I called Julie at Throttle Up on Wednesday morning. She figured out how to fix the boat's hole shot problem and improve the mid-range...a set of 28" Hydro P-5X's. Drive up in the driveway today (Friday), and the props are delivered. Damn, my wife's lucky. Here's what they looked like...

Here are my two bosses finishing up the job.

She gets to test them tomorrow , so we'll see what the boat picked up. I want to thank Julie and Throttle Up for making my wife's birthday a success. Since Julie knows who really had to approve the purchase, I'm pretty sure I'm not done with this birthday yet.

382 Fastech, 525s, no stand-off boxes, previously propped with a 31 labbed Bravo, 75MPH at 5200RPM (lite load fuel), 72MPH at 5050RPM (full load fuel)

Bill

let us know how she likes em !!!!!

Troutly was on the money. The props really carry the bow more than I expected. The hole shot is dramatically improved. The boat will plane without tabs, and will plane much faster with tabs. The biggest difference I see so far is that when you increase throttle in the mid-range, you can feel the acceleration.

Saturday was pretty windy, so the results with a full load of fuel were inconsistent. We saw a minimum 3mph gain across mid range. From 60 to 70, the boat picked-up 5 mph for the same RPM and a top end increase from 75 to 78(GPS). Only 4900 RPM with a full load of fuel. Since these aren't lab finished, we've got some options.

Troutly, the exhaust is next. We ordered the boat with "high performance switchable exhaust" which we were told was supposed to be straight exhaust with switchable tips and no silent thunder box. We did this thinking the 525s with tubular headers might be a little loud. What we got was Corsa Silent Choice with the box. We were able to tour the factory just before the boat was shipped and noted the exhaust issue (but the boat was in the paint booth). Of course it delayed the boat two weeks to have the box taken off at the factory. It would have been another month to have the silent choice taken out. As a compromise, we had them put the muffler tips on not knowing the boat had silent choice. We have grown accustomed to using the silent choice, but the boat is still quiet running on plane. Those Corsa tips will be off soon.

Bill,
Nancy and I really enjoyed seeing you and Anna Ball on Saturday. The boat looks beautiful running through the water and it does carry the bow well. You should certainly see 80 in the near future. Next time we see you I will have my camera and get a few shots.

Craig

Good seeing you both on Saturday. We had a few drinks at Tim's I but they were having an air conditioning problem and WAY TOO HOT inside. By the time we got back to Gilligan's, you both were gone. Wait for food was an 1 1/2....we never got off the dock and went straight back to the boat, pulled up anchor and left.

Have a great week.

B&P

Troutly,

These props have the same hub length as a pair Hydro 30" QIVs I have, so I'm thinking its the standard set up. The diffuser ring additon for the QIVs extends the prop hub another 2" or 3" and these hubs are not that long. Also, the diffuser ring is welded on and these props have no signs of any welding inside or out where the diffuser ring would be added on. I'll ask Julie when I check in with results. We need to run some fuel out of the boat so we can see if there is a propoise issue with a light load of fuel. We ran with with Craig223 on the river and at 78, the ride was stable with trim at position 8.

RPM is a little low, I'm thinking 27" may have been a better prop for the boat, but I like the mid-range gains. Once we open up the exhaust, we'll see what adjustments need to be made. Julie said they can take a half inch of pitch out with no problem.

Bill