Labbing the prop should not change any handling characteristics of your boat. Like you said they pretty much just thin out the blades to free them up in the water and therefore the engine will spin it faster. Usually labbing is good for 200-300rpm. A prop you might want to check out for your boat is a Revolution 4 from Mercury. They don't match up with the numbers on a Bravo prop so you'd probably run a 23p (odd numbered pitch) or maybe even a 21 because they act like a bigger prop. Just a suggestion.
-Tom