I purchased a '98 Scarab 29 and have had it on the water once. The best I was able to get out of it was 50 mph on gps. I know it should run low 60s with the single 502/Bravo setup.

My question is, what size prop did these boats come with from the factory? Right now it has a Mirage+ 23 on it.

The other interesting thing is that it has a Bravo 3 upper and a bravo 1 lower on it. From what I've read, the Bravo 3 2.0 upper should be the same as the Bravo 1 1.5 upper. I am unsure if they replaced the Bravo lower with a 1.5 as well so some of the speed issues could be due to outdrive having a different gear ratio.

When I was running 50 trimmed out, the tach read around 5200 leading me to believe that it's under propped. Shouldn't I be around 4800 trimmed out? Having said that, I don't know if the tach is accurate.

Any info is appreciated. I'd like to put the stock size prop on the boat as it was from the factory.

It sounds like it has 2.0 gear in the upper the 29 should be in the 60 mph range at 5000 rpm.
23 is the stock prop or the prop that they usually come with. I would try a 25 3 blade or a 24 'blade

Thanks for the reply. Good to know that a 23 is the stock prop. It makes me think that perhaps the bravo 1 lower they stuck on it is a different gear ratio than 1.5.

Currently have it at a shop having them check stringers and transom and replacing floor at a minimum. It is possible that the boat has a bunch of water in it causing it to be heavy/slow but I'm really hoping that isn't the case. Will know more once I hear back from the shop.

unfortunately wellcrafts are notorious for having wet transom and stringers.
If you are hitting 5200 rpm with a 23 pitch prop it is likely not completely due to weight.
Usually the engine would not spin 5200 rpms if it was very heavy or overloaded with weight and you had a 23 pitch prop on it.
I would put money that it has a different gear ratio in the drive

GO TO THIS LINK

http://www.go-fast.com/sterndrive_gear_ratios.htm