It does not have a rev limiter for "over reving". It does have a rev limiter for an alarm condition such as overheat. Revs will be limited to about 2500. Back to your original question. The recommended wide open throttle RPM band for your engine is 4500 - 5500 rpm. That is a design consideration for the engine. Your job is to make sure that the engine, on your boat, must reach somewhere in that rpm band at WOT with what you consider an average load. It is simple physics. The heavier the load the harder the engine has to work. So with your average load, head out and run wide open while playing with trim settings to get maximum speed and rpm. If the engine is not reaching the upper end of the rpm band then you need a prop with less pitch. If the engine tends to over rev, then you need a prop with more pitch. All of this requires that the engine be in tip-top operating condition. If it getting tired (down on compression for example, or has not been tuned up in ages) then changing props or looking for speed in other ways is a waste of time. Fix the problem. If you feel the need to buy a different prop, investigate "pontoon specific props." These props have very large rounded "elephant ear" blades that are designed for pontoons and work boats. Just so you know, that engine is really happy between 5500 5800. As for cruise speed -- that is strictly a personal thing. How fast you go determines how fast the engine must run. What you like is probably very different than everyone on this forum. If you have to worry about fuel consumption then you are in the wrong recreational activity.
