Bravo 1 xs vs fury. Neep help!!!

[grout-scout]

The 5 is the only prop that I have not tried yet, just bought it to use for pulling my daughter on a tube and she never wanted to go. It would be humorous if it ran better than the other props and its just been sitting there all sad and lonely. Man, I think I’m losing my mind...




Bubba, the lowest water pressure you want to see is 15-16psi.

[Bullet 20cc]

The 5 is the only prop that I have not tried yet, just bought it to use for pulling my daughter on a tube and she never wanted to go. It would be humorous if it ran better than the other props and its just been sitting there all sad and lonely. Man, I think I’m losing my mind...

Lol...no worries. Alot of us have already lost it...so you're in good company!

[Bubba201proxl]

Right now I measure the prop to pad last night on the fury and it was at 3.5 below pad from the last time I ran it. I had 25 pounds of water psi as well. I have the low water pickup on the torquemaster gearcase. I'm gonna take the plate up to 3" and start there with the bravo xs and see how it goes from there.

[Bullet 20cc]

Right now I measure the prop to pad last night on the fury and it was at 3.5 below pad from the last time I ran it. I had 25 pounds of water psi as well. I have the low water pickup on the torquemaster gearcase. I'm gonna take the plate up to 3" and start there with the bravo xs and see how it goes from there.

Sounds like you have lots of room to go up Bubba...and are low currently. You might end up even about an inch or two above that even with that gearcase. But your plan is very solid...start where you say and incrementally click up from there as you continue to test drivability and water pressure. That case should still pull sufficient water pressure at even as high as 1" below the pad. It will get better/faster as the motor goes up and drag decreases...

The Bravos love to see the sunlight...by that I mean surface above the water line...

[dwoodfin]

Not to highjack this thread but I'm interested in this topic also. I've been running a 24 Bravo XS for the last three years on my 198 Champion. Hands down the best prop I've ran. Boat came with a 25 Fury but would only turn it to about 5400. Tried a 25 Tempest but only could get about 5600 out of it. Started out turning (if I remember correctly) about 5900 at wot when the Bravo was new. Over time I was turning up nearly to redline. Mark has worked on it twice and the last time last spring he told me that it was very thin. I just sold the Fury that I've had and now I'm going to sell the 25 Tempest that I bought and buy another Bravo. Is the XS still the Bravo to go with? I don't even see it on the Mercury website?? If so, I'm slightly thinking of going with a 25. If I'm turning a 25 Tempest to 5600, should I get to 5900 with the Bravo? I've been running mine at 2" below.

Now I see the XS on their site. See where it now has 8 vent holes compared to the 4 mine has. Also see where it comes in half pitches. Maybe 24.5?

[Bullet 20cc]

I think the XS is still the best one for your Champion since it likes the bow lift and since you like thinner blades. You should see about a 200-250 rpm (probably closer to 200) difference between each inch of pitch change not accounting for cup differences or lab work...on the same prop model (XS to XS). That formula should give you a very close estimate of rpm differences...

Your not the first I've seen amazed by the Bravo...it's a fantastic prop on a bass hull!

[grout-scout]

Not to highjack this thread but I'm interested in this topic also. I've been running a 24 Bravo XS for the last three years on my 198 Champion. Hands down the best prop I've ran. Boat came with a 25 Fury but would only turn it to about 5400. Tried a 25 Tempest but only could get about 5600 out of it. Started out turning (if I remember correctly) about 5900 at wot when the Bravo was new. Over time I was turning up nearly to redline. Mark has worked on it twice and the last time last spring he told me that it was very thin. I just sold the Fury that I've had and now I'm going to sell the 25 Tempest that I bought and buy another Bravo. Is the XS still the Bravo to go with? I don't even see it on the Mercury website?? If so, I'm slightly thinking of going with a 25. If I'm turning a 25 Tempest to 5600, should I get to 5900 with the Bravo? I've been running mine at 2" below.

