If you dont want to spend the big money on the hydraulic jack the manuel ones work pretty good. I am unfamiliar with your boat and motor but what I did was just test it out raising it a 1/4 inch at a time untill I got it where I wanted it. Remember dont go to high and get your water pickups out of the water. That is bad. The higher I went the more speed I got and the worse the torque on the steering wheel was. Also you might want to look into a diffrent prop. I dont know what you are using the boat for but I think you said it was a 17 pitch. You can try a 21 or so. Again I am unfamiliar with your boat and motor.