Thought I would relist this under my correct membership!
I have an 01 prowler with a 525efi, xz drive, 4 blade 26P LH rotation prop, and 20" tabs. Boat performs great, but it's quite slow out of the hole. I was curious if anyone has had similiar issues...I sink the drive all the way down and have tried tabs: nuetral, all the way up, all the way down, and it doesn't seem to affect much. The boat does come out much quicker with only two people in it, which is expected, but with a full load, and 3/4 throttle it is anything, but fast out of the hole. I generally take off 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, should I hammer down more? My buddy has a 288 sunsation with the same power, drive and prop..he dusts me...so I guess I am wondering if this is an issue based purely off haul design, or if this is sonic's heavy weight coming in to play and just a trait of the boat...Prop selection is huge, what is everyone else running with similar power that won't kill my top end? It's not a huge issue cause I'm not bent on coming out of the hole like a 3500lb boat, but would like some increased hole-shot without hammering the stick. Any advice on tab position, and prop choice would be much appreciated...or if it's the trait of the boat, that is fine too...
hydromotive has told me to go with a 5 blade 25p p5x prop, thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Joe

Joe,
My Prowler has the 525SC, it also came with a Bravo 26. It took a bit longer to plane off, but the biggest thing I noticed with that prop, it would blow out in a hard turn, & it really didn't have good pull at midrange. So I changed props...
I tried the Mercruiser Maximus...A good prop, jumps on plane quick, but I think it will need some shop tweaking to be real good...
I've changed the rotation to LH, & I started running the Hydromotive P5X, that will pop you right up on plane regardless of how many folks are on board. You will scrub a few MPH off the top end, but that prop is just outstanding on the Prowler. With that said...
Last run of last season, I hit a submerged object, & it damaged the prop. Being the prop was in need of replacing, I used this opportunity to "experiment" a bit...
I picked up a labbed 28 Bravo LH. Right off the bat, I noticed a big difference in planning off, but compared to the P5X, it seems to be slow. I don't have the pull at mid range, but the boat is much more "Trim friendly". I also picked up a couple of MPH on the top end to 75- 76, depending on the water. I also noticed a bit better fuel economy. Bottom line, I think I'm going to go back to the P5X, but I'm going to look into letting Hydromotive do some work on it, & not run it "out of the box".
Hope this helps...

It's a big heavy boat. You might try having one of the prop shops like BBlades put a little more cup in the prop, however this could affect bow height when running, and rob a few RPM on the high end. If you get into rough water and have to get on plane, you might find you want a better prop or specific prop for rough water. It's not like you will be running top speed in this water anyhow. If you get to a point where the rough water is lifting your transom up out of the water before you can get on plane, you could get in a bind.

5-blade might also be a good choice, but 5-blade props provide more bite on the prop and therefore gears which lends to breaking the drive a little sooner when you leave/re-enter the water and don't get the throttling just right.

I suggest rolling on the throttle to just gently climb the boat up on plane, but do not exceed 2/3s throttle. If you get that high, you are really getting into the torque band of the motor and you will risk breaking the drive. Also, move as much weight forward as you can. Put the coolers, anchors, spare parts, etc. in the cabin. If you are rolling with a bunch of passengers, and you can't get on plane; send them up to the V-berth.

I had a 1999 26 Prowler and it was probably 5500 lbs. It had a 500EFI and regular Bravo drive, and I ran a labbed 24P 4-blade B1 prop. I didn't think it was slow out of the hole.

Now that I think about it, you bought the trade in from Active Thunder didn't you Joe? If so, you got a GREAT purchase!

Rick,
So in your experience with the 28p prop you were still getting out of the hole quicker then the 26? I've noticed a little bit of prop blow out in moderate turns with tabs down 30-40mph, but I'm pretty easy on the drive through turns. I must say though, I was running 67-70mph this past weekend in 3 ft chop and the boat was getting out of the water pretty good, even though the drive popped out a few times the 26p still feels very stable upon re-entry...although I have nothing to compare it to considering this is the only prop I have run thus far. What Rpm at WOT were you hitting with that 28?

I'm pretty easy on the boat upon take off, usually get a nice roll going first. Bow lift seems really good right now as the boat sits. I agree, my biggest worry with the 5 blade would be re entry of the drive when she pops out. To my surprise despite this boats weight, she likes to "fly" when doing anything over 65mph in 2/1/2' chop or bigger. No chine walk at all, but the drive will def come out. I have not hit the rev limiter yet though so I think I'm doing a pretty decent job with throttle control. Looks like I'll have to get my hands on a 5blade and 24p and see how she reacts.

Yes, I picked up the boat from Pat end of March. I am very happy with it. I got pulled over this past Sunday night by my friends in blue for doing 30 in the 25mph night restriction and we drifted over to some shallow water. Needless to say sucked something up and the impeller is toast, fixing it tonight. From what I understand this is a fairly common accurance considering 5 of my friends with offshores have already had to replace theirs as well. Good thing it's an easy fix.