Pick my prop! or at least give me a clue

I started a thread "getting on plane" and some other info was needed, I believe I have everything. The problem is our 20ft Stingray 597ZP has a heck of a time getting onto plane with about 900lbs of people and gear, plus towing a tube with a small child I want to stay on the low end of speed (like around 10-15mph). I ordered Smart Tabs and they said it would fix many of the issues Im dealing with. I also don't want to beat up my engine every time we're out so I thought installing a different prop would make everything good to go. Right now it has a 14 1/4 19p and have been told by others to go to a 17p or a 15p prop. but the ones I see are 15 5/8 15p, 15 1/2 15p, what size exactly do I need and 3 or 4 blade. Heres what it runs now, wot between 4300-4500 at 35ish mph, book says max rpms 4400-4800, I tried to find the gear ratio but unable to locate but the book says all v6 had 1.65:1. I tried asking a local dealership but they weren't too helpful. Any tips or advice is appreciated.

Re: Pick my prop! or at least give me a clue

Think you will be happy with a 3 blade 17. ( assuming your reason for low RPM is not a tune problem) You will not be able to plane at 10 or 15 with any prop. If you mess with 4 blades you may need to drop to a 15. You will slow down. Big buck experiment. Maybe you can find a prop shop that will work with you if you buy one new prop?

Re: Pick my prop! or at least give me a clue

I second the 17. I think it's going to put you right on the edge but a 15 will also come with a larger diameter making it equivelant to a 17. That's what the prop picker you're using is trying to tell you. You can find 15's in smaller diameter but my gut is telling me you're best bet is the 17. What I think you need to do is get the motor further into the power curve so you have more available hp at the speed you're wanting to run at. If you go to far you risk running out of power too soon and not being able to hold the bow up. That will cause porposing and you don't want that.

Re: Pick my prop! or at least give me a clue

Thanks for your input guys. It looks like a 17p is just about everyone's choice for me. I want to try the wot test one more time before I make a final decision, hopefully this week (if it ever stops raining).