Dave M

I run in both salt and fresh, I don't really notice a speed diff.

As far as the bow lift, when riding in the boat it doesn't feel like the bow is lifting all that much. But, when I look at a running pic, you can see the bow is lifted enough to let the boat run on the pad. I find that I don't need to trim my boat much above neutral to get top speed.

My boat came with a 25P Mirage +, the handling was terrible. The prop broke loose in rough water and I chine walked a lot. I switched to a 26P Bravo 1 and the speed was the same but the handling was MUCH better.

Pat McPherson

Listen to Dave, he has the same boat as you.
The 3 blade may be a tick or 2 faster but the boat will handle better with a 4 blade.
Bolt on a stock 28p B1 and test vs. the 27p M+.
80mph should be no problem with 500CSHP.

jayhawk261

I definitely plan to try one out when I can get my hands on one. I'm not ruling it out for sure!

jayhawk261

Well, I ran the 27P Mirage+ this weekend, and I couldn't pull the rpms. Just to get close to 4900 rpm, I had to trim to the moon and then it got way squirrely. trimmed up about where the 25 Labbed was, the most rpm was about 4700, and about 74 mph.

That being said, I doubt if I could turn the 28 Bravo. Is my X too low maybe? the engine makes the power. i saw it on the dyno myself. This is dyno that is historically stingy as well. There has to be something wrong with the set up.

Any thoughts anybody? I think I may have the 27P labbed to see what I can come up with on it. I guess we'll see.

jayhawk261

Hey Dave, do you know what your X-Dimension is? if I have yours to go by, I'll measure mine and see if we're the same there.

Thanks!

Dave M

Not really sure. I can attempt to measure it later when I get home.

Pat McPherson

When Sean Dutra owned that boat she ran about 74mph with a 25p M+ and 72mph with a 26pB1.
That was with the stock Merc 385HP/454MagMPI turning 4900rpm or so.
He added the headers and did not gain much except she sounded meaner.
I ran with Sean 3-4 times and had many conversations about our 24 Superboats before he sold the boat 4-5 years ago.
The boat was always a tick or two slower than Dave's but with 501HP she sould run over 80mph regardless.
Compare the prop shaft depth with Dave and test a 26p B1.
You may also want to check for a hook in the last 4 ft of the bottom. My Superboat did have a hook but it did not seem to slow her down.
Good Luck and be Safe.

K-WELLS

whats a hook?

SUPERSTITIOUS

A concave area in the bottom near the transome.

jayhawk261

Thanks Dave. I hope it isn't an inconvenient thing for you to do. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the X is the distance from the keel to the centerline of the prop. If I'm wrong, let me know. I just want to be sure we are measuring at the same points.

Hey Pat, by the time I got the boat, the best I saw with the 25P M+ was 72.0 at about 4800 rpm. I spoke with Brett at BBlades, and he thinks we can add a little cup and maybe even a little pitch to the 25 and get some more mph that way. It has already been massaged a little by him last year, so he knows what it is at this point. I may see if I can get my hands on a 26 B1 and see what the result is.

As I understand it, a hook is a gradual turning down of the fiberglass at the stern on the bottom surface of the hull. As far as I know, this is usually caused by sitting on a trailer with bunks that are short of the transom and it overhangs. The weight of the back end of the boat will slowly deform the bottom of the hull where it isn't supported. I will check for this, but the trailers it has been on and the lift I have all overhang the back of the boat so it should not have had an opportunity to sag. It is possible though.

Thanks again for the help!!!