Now I see the XS on their site. See where it now has 8 vent holes compared to the 4 mine has. Also see where it comes in half pitches. Maybe 24.5?

Same boat as you. My 24 temptest runs 5750, my Bravo 24 runs 5800 and my Bravo 25 ran 5650.

what motor do you have? Mines a Pro Xs.

[dwoodfin]

A ‘17 225 Pro xs. Have a 10” Bob’s on it. Also have 2 eight ft power poles as well as 4 batteries in back.

Same boat as you. My 24 temptest runs 5750, my Bravo 24 runs 5800 and my Bravo 25 ran 5650.

what motor do you have? Mines a Pro Xs.

[grout-scout]

A ‘17 225 Pro xs. Have a 10” Bob’s on it. Also have 2 eight ft power poles as well as 4 batteries in back.

I bet you’ll need the 24 with all that weight. If you go with a 24.5 you’ll have to special order it.

[Savage]

24P is what you need dwoodfin. You can always have Mark Croxton add more cup, if you find out later that you need less RPM's.

[dwoodfin]

Probably will go back with the 24. It has performed well on my boat. What is the difference in the 8 vs 4 holes?

[grout-scout]

More vents for some of the boats that require it. The Bravo fs only has 4 holes and it’s for the 4 strokes that require less venting, the Bravo xs is more for 2 stokes. I do know that several guys have said that there is a difference between the original xs and the current xs, I’m not sure if it’s true or not though. Mr. Savage might be able to shed some light on the subject and if you ever have a merc question, he is the man to ask!

[Savage]

You didn't have adjustable prop venting before with four 1" vent holes. Now you'll have an adjustable PVS.

[dwoodfin]

Heck...it seemed to be good like it was on mine. Does it come with plugs? Is it better to start with plugs in and take out or vice versa?

[Savage]

Plug two holes SOLID, then test.

[Bubba201proxl]

Ok guys so finally got to test the bravo 25.5 xs. I started with 4 closest holes open, far outside holes 2 solid plugged and 2 large. Holeshot is great. The mid range of this prop is nuts!! Still haven't played with the jackplate any. If I remember right it was setting at 3.5 below pad from the 25 fury. I ran it up to 5800 rpms at 68 mph. I know the prop is way too low. I love the loft it has now. Should get better as I start to raise the jackplate up. Any suggestions?

[Bullet 20cc]

I figured you would really like it...sounds almost like you got a drag boat all of sudden! I would start clicking up a little at a time... .5 inch per raise if water pressure is high, .25 inch per raise if water pressure is getting closer to 15. If you love the bow lift and start to lose some of that on the way up you have the option to start adding some cup to it...that would effectively raise your pitch a little with more bite and bring the rpms down a little if they start getting too high as you go up...also help keep your bow lift at the higher setting. But on a standard gearcase you will lose water pressure way before the Bravo will lose bite so probably won't be necessary. Keep clicking up and taking note of all parameters and you will find your sweet spot...maybe get another mph or 2 out of it too.

Glad you like it!

[Bubba201proxl]

I figured you would really like it...sounds almost like you got a drag boat all of sudden! I would start clicking up a little at a time... .5 inch per raise if water pressure is high, .25 inch per raise if water pressure is getting closer to 15. If you love the bow lift and start to lose some of that on the way up you have the option to start adding some cup to it...that would effectively raise your pitch a little with more bite and bring the rpms down a little if they start getting too high as you go up...also help keep your bow lift at the higher setting. But on a standard gearcase you will lose water pressure way before the Bravo will lose bite so probably won't be necessary. Keep clicking up and taking note of all parameters and you will find your sweet spot...maybe get another mph or 2 out of it too.

Glad you like it!

Water pressure was around 25 or so. I plan to take it up to 3 inches below pad and try there. If I can gain a mph more or so and still keep the lift I'll be happy

[Bullet 20cc]

There you go...sounds perfect! Let us know how the next run goes...

[mdtritn21]

You should be running over 70 now if the prop was right.