zavier24 welcome to boating . Your P&D doesn't have a delta pad so your drive will be a little lower on the transom then VC's . 17 is the safe setting that everyone uses and yes 17 from the bottom is 17 . . I always say cut on the high side you can always use spacers to get it dialed in . However on your boat you will be doing good to keep the 17 , If I remember your running a small block so your boat will weigh less and ride higher in the water anyway .

I'm trying to work on the sarcasm , I'm hopping as the temperature outside rises the sarcasm will go down

Vintage chromoly, now tht makes sense hahaa i guess since i dont have a template it diesnt help lol Does anyone know of anyone that has the template and can lay it on for me and ill do the rest here in south fl. Is the delta pad where the bottom gets flat towards the very back of the boat?

I actually started to laugh myself after I read it again a second time lol it was just enough as needed lmao

Somebody has the transom jig you need listed in Swap Shop . That's what you really need instead of a templet . Makes the install fullproof . If that one is gone you can usually find them for 200-300 and the best part is when your done with it you can sell it usually for what you paid . Another option is to go to a local builder in your area and rent it for a weekend . Maybe $50 bucks and leave a deposit .

Correct! I guess the name "Delta" is from the delta shape (triangular) of the pad?!

Ok I tried looking in the swap shop but I guess it's sold. Once Monday comes around ill ask anyone I might now that has one. And my boat does have a delta pad, what is the advantage or disadvantage of it performance wise and with getting the x dimension?

If u r in Miami call pantera, see if u can rent and leave a deposit. Tell him you'll have it back the next day.
Jo is usually pretty helpful so it may be a possibility. Or just trailer it there. It might be cheaper to have him blow the hole in it. They've done so many it'll probably take half an hour & be dead nuts on target.

They are actually right down the block from me now ever since they moved. What do you think is a reasonable price for someone to make the hole for me? I had someone tell me $450 and I said no cause it sounded a bit steep not only for my budget but just to cut a hole. Only reason why I think they might be able to charge so much is just because of the importance of the hole but its not a pantera or anything it was just some guy in the neighborhood.

My opinion is that the Delta pad is holding you back as long as you're not flying across the Atlantic in very rough seas. In flat water and chop a flat/parallell pad is most likely better.

I believe the angle of the Delta pad is too negative and would create a low pressure area in the rear/widest part of it. It's very common to see Panteras and the other 24x7 boats with the pad porpoising pretty bad in flat water.

I rebuilt my pad to a straight one and have seen 83.2MPH with a 496 Mag HO and Bravo X/XR @ X18-1/2" - so far.

$450 sounds steep to me. Either find someone to do it or buy a jig. Do not cut it w/0 the jig.
the notch for the tiller arm would be near impossible or look like ass.

So you say that the pad is better for the flats as opposed to 3 to 4 on the ocean side? I ask cause I thought it was worse in flats due to the friction on the water with the pad. What were yours speeds looking like before you did what you did to the pad? Have any pics of what it is that you did?