interest in top speed what so ever. My dream is to be able to do 75-80 mph at this RPM. 36" will probably be to much for top end BUT would it be to much for my goal?
I've already installed mufflers then I'm going to look into strengthening the factory bimini top for high speed. Any advice on that?
Thanks for any advice, I'm hooked on cats and have always wanted one. Before I get into taking some much needed lessons on cat driving I want to make sure this boat does what I want it to do. Sure was easy finding mufflers as it seems I maybe only old dude wanting to enjoy slightly slower long distance cruising! When I got back from test drive at Lake Havasu I said wow! This monster is loud! all the guys kinda looked at each other for a moment, yup, I'm getting old I thought!
chuck

I would look into working with Brett at http://bblades.com/ on propping options. In my experience, working with 34P 4-blades, they are very finicky and difficult to get on plane with. You are likely going to want a 5-blade prop like the Maximus or similar.

There is a shop in Richmond, VA that makes bimini tops from scratch and guarantees them to 80mph.
Some tips:
All through bolts, not screws to the boat.
All stainless tubing, no aluminum.
Adjustable tension straps down the length of the bimini (front to back).

I do not own one, but several friends have them built by this shop; and those are all common elements.

You're expecting a 20% speed increase from a 6% prop increase? That seems optimistic.

Thanks for input, one of discussions will be with Brett, he's the man! I've researched props all the way back to when Reggie was still a virgin gaining info all the way, and if one guy STANDS out it is him.
The results from my 92 MPH were at 5,500 RPM, works out to 24% slippage? Seems really high. I can work that out but previous owner ran many poker runs and consistently got 112, can't find eliminator boat test for my power BUT the 30ft with HO's (425 HP) always get 105 mph with 34 pitch.
So if 425's get 105 on 34 pitch, I should be able to pull a 36 pitch? LOL! Lots to learn, thanks for input.

I will share my experience from my 2002 28 Daytona tall deck, it had 496 mags (375hp) and it ran 91 mph (4900 rpm almost on the limiter) with the conditions perfect, cold air, light fuel, ect. It would run 87-88 consistently. I could cruise at 70 mph burning 35 gph at 4000 rpm. I tested 10+ sets of props and what worked best for me was a 29P5X Hydromotive. Same top end as a 30 Bravo but 5 mph better in the midrange, and they got on plane without blowing out. I did test a 28 maximus and the grip was incredible but they would on run to 80, to much blade area on them.

If I remember correctly the 30 is a faster boat than the 28 with the same power, so something is wrong, with your setup or with your engines. If you are not hitting the rev limiters then you may have motor issues. Are you getting your speeds from an accurate GPS?

The best advice I can give you is to test as many props as you can get your hands on. I have been told that the 34 Bravo is the dog of the line and for some reason doesn't work great. If you can pull the 36 Bravos to the recommended max RPM range for the motors then you can use them but if they don't spin to the proper rpm you will be lugging the motors and that is bad for them and for mpg. See if you can find some 32 or 33 P5X to try.

Also if you have those slotted aluminum air intakes, you are not getting enough air to the engines. I pulled mine off and gained 3 mph on the spot. I had some made that didn't restrict the airflow so much.

I also had 1.36 drives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFqIQdEYq2c
http://features.boats.com/boat-conte...or-30-daytona/

My boat 30 Daytona came 34 4 blades bravo's .Would not take off Purchase 34 5blades maximus way better props for boat

great info, thanks guys. I have 2 new garmins and both said 92 mph, and a weird note, it also has Livorsi GPS speedo, it said 105. Weird. I trust the garmins more.
I've talked to 2 cat guys recently and they both said the XR drives are a little weak for 5 blades. Is that true?
So blindriver you say you like the 34's and wouldn't take them off. Have you tried 34 pitch 5 blade maximus on your4 boat? And how did they work?
pstorti, your experience says you had same top speed with 29P 5 blade as a 30P 4 blade. Is that normal when you go to 5B should you go down 1 pitch? I also loved your action on opening air intake, it even seems to my newbie eyes it's a little short on air intake.

Sorry, I had 4 blade bravos they were a dog out of the hole. I purchase 5 blade maximus they are fine

You had good luck with stock 15 ⅝" diameter Maximus?