17 foot express w/90

[lilfarms]

I have a 17 foot express with a 2 stroke 90 yamaha. Never has given me any problems. the compression on the engine is on the lower end of normal but still normal. I installed a 6 inch manual jack plate a year ago and have been using it cranked all the way up. I can get pretty shallow in marsh. I top out between 35 to 39 mph usually at 37. The cativation plate is probably 6 inches above the bottom of the boat. I know this is pretty high and i like it for shallow water but I would like to have a higher top speed if possible when making longer hikes. Does anyone think that I might get more top end speed if i drop the cativation plate to about 1 inch above the bottom of the boat? any advice would be appreciated. Where it is now I cannot really move the trim much because the boat will start to buck pretty quickly even on calm water. thanks.