Something is missing here. You can prop a boat for power or speed, not both at the same time. It depends on what the owner wants, there is no CORRECT prop. A boat propped for speed will be slow on the start but will be fast, one propped for power will jump up on plane (and rip a skiers arms off) but will have low speed. That does not mean that you can't find a prop that each individual is happy with. The motor manufacture can not specify the "correct" prop, you have to consider things like, dead rise, boat length, boat weight, and how much crap the owner has stored on the boat... Oh forgot.. how much crap is hanging on the bottom of the boat, some have their own ecosystem.
I never make comments about propping in my reports you may see things like "Port engine was not able to achieve maximum manufacturer's rated RPM. It is recommended that RPM issues be investigated by a person qualified in all aspects of engine performance and marine propulsion systems".
But then contrary to common beliefs its not the surveyors job to troubleshoot anything, they just report conditions... I remember reading a report (from a very unhappy buyer) recently that said "Valves need adjusted" followed by wording like "top of engine is noisy" the problem turned out to be a bad wrist pin. The recommendation was to "Adjust engine valves" Huge difference in repair cost for the buyer caused by the surveyors diagnosis. While most surveyors can be correct many times as we can do most things required from rebuilding re-glassing its just not correct to make statements that cant not be qualified without taking the time to make a detailed investigation which in this case requires some engine disassembly to make an accurate diagnosis... Fred
