Did some research and found I should be turning between 3800/4000 rpm's. Mud Buddy SD 26.5 Kohler, big blade prop, Excel F4 Shallow Water. I'm getting 3650+- with a normal load. I was told I could do a gear swap to a bigger gear (2 teeth) and get the rpm's up. I don't know a whole lot about swapping out the gear... I'm guessing its the lower one? How involved is this? Is it worth it?

It's not too bad. Yes, it's worth it. Itll get the engine further into the powerband, should give you more torque to the prop when you're digging (your engine will be into the torque curve further for the same prop rpms), and on top you'll have a bit more oomph at the prop for the same speed which keeps the engine from lugging as much. It's not a magic pill, but it will make a difference.

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It's not too involved because you arent messing with the seals or bearings. Pull the top clutch cover (6 or 8 screws depending on tall or short transom), then pull the bottom. The gear is a taper lock, so you remove both screws, and move one to the middle hole that was previously empty. This is to help spread the taper lock so you can pull it off the shaft. Once the new one is on, reverse process for assembly. You'll have to loosen the bolts on the front side for belt tension adjustment, but it's better to watch the videos on youtube or maybe the bps site than me try to type that out. Make sure and clean the orange gasket off and use fresh sealant or it wont be waterproof when you reassemble. They may have finally switched to a reusable gasket. Dont know. Havent worked on a mb lower newer than a 2012.

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Thanks Russ. I am going to pull the cover and count teeth and get one ordered. With a motor that doesn't have mods available, I will do what I have to to get the most out of it stock.

Did you do the swap?

Not yet. I'm going to pull the cover and count teeth on the gear early next week. After I'm done I will post the results. I've had lots going on and have not had time to get into it, life happens I guess.