What does it sound like when you hit the rev limiter?

[Littlehoe]

just curious, I have a 2012 115 yamaha on my boat and I know what the optimum rpms is supposed to be but I was also told there was a rev limiter around 6300 rpm and I have passed that point before without hearing any kind of limiter, unless my tach is wrong. Also a friend from the lake has 2013 mercury 115 4 stroke and he's running 7-7500 WOT pulling tubers and what not. We have identical boats and he is about 2 mph faster at least... So is he risking blowing up or am I not pushing mine hard enough.

Prop wise he is running a mercury spitfire 4 blade aluminum 13.8 x 13 pitch prop and I am running a spitfire 4 blade 13.4 x 15 pitch prop....

[HandymanHerb]

It just stutters to keep it at or below rev limit, it is cutting the spark, I use to hit it a lot at 12.500 in my race car, depending on the track.

I would say you tack is off, my boat says mine is doing a 1000 more than it should, I need a new tack

[Bamaman]

I was hitting the rev limiter on my F150 with a M14 pitch Yamaha prop. I was about 3-4 mph slower than expected. Switched to a Reliance 15 pitch prop, and picked up the mph and dropped 300 rpm's. It's perfect for my needs.

Your friend's tach is off. 4 stroke motors don't see any 7000 rpm's. Only motor I've seen in that range is a super hot Mercury Racing motor on a bass boat.

[tuned]

Agreed on tachs out of whack.
On modern outboards, aside from cutting spark, they are usually also tied into the alarm (steady beep) until revs drop.
You may or may not hear much change in the motor, but you will certainly feel it 'dog down' a bit. As Herb put it, you might hear it stutter as a given cylinder isn't firing.

[Littlehoe]

I was hitting the rev limiter on my F150 with a M14 pitch Yamaha prop. I was about 3-4 mph slower than expected. Switched to a Reliance 15 pitch prop, and picked up the mph and dropped 300 rpm's. It's perfect for my needs.

Your friend's tach is off. 4 stroke motors don't see any 7000 rpm's. Only motor I've seen in that range is a super hot Mercury Racing motor on a bass boat.

See I figured my 15 pitch on the yammy should be faster but that damn merc with a 13 pitch will out run me every time... both boats are identical too... well his is black and mine is red lol... does the 13.4 diameter vs 13.8 diameter make any difference?

[tuned]

Yep. Diameter is part of the equation. Larger diameter is pushing against more water, thus dropping your revs while possibly increasing your speed. Heavy emphasis on 'possibly'.
Pitch is also a touchy beast. Things don't always behave as you might expect. Some of this uncertainty is due to the prop 'slipping' in the water. All props slip to varying degrees.
Bryden is a great resource in this are. He has a great post somewhere about prop pitch calculation, uncluding slippage info.

[Littlehoe]

Does anyone know what setting my tach should be on for a 2012 yamaha 115?