Newbie Prop Question

[mdunn]

I'm a new boat owner with a 17.5 Smokercraft powered by a F115 Yamaha.
I'm at work and don't rememeber what prop is on there but with just myself and one other person it seems to be fine and WOT gives me about 5800+ rpm.
I took my kids out Christmas day which included 2 daughters that are in the 115 pound range and my son who probably tips the scales at about 300.
(I'm a svelt 225)
Anyway, no way was I getting up to 5800 rpms. More like 5200.
Now if I was always runing with that load I'd need to re-prop but my question is is it common to change props for various pay load conditions?
90% of the time it'll be myself and one other.
How much of a chore is it to change props?
Thanks

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Newbie Prop Question

The idea is to prop the engine for the load you "normally" carry. There will be times when you carry more than that and times when you carry less. With a light load you may need to throttle back a tad if you grossly exceed maximum recommended RPM. With a heavy load you have two choices. Don't re-prop for the load or re-prop for the load. If running heavy happens rarely, it wouldn't make sense to buy and change props. However if you have a 50-50 split or so, it does make sense for the longevity of the engine. It takes 10 minutes or less to change a prop.