When I bought my Champ 2200 Bay it had a Michigan Wheel Apollo 19x15.25. I knew the first time out that it was the wrong prop. Only turning 5200 until I trimmed up all the way at which point I got slip. I tried my Tempest Plus but it was too much prop. The motor was originally set about 1-1/2" up on a slidemaster plate. I bought a new Powertech 17x15.25 and installed it 2 weeks ago. I left the plate at +7/8" which is where I ran the Michigan. Gained 200 rpms and a couple MPH. Not the RPM gain I was hoping for but figured I would raise the motor back up and pick up some RPMs. I raised it to +2" and the opposite happened. I lost speed and RPMs. Prop still has good grip and PSI is 20. When I got home I raised it another 1/2". It might be a while before I get to accurately test it because I added 50 gallons of gas trying to beat the next price increase. I could leave my 300lb neighbor on the dock and test. On my Ranger F&S I raised the motor until the RPMs went up and MPH down. It was a rather simple process. Other than a little difference in wind the weather was the same both times. I know on BBs that 3-1/2" below pad is a good starting point but not sure about Bays.

You are going to never stop chasing your tail with the constant changing of jackplate positions and trim angles. You can't compensate for the wrong prop by changing everything around and hoping it gets better. That's hit or miss and it doesn't work well. Forget the 3 1/2" below pad thing as you have a bay boat and the hull probably doesn't have a pad like the bass rigs. A good starting point on height is with the cavitation plate at or slightly below the water surface when the boat is on plane. If that's where it is going to normally run, leave that alone also. Set the jack plate where it will normally be and again, leave it alone.
Load the boat the way it is normally run take it out and get it on plane. If your 300# buddy is usually with you, take him along also. With the boat properly trimmed, check your RPMs @WOT. Forget about speed. WOT should get you to the upper end of the RPM operating range for your motor. Start there.

I hear what you are saying. I plan on leaving the jack plate at one height once I find it. Neighbor goes with me most times so no problem there. Next time out I will get him to look at the cavitation plate when on plane. The Powertech I am now running was the one most people recommended. It is similar to a Mirage. It is not vented but holeshot is no problem so not sure I would see any benefit. Hopefully he can safely look over the back to see plate. He will probably have to lay down on deck. Bottom of motor us not visible from cockpit.

I've setup a good number of champ bay boats, it's not that complicated.
Rule #1: Never try to change your setup with an empty boat. Fill the fuel tanks, fill the livewells, put your people in and THEN run it. That's the way you're going to use it, that's the way it should be setup. What happens with a light hull is of no consequence.

That boat is made for big water, and you need to make sure it can run in big water. 1/2" too high can cause some major issues when you're caught in 3' swells, last thing you want is to start cavitating trying to beat a storm in.

3 1/2" is going to be too high.
So go get your fat neighbor, fill everything up and then run it. Make turns, you want to know if it starts slipping in corners. Holeshot should be right by god now, without much bow lift or effort. That boat does not run high up on a pad like a bass hull, it's going to run fairly flat, which is normal and not something to be concerned about.

All that said, it's a great hull, and you should be somewhere around 52-56 mph with a 200. Which is very respectable.

Thanks Pat, I have about 65 gallons of fuel in it right now along with all the fishing gear I am going to carry. Holeshot is very good with minimal bow lift. RPMs are a little low at 5400 WOT. I just don't understand why going up an inch in height did not get RPMs up a little. No slip at full trim and WOT like I had with Michigan. Michigan slipped at full trim no matter what I did. Reason for replacing with Powertech. Powertech has more cup. A hydraulic plate would be nice and if fishing bays I could justify. With a hydraulic I could really dial it in.

hyd jack plate?

We always want to associate what we're doing with what we already know.
Hang around bass fishing sites, you absorb the basics of setting up bass boats. So that's what we want to do.
Again, normal.

So to start, you're really not far off where you are now. In fact you're probably dead on.
5,400 with a big load is fine with that opti, if the hole shot is good, then I'd let it go.

If you're planning on putting that boat in the bay, it's going to run different, salt water floats your boat higher, your rpms will be higher and so will speed.

Fishing lakes you're plate is fine, if you're planning on fishing the bays having a hydraulic (Bobs) will be much more important.

All that to tell you that you're fine and go fishing, sorry.

That`s exactly why you see hydraulic jack plates on most CC boats.

nope, no current need, at least not enough to justify cost, for the fishing I do

A hydraulic jack plate is the only way to go. I had one of Steve's manual JPs, and it was very well made, but once it was installed it never got moved, simply because of , in spite of great engineering and construction, a manual JP is just to much of a PITA to change on the water, and Steve's was the best of the ones I looked at.
If the only reason you install a JP is to get setback, then just go with a setback plate, install it, and forget it.
I'm running a Bob's Hydraulic and love it but it wasn't cheap. Buy once, cry once.
I think Steve is building hydraulic plates, and I'm betting the quality is way up there with Bob's.