billy its a learnig curve you need to hit the lake and tinker with. Take a pen and a notebook with you when you go. The way I understand it is the plugs in the sides of the prop allow relief from exhaust blow out and hole shot performance when the boat is taking off and trying to plane out. The best thing to do is watch your tach on take off and listen to see if the prop sounds like its slipping or the rpm spin up real high when you take off. All boats will react differently. The amount of gear you have, people, and gear in the boat can change that as well. It might work fine if theres little to nothing in the boat and low fuel but fill it up with gas and add a person and a tournament load and it reacts totally different.
Jack plate height will help get the rpm's up on the motor if you raise it and can give you more top end speed but may affect your take off or holeshot. Theres a fine line on height. If you get the motor too high it can hurt the performance and make the boat more difficult to drive at high speeds and may lose bite in rough water. If the motor is lower via the jackplate then it's usually easier to drive and comes out of the hole better but usually slower on top end but a little easier to drive and has better bite. It's also a little more predictable in rough water because you'll have more motor and prop in or under the water. I'm not expert on this by any means, someone like Wrenchin2 or a prop shop or a boat dealer would be your best bet. I have tinkered around with some of my past boats and you can tie up alot of time dialing in a set up.
If your going to do it make sure you do one thing at a time and be sure and run the motor at different trim levels and speeds to get an all around idea of what the boat is doing and write it down. Take GPS readings on speeds and the rpms the motor is turning at what speed. And most importantly watch your water pressure guage. Sometimes raising the motor will cause the water pressure to drop down and especially when you make long sweeping turns. There's alot of variables involved in doing this thats why I would advise you to get someone who does this on a regular basis to help you out because it can end up costing you a motor if your not careful.
Just my two cents.
