On my maiden voyage this year I tore a nice chunk out of my prop. I hit
something underwater with the propeller hard enough to kill the engine,
although we were barely above an idle. Note that I NOW have the depth
finder installed...

As a matter of complete blind luck, and even though I was not looking for
one, I found a prop at the flea market for a low enough price to where I
said "maybe this is the right one" (Trust me, the price was THAT low).

Sure enough, the prop went right on and fit perfectly. Except it is a larger
diameter. (The outside dimension, of course. The spline, etc are correct for
my application). This new prop is about 1.5 inches larger in diameter. Not
to the point where it interferes with anything, it still has plenty of
clearance.

Due to my lack of experience, I have to ask, will this be an issue? I am
trying to see how a larger diameter prop can be anything but better than a
smaller diameter prop. The pitch appears to be very close, if not the same.
Due to the larger diameter, though, there is more surface area on each
blade.

What are the pros and cons of a larger vs a smaller diameter?

Application is a 19 ft cuddy with a 165 hp Merc with the Alpa outdrive.

Thanks!