I recently bought a 17 foot Bass Tracker with a 40 HP Force motor. I called a boat shop before taking it out and found out that the maximum rpm's for this motor is between 4750 to 5250. When I had it on the water I had to back out of the throttle to keep it at 5100 rpm's. The motor currently has a 13 pitch prop on it and have been told I need to go to a 15 pitch. What is everyones thoughts on this? From the research I have done the 2 inches in pitch will slow the motor down about 400 rpm's.  What is the difference between going to the 15 pitch prop and being able to run the motor at WOT or keeping the 13 pitch prop and having to back down on the throttle a little? I would like to hear all suggestions everyone has about my setup. Thanks for the help!

Tony

what RPM were you getting at WOT?

call another shop, see if they say the same for max RPM's, because that seems a little low. or try to get a shop manual for the motor and see what the factory sayes

How do you intend to load the boat?

Will there only be you fishing from it with small amount of gear and 1/4-1/2 full of gas?

or

2-3 guys fishing from it, all their gear, full tank of gas.

If you intend on your boat carring a heavy load I would stay with the 13 and just keep it down alittle when its run with a lite load. That 13 will help get the boat out of the hole better and push it better with a heavy load than the 15 will. If its only going to be you in the boat then maybe a 15 will be good.

To be honest I would have your tach check out to make sure its reading right. a 15 pitch seems a little high for a 40hp on a 17foot boat. And force motors are not known as powerhouses. I run a 17pitch on my boat (which is 17"6' with a 75HP) and will use a 15pitch when I pull skiers or a tube