I just got a used 24 horse Honda and I am putting it on a 1852 sea ark Jon boat. My question is what kind of prop would be best? What dose the pitch do? It will be used for duck hunting so it will have a load on it. I’m unclear with all the different sizes and pitches. Help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

That boat will most likley be to wide for that motor.

It will never be a speed demon and I will be suprised if it ever gets on step.
The bigger the load, the more load it puts on a motor so you go down in pitch to keep rpm's up.

It calls for a 9x6, I would go 9x5 or 9x4.

I cant help you with what size, but with what pitch does. Basically you have 3 factors in a prop, # of blades, diameter, and pitch. The first 2 are self explanatory. PItch has to do with the angle the blades are attached to the hub. In theory if the pitch is 7, then if you were to turn the propeller 1 full turn then the prop would move forward 7". There is also cup, which has to do with the angle at the trailing edge of the blade. Basically the back of the blade is has a lip in it, which can give it a little more bite.
As for if you have the right prop there are basically 2 factors to figure on, how fast does the boat come up on step, or plane, and can you make full RPM. If it comes up slow and you can't make full RPM than your prop is too big, if it comes up fast and it is trying to exceed your RPM limits, as most mud motors seem to have governors than your prop is too big. Now the next ? do you wan tot adjust your diameter or your pitch???? In my eyes it would depend on what your using your motor for, if shallow water than doubt you would want a huge diameter and a small pitch. If lots of weeds but fairly open water, probably a larger diameter and a smaller pitch.
I am not sure if the ratio is the same but on typical outboards, a change in pitch of 1" usually equals about 150-200 rpm. So if your engine's redline is at lets say 4,000 RPM and your only able to make it to 3600rpm than you need to gain 400 rpm or loose roughly 2" in pitch, so you would want to go to a smaller pitch number by 2. I have heard the same is true for diameter, but I have never had the chance to test that one. As you can see with diameter, pitch and cup there is an endless nubmer of options for a motor, and can be more than one that works right.
The best way I know to figure it out is try a prop, and go from there. Just be sure your boat is loaded when you test it the way it will typically be loaded when you use it. Just be aware that if your load is differant your engine will perform differantly. I typically over load my boat a touch for testing then know that if I am ligher I will probably be capable of over revving my motor, so that is on ME, or the governor to catch that. If you test it light you will have a prop slightly too big and then when you end up with a heavier load you wo't be able to get up on plane. In the case of a MM if you tend to run alot of mud or hard bottom where your going to grid your prop size down over time, be aware that it will always be changing. You can use that as a good sign when it is time to get a new prop. Or you may want to save that slightly worn prop for the day when your gonna take that extra guy with you. It never hurts to have an extra prop or 2 around.
Good luck hope I have shed a little light on it for you and not been to terribly wordy trying to explain it.

WOW I didn't know there was that much in prop differance. Thanks woodiebuster and kevinwwings2 for your replys.

agree with above 9x5 or 9x4. that's a huge boat for that motor.

How come on mud buddys web page it say that a 11 x 10 will work on a 15' to 18' boat. It has light load down by the 9 x 6 prop selection.

the 11x10 is a geared down surface drive.

the 9x6 is a 1:1 longtail.