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The original engine on my boat was a 1989, 3 cylinder Mercury 2 stroke. It was mounted all the way down on the transom which was not unusual in that time frame. It came to me with a 21" pitch aluminum Quicksilver propeller (Mercury brand) and ran at about 41 mph on GPS with a light load.

I ended up using a Solas 19" pitch aluminum prop later on as it offered better all around performance with more than just me in the boat. I don't remember the RPM range but I could still get 39-40 MPH depending on the load.

Regardless of engine manufacturer, older engine or a new one, it's very important that you use a propeller that will allow the engine to get to the recommended wide open throttle RPM range.