Shorten the shaft on Ghost trolling motor?

I have a 47" Ghost trolling motor and I fish alot of shallow water 2 feet or less. I have the motor all the way up and it works fine but the head sticks up maybe 2 feet above the deck and gets in the way at times. Due to a back injury I sit while fishing and have hit the head of the motor a few times on hooksets. Has anyone tried to shorten the shaft? If it was 36" instead of 47" it would be perfect. A repair shop where I used to live shortened the shaft of an older minnkota I had but they are no longer in business.