hot boat... thanks for the info on the hook and rocker deal, ill check that out this week and see what i come up with. as for the horsepower, it wouldnt surprise me in the least if its down lower than 550. i can only guage from my automotive experience what the motor should make for power. given what the heads flow and the cam and intake combo, i just figured 550 sounded pretty fair, maybe even a bit conservative, but who knows for sure until its on a dyno. im gonna go ahead and do a setback box with a 3" lift and hydraulic steering this month and see what that gives me, but not until after i see what happens with a stock 24. id like to try and max out this baseline before i go changing and adding parts. i also ran a mirage 23 3 blade, but it seemed to be a big waste of time on my boat. i dropped the hammer once i was up on plane( which seemed to take forever to get to) and 5400 came and went pretty quick, then 5600, and ended up at 5650-5700 before i knew it. i made a pretty quick return to the dock after that, but i never thought to pull a gps reading before i pulled the prop. i figured it was just too small. im pretty sure one of the reasons ive been having a hard time getting a better number is the extra weight in the boat and distribution. i almost always have at least a half tank of fuel, and usually a full tank, and always at least have my wife with me and sometimes my kids( maybe 75 lbs between the 2 of them). im gonna try to get out this week by myself with a half or less tank of fuel and finish tuning the motor and check again on the gps. i have my 24 back, and a stock hydromotive 24 to try out. guess ill let you guys know what i come up with!
thanks again for all the info!!! ps my running weight on my boat is 4975 lbs fueled, with nobody on board if that helps.

Ive got a 26 excel with a fresh 454/365 mag with a 420 cam, alpha drive and a 19p wheel. We had an ign advance problem and a run of broken stock rocker arms, so we never got to run it up before tucking it away for the upcoming weather. Ign problem has since been corrected, and its got a set of crane roller rockers on it now. What can I expect for top end, and is this the right prop for the boat?

Gleen guy , keep in mind that all bravo props are one size smaller than they say. example a 24p is really a 23p. A hydromotive is a true pitch, it also a stern lifting prop. They never worked good for my hull. I could never get the speed or rpms that I did as with the bravo 1, and they weren't the best either. A friend gave me some bass boat props to try. They were bow lifting O/B props, Thats how i found out that the boat likes bow lift. Its just hard to find a stern drive 4 blade bow lifting prop unless its modified. and forget about 3 blades . I never had any luck with them.

With the Hydo and a stock B1 the boat rode heavy in the water. The bow would crash into waves so bad that I had people thought that I stuffed it a few times. with my current setup the boat rides on top of the water and lo longer crashes in to waves

You can see from this photo that the boat is running on the pad and riding high.

If you want a nice set up for your 454 . I have my old blower and parts for sale. I have more photos I havent down loaded yet. Its going to be listed on ebay soon.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/esvon/page-13153.html

@ Hot Boat

I have a 28 Excel with a 502 EFI it´s running 67 mls but at Top speed the Hull is to the half in the water. I have a 24 P Bravo that realy was only 22 P it is pressed to 21 Pitch an had a swissmade labfinish.
I have the same problem that the Boat goes very hard thru waves ( thats the reason why i look for Stand up Bolsters).
We drive mostly on the River Rhein and sometimes there are a lot of short but high waves. What kind of Prop do you have and what was the modifikation

greetings

Hans

My prop is a re pitched modified labed finished Bravo 1 by Bret @ B Blades

@ Hot Boat

Thanks for helping , i want to upgrade my EFI after this i surely have to change the prop. I will try to get one from B Blades because i think youre realy right with driving " on " the Water

Greetings

Hans

I have a 1987 scarab 26excel which is the same hull as the scarab 28 but with a different deck and is about 100lbs lighter.
It has the 330HP Alpha 1 1.34gear ratio 21P 3 blade prop. The boat runs 52mph.
A friend before his divorce had a 28excel with a 502 415HP
Bravo 1 23P prop and he was hitting around 60mph.

Your gear ratio is hurting you.

I share your frustration with the prop. I just completed installation in my 1987 28 excel and I am getting close to figuring my boat prop situation out.

My specs are accurate with dyno sheets from Derryberry racing which they installed the motor and performed the tests with as well. boat was with two full size adults and nearly full tank of gas.

540 cubic inch Merilin
1050 dominator
Custom made twin wall tuned headers
MSD limiter set at 5800 rpm
629 horsepower at 5600 rpm
Bravo one xd

bravo one 4 blade 22p gave on gps 67.8 mph at 5800 limit
52 mph at 4200 rpm and 60 mph at 5050 rpm

bravo one 4 blade stock 24p on loan yielded exactly 70.0 mph
at 5450 rpm

next was a 28p and the boat and engine could not pull it

My last to try is going to be a labed bravo one 26p and I hope to pull 72-73 mph at about 5300 rpm.

If anyone has a different suggestion or idea please inform me as any input is of value to me.

does anyone know what it takes to put a portapotty in a 28?
Oh by the way the boat is run at lake texoma in Texas and all tests were in weather between 65 and 75 degrees in April 2007

sincerely
Tom G