+1 on tach. A must to do right.
As for prop to pad u must have set right to get proper measurement. Find level parking lot...like walmart...take trailer off truck....then u can use jack to level boat....take ur level and put on bottom pad of boat...this is the lowest part of hull closest to transom...once level u must level cavitation plate. Once both r level take a straight edge much like u did before. measure between plate and pad. I wud not go any higher...you must be careful... Ur water intake screen may look fine going straight but may come out of water in turns and lose suction. If u get it all lvel and take measurment and are between 2 and 3 inches don't. Go higher. Snds like the guys with experience with ur setup are saying lower pitch...find sum props and experiment. Man this topk a while...on wifes BlackBerry lol. Let us know ie level measurement.
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 25:15