HeHe You bring up even more question's Chuck.
How does the anti cavitation plate look when your on plane?
Is it underwater or even with the surface. Do you get a bunch of spray off of it?
In the last 2 pix's. from what you stated look's backwards to me. I realize the boat is in gear in the bottom pix.
It's hard to see in this pix, due to the Black color. I have aprox 4in between the water surface and the bottom side of the 2in band around the swim platform when the boat sit's at rest.
Now let's forget the bottom of the bracket for a sec.
With a stright edge extended out from the keel of the boat. Measure from the top side of that stright edge to the anti cavitation plate. What that figure?