Anybody have 1 w/496 mag HO? 25p mirage is wanting to rock that mother up past 5200 if I'd let it @ 64/65mph. Should I be looking towards a 27p or is that a crazy jump? I'm not sure what mph this boat/motor combo is capable of. Thx

The rev limiter is about 5150rpms. If you're not hitting the rev limiter then its fine. Your tach could be off some.

How much people and gas on board?

2people, full tank. Thx, just got these

Sounds like you're good to go. I'd stick with the 25

I do have lots of bow bounce under 4500.. Would a 4 blade help keep this nose heavy mcob on plain at cruising speed?

Checkmates don't usually have an issue w/ bow lift. Every one I've driven does better w/ a Bravo (stern jacking) 4 blade vs the Mirage Plus (bow lifting) 3 blade.

My 253 (almost same hull) had a 502 mag and I ran a 25p mirage. I would get the bounce under 3400 rpm (non open bow boat) unless there was a chop. Best way to control bounce is run drive neutral or slightly tucked and a slight amount of tab and bounce will go away. Mine would run 65 all day and a little more with light load and low on fuel with chop. The boat is very finicky about where the weight is in the boat (passengers, gear etc). It rode a lot better with two people than with 4.

I had a 270 BR with a 500 efi back in 2000/01. Best overall prop that I found for it was a 4 blade Turbo. You can get one from BBlades on loan for testing - at least he used to rep Turbo. Good luck.

To eliminate the porpoising problem, a 4 blade stern lifting prop would help quite a bit. Our Quad IV will do just that. Give us a call to discuss in greater detail.