I hope I will be able to report positive results!! I have made it a priority to start doing working on my boat myself. I know my limitations but nothing ventured nothing gained.

FWIW when I seal anything like a thru hull I'll mask off about an eighth of an inch from the where the thru hull contacts the hull and mask the thru hull or whatever the part happens to be as close to the edge as possible. After tightening you can use a popsicle stick to remove excess sealant and also make a nice contour in the sealant with the curve of the popsicle stick. Remove masking tape while sealant is wet and you're finished. That 5200 is a b!tch to get off once it sets up.

First run report: Set at a depth of 1/16" past hull and it did well until about 50 then my temp started going up. I looked and it was definitely pulling air and water. The faster we went the worse it got.
I pushed the pickup through further to finish out the afternoon and will have a measurement on depth shortly. Also I have not done any modifying to the bottom. Some have said they ground out a teardrop shape right before the pickup. I have not done this.

Were the temps normal after you lowered the pick up depth?

Yes they were normal.

How much lower were the pick-ups to the running surface of the boat bottom ?

3/8" and i started at 1/16". I plan on trying 5/16 next. there will be a sweet spot. Boat speed stayed the same with similar loads and props.

What part of the pick-up are you measuring form ?

I have a slide rule that is flat on the hull then slide to very bottom of pickup. So the 3/8" was the total depth below plane of the hull.