Pat,

See my post over in the Superboat section (sorry, didn't see the thread here).

I was throwing a 26P lab Bravo 1 @ 5600 - 5800 RPM to around 85 mph on my '96 Velocity 26. At your redline (around 5000, I think) you should be able to do low 70's all day long. BTW, the lab prop was 4 mph faster at the same RPM than it was before I sent it to Mercury. On my boat the B1 was the best prop, period. Blew the Hydro away in all categories.

If you don't see low 70's check the last 2' of the hull for hook. I've seen at least 2 280's with some hook, mine was perfectly flat and was fully 5 mph faster than an identical boat with an HP500 in it that had some hook.

Of course mine was the test boat for the '96 Powerboat tests so Steve blueprinted the bottom

If you decide to check the bottom go from the first lifting strake at the transom to a point 6' forward of the back of the pad. That's the area that you need to get perfectly flat.

Your right Shore Thing. I pushed a B1 with a whippled 502 right at 700 hp. Put 130 hrs on it never any issues. Everyone told me she won't take it, I sold that 28 Donzi and she's still alive., Kept it in the water, not the air and took care of it.

It's well known that alot of manufactures build a little hook in there hulls to control porpusing. I have put a strait edge to mine and it is not perfectly flat. It has a little hook and other minor fluctuations. I am thinking of having the bottom blueprinted and edges sharpened. Are you seeing any handling problems with a perfectly flat bottom? I'm looking to pick up a few more Mph without adding HP.

BTW. I also run a labbed Bravo 1 with good results

Here say say's bottom blue-printing is a waste of money, if you want more speed = more poney's.

Seems like hit and miss with the bottom blueprinting. Some say it works. Some say no gain? Never can get enough poney's

Velocity never put any hook in the bottom on purpose. The 26 mold (the same mold used for the 280) is an old mold. With old molds there's maintenance needed to keep it servicable. Most, if not all boat bottoms do not come out of the mold perfect but the gains achieved from spending hours blueprinting them are usually not worth the effort for the average joe. However, when a boat is being prepped for a national test like the Powerboat tests certain things are done. For instance, it's left in the mold a bit longer so it takes a better cure. Once popped from the mold it's straightened then once it's all finished it's looked at again and any hook or rocker is removed.

Velocity does a pretty good job of checking the hulls as they leave the mold and throughout the entire build process but unless you pay for "blueprinting" they will leave the factory less than "perfect". It's debatable whether "perfect" is necessary and by no means am I suggesting Velocity is any worse than all the other builders because they aren't. In fact, the QC on the boats has gotten better every year to the point where they are as good or better than their competitors in most quality categories.

In fact, Steve will tell you straight to your face that blueprinting isn't needed. He'll say, "If it's a few MPH slower it's probably because the motor isn't up to snuff". It's the typical builder vs. motor guy..... Of course he'll take your money if you insist on blueprinting.

The boat exhibited no ill handling characteristics with a perfectly flat bottom but it will fly a lot easier and will carry the bow with less trim. I wouldn't have one that wasn't blueprinted and you can bet that every one of them you see on the racing circuit are straight and true. This holds true for all makes. All of the top tier Factory boats have been blueprinted or at least checked to make sure they are straight and true.

Thanks for the comments guys. BS'n helps keep me going during these winter months. Man, it was 6°F at 6am here in CT this morning.
Blueprinting the hull is not on my to do list anytime soon, let's get her out on the water with me behind the wheel first.
If the boat will top out above 70 with the 502 mag, I will be very happy. I've got most everything to build a HP500EFI down the road.
A 26p Bravo 1 prop will be the prop I buy. I'm still not sure if I should run a lefty or righty?

I only have experience with the RH, it worked great for me. Regardless of what they say putting the load on the top bearing on a standard B1 case is harder on the drive. For that reason alone I would stick to a RH.

Pat for some reason my Velocity lost 2 mph with the left 26 bravo & we tried them the same day back to back. I guess you have to see what your hull likes, hopefully you can borrow them before you buy