Hi all , new to the forum, I'm looking for some insight that anyone may have. I have a nice shape 1983 wellcraft scarab ii 300 I bought last year that is powered by mercruiser performance 400hp engines , Borg Warner trans and trs drives. The boat came with 26 pitch stainless props installed. At wot with the drives trimmed and the k planes adjusted I'm getting just over 60mph at 4300 - 4400 rpm. I know 454s are good for 5000+ or so . Is this old heavy boat at its limits with those engines or should I drop to a set of 23 pitch stainless props my buddy has? Thanks for any input.

hello ,,,,,i would try your buddies props
yes , i would think motors could or should spin a little higher rpms
but ,,i had a 86 scarab III,,33 ft, i put crate 502's in boat.
i ran a mirage 3 blade 25 pitch, boat ran 63,,64,, 4500rpm
i put on a pair of quicksilver 3 blade 23 p,and picked no extra mph , but rpms were up to 5000
so i went back to the 25 p.

oh and those 23's are for sale

flashgordan , thanks for the reply , I will have to try his props. I have absolutely no issue getting out of the hole but I dont want to spin rpms if I'm not going to pick up speed. To be honest on both of these engines the valve covers all have plates on them that say mercruiser performance 400hp. Has anyone ever heard of these engines in these boats? Was it am option? I do have the original build sheet . Maybe that will tell me.

flashgordan , thanks for the reply , I will have to try his props. I have absolutely no issue getting out of the hole but I dont want to spin rpms if I'm not going to pick up speed. To be honest on both of these engines the valve covers all have plates on them that say mercruiser performance 400hp. Has anyone ever heard of these engines in these boats? Was it am option? I do have the original build sheet . Maybe that will tell me.