[Mark&Nicole]

We have just purchased a '01 250 shab. it has the 7.4 merc. There is a 21pitch 3 blade mirage on it now. This prop is only letting me hit 4000 to barely 4200 rpm. I think we need a prop to give the boat a little more bow lift and some more top end.ohh its a bravo 1 outdrive too.

[mikeyt]

You cant have your cake and eat it too. You say your WOT rpms are 4200 at most? You need to be in the 4400-4800 range at WOT. This means that you need to drop your prop pitch by a couple of inches (to 19") to gain the rpm necessary to get you near the maximum. Then simply use your trim adjust to get the boat running at its best. Unfortunately this may reduce your top speed but should improve your hole shot & acceleration considerably. Another option would be to go to something like a Hi 5 prop in a 21" pitch or a 4 blade SS prop in a 20" - 21" pitch. Both will increase your rpms & improve hole shot/acceleration and still provide a decent top speed.

Perhaps some of the others here with the 250 can chime in with what they are running?