Laser bass boat

[creger]

I have a 1985 18' LTV that I'm bringing back from the grave. Putting new floor, new carpet, did all the wet sanding, compounding, buffing, ect. (brought the gelcoat back to life). I've put a 1989 150 Mariner "Magnum II" on it. My questions are:
1. How far from the pad does the center prop need to be?

2. Right now it has a 24 pitch (I think Lazer) prop on it. To get the most out of the motor and boat, what prop and pitch do you recommend?

3. What rpm's should this motor be turning? The boat I had the motor on before, was turning around 5400-5500 rpm's (wot and trimmed up), but the motor was sitting approximately 6 inches below pad on that boat (17.5' Randall Craft bass boat) which was probably to low.

Before the boat went to the graveyard last time, I just had an 85 hp mercury on it. I know that with that motor the boat did not perform nowhere near it's abilities. Just curious what I can expect with the 150 hp on it. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.