An easier way to measure your engine height is to just get a straight edge of some sort whether a broom stick or what ever. Level your engine and place the straight edge along side of the lower unit even with the center of the prop shaft. Now you can measure exactly your prop shaft height with the bottom of the pad without any guessing or BS. Get your boat fully loaded, tackle, fuel, filled livewell and maybe a passenger if you go double a good bit. Lower engine all the way down and get a feel of the hull dried out at WOT. Start raising the engine on the plate until you know its too high or it is not capable of lifting the load anymore. Now you know your maximum engine height with the current prop and can get an RPM reading to see if its too much pitch or not. Like mentioned above, a tall rooster tail is a sign that the engine is over trimmed and you see it a lot with the non "true" performance fishing hulls.