You want to have adjustment of the cavitation plate between 2 to 5 inches above the keel of the boat. This will be very hard to calculate without having the exact measurements of the motor and bracket together and the mounting hole to cav plate measurements.
This is one of the hardest things to get right and easiest to screw up. My recommendation would be to finish the transom completely and them mount the bracket template and drill afterwards. I just recently did this with the help of some very experienced friends and it was still quite challenging. One of the things you have to make sure of is that your finished transom is flat. Seems a no brainer but it is essential as most assume that it is all good until you put a straight edge on it. Focus on getting that right on the transom build.
Another thing I learned was that even with the best measuring.... no surface of any part of a boat is symmetrical or square. This is especially true if you are doing home fiberglass structural work like transoms. Your hull once relieved of internal support will conform to your trailer which will likely be off. Lastly, before you drill your bracket you need to make sure it "looks" right. It sounds silly but for me our carefully measured center was 1/2" from looking square on the back of the boat. Our plumb line was also off canter slightly when the template was put up. What worked well was to get the bracket template to the right height ay visible center and then put a screw dead center. At that point we were able to rock the template to match the hull and then lock it down and drill.
Good luck and take your time....
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[b]The Moose is Loose !
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