prop recomendation

howdy,
i'm currently restoring an older machine and it looks like it should move alot faster
the boat is an early 70s princecraft mustang g.t.x 145, 14' runabout with fully not functioning hood scoop, the mill is a 1965 kiekhaefer merc 500E 50hp outboard, it runs around 5800rpm wide open, currently i'm running an aluminum 3 blade standard rotaion prop that measures 13"pitch x 13.5" diameter, unfortunatly its about as old as dirt and i'm not able to identify the manufacturer, i'm considering both a 3 blade 17" pitch x 13.25" diameter, as well as a 15"pitch x 13.5" diameter
my first concern is jumping up a full 5" in pitch... seems alot, i know my holeshot will go to hell but i'm alright with that, and it would bring me into the low 5000rpm range, what are some other effects i can expect, what would be your recomendations??
thanks

Re: prop recomendation

Its sounds like like your there with the prop.
O/B's like to be close to the max RPM's.
I supose you could go to a 15p but I would not go more than that.
Lugging a 2 stroke is bad, so I've heard.

Re: prop recomendation

perhaps i'm mistaken but i thought the old red ribbon mercs were a 4 stroke? would that handle a higher pitch better than a 2??