Before you get too crazy raising the motor straight to 2 1/2" below the pad, you need to take a measurement to see where you are. If you are at 3 1/2" below, you don't need to raise it a full inch to begin with. The biggest thing to watch is water pressure. Small increments can make a huge difference in handling and performance, but can also cause major trouble if you raise it too much and don't have enough water pressure.

My opinion is that you will need to be around 3" to 3 1/4" below the pad. Try to get a 25 Tempest prop to try on the boat. The 5600 rpms are not off from where you need to be.

If you take the nuts/washers off and remove the prop, there should be numbers stamped onto the back end (maybe something like 13 1/2 x 25). The 2nd number will be your pitch for the prop. The Renegade you have will either be a 23 or 25.