Re: Prop question
HP loss= elevation X .03 X HP at sea level/1000.
For example, if your motor produced 300 HP at sea level, it would lose about 43.2 HP at 4800 foot elevation.
Assuming your motor may not be "fresh", the elevation factor may well be a big factor as to why you're not experiencing the good acceleration(power) that you should be getting with a 15.5 X 17 pitch prop.
We need to know what full throttle rpm your motor is attaining now in order to offer any suggestion. This assumes that your motor is in proper tune(running the best it can) given it's age/hours.