ther's a thread in the "boats" section,it's titled toatl weight...it pertains to propping a boat.
there's really only one way to prop your boat,load the boat as you normally use it,fill the fuel tank,fill the water tank,and duplicate the people you take and the weight you carry-be as clsoe as possible.take the boat out and open the throttle,read what you get as top rpm,compare that number to what the engine mfg reccomends-you want to be at the top rpm.by doing this,the boat will plane quicker and it will consume less fuel.the common reply here is,"i never run the boat more than 3,500 rpm,"doesn't matter...if the engine can't reach it's reccoemended rpm,it's over loaded,end of story,running an engie overloaded,it severley reduces engine life.the exhaust temp rises and the end result is detonation-not good huh ? do yourself a favor,prop your boat correctly...
remember 1 " in pitch equals 150 rpm...

prop work...
if you need prop work,i can tell you truly from first hand experience,do not fall for the advertising ploys of some prop repair companies-there's 2 that make computer repair claims-you want to avoid these guys-trust me,these companies are smoke and mirrors...there's a few real good prop shops in our area,one is in tuckerton,the other is in ocean view nj-south jersey-the shop in ocean view,use a hale mri machine,their work is perfect,you get a full report of wha tthe prop was,and what the prop is after repair.i promise you,if you tell these guys what you need and what you get for rpm,when you get the prop back,you're done-i promise you,these guys are that good...the shop in tuckerton,i've never had repair work done by them,but,i'm aware of the good work they do.trust me,avoid the guys in maryland and mt laurel nj...you're paying way too much...