SO - do you think a 5 MPH gain is worth some TINKERING???

Finally got the boat out for some testing the 4th and 5th. It was really busy but I found an open spot. It was real rough. But the boat felt real good. It felt real stable and in control but loose of the water. I could feel the small surges as the boat came free of the water and the only thing in was the prop. I feel it has more but My wife kicked in the rev limiter. I need to get a trim indicator badly so that I know where the drive is.
I did make a change that I think helped the top end but killed the planning ability. I wasn't going to go out on the 5th without making a change of some sort or it would have been a lost opportunity for testing.
I know that the bell on the back of the prop causes transom lift so I took a sawzall and cut the bell off my test prop ( the old 28 Bravo 4 blade )
I had a HARD time getting on plane. BUT definitely felt better at speed once on plane. I have No problem packing air and the boat flies very stable.

So do cats run faster in the rough the same as V bottoms?
I would think the cat would be faster in water with only slight roughness since anything bigger than 6 inch would let the air out from under the boat.