Just picked up a super clean baja 20 outlaw 5.0 mpi. Has a 23 laser II on it. Will it break 60? Trying to sneak in a ride before winterizing.

A guy on our lake had one, it wouldn't break 60, best was 55-57 (depending on load, in freshwater, on GPS). He told me it ran better with a Mirage Plus than the smaller diameter Laser. His may have been tired though, BoatTest put it at 62.6 with a Vengeance prop and the 260hp 5.0

http://www.boattest.com/review/baja/295_20-outlaw

And Boating Magazine put an 02 at 59.7
http://www.boatingmag.com/boats/baja...law-pocket-gun

Thank you for the reply
I see the second test boat ran the vengance prop

About 10 years ago after selling my 22 Talon, I was in search of a more family friendly small performance boat and looked closely at the 20 Baja Outlaw and 20 Islander. I read the reviews and knew the performance numbers were low 60s at best and not where I wanted to be (65mpg or better), so I wrote a letter to the President of Baja asking why they did not offer the 20 with an outboard or the 350mpi mag/Bravo 1. I actually got a telephone call soon after from the President himself, Doug Smith at the time. He explained to me that they were marketing the 20 as an entry level performance boat and in fact did initial R&D with a 20 rigged with the 350 mpi mag but the handling characteristics, once the boat got above 65, went to sh&t. In particular the boat started to porpoise badly so they installed small k-planes to rectify the issue as much as possible. He did offer to make me a one off boat with the 350 Bravo 1 but suggested against it. Any gained speed would be negated by having to put the tabs down anyway so a waste of money. The company made the conscious business decision to not make available anything bigger than the 5.0, 260hp because of the handling issues above 65. I appreciated his candor on the boat. I still think it’s a great little lake boat. Good luck in the spring.

From OSO member Plowtownmissile on another 20 Outlaw thread:

The fastest prop for the 20 Outlaw is a 23p Lazer II bar none (62~mph). Unfortunately, it sucks out of the hole with more than 2 people and it drinks gas. A 21p Mirage Plus will run 58mph all day with 4 people and is great on fuel.

Thank you for the replies. I'll see how it planes off and what top speed is hopefully tmrw. Don't want a pig out of the hole either

I have been running a friends with the 260 hp 5.0, 23 pitch prop and it runs 62 mph everyday. Even in the humid south.I agrre that the hull is probably not designed to run over 65. My friend who owns the boat had no idea how to drive and trim any boat at speed. It has been a great summer watching his skills improve over the summer. They are great entry level boats for a newbee.

Yea I've had a lot of boats, just was looking for something newer, family friendly, easy to trailer long distance. Boat was so mint I had to buy it. Was on lake in pa 90% of its life.