Prop selection for repowered bt166 warrior

Hi all, looking for some suggestions hopefully from other bt166 owners. I repowered my falcon 166 with mercury 60hp 4stroke command thrust. It came with a 13p 4-blade spitfire. I am only able to get 25-26mph and 5000rpm with 2 guys in boat with empty livewells. By myself i get about 5400 rpms. It is rather doggy out of the hole. Motor looks to be mounted correct with cav plate level with the hull. Dealer now wants to put a 11p 4-blade on. Any others have similar experience or advice? I would think 3 blade may be better option. With the lower gear ratio i was expecting slightly better results.

I believe your dealer is on the right track, focusing on getting close to the max RPM range. I believe that motor is 6000 rpm ? If so, you are at least 2 pitches off.

If your boat dealer wants to sell you a prop without trying it I’d recommend these guys. http://www.propmd.com/ They let you try props until you find the one you love, then buy it. Great guys to deal with!

Dean, being in the industry is there anyone you guys recommend?

Thanks for the reply’s. The 11p work tremendously to get the boat out of the hole, but it did hit the rev limiter with 1/8 throttle left. I think I’ll keep it for when I know the boat is loaded or have to maneuver heavy waves. (Had it on a windy day at Red lake, and the extra power worked great! The dealer swapped it out at no charge so there was no issue there. I will be trying a second 12P prop to use for light loads and see how that works.

Second question. The original 13P props I tried were 14″ diameter Merc blades. I have seen smaller diameter props like 13 3/8, 13 1/2. Would a smaller diameter prop help get more RPM’s out of the motor by chance, or is it all pitch related?