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SF: At the speed you are going with the kicker, another 5" of engine length will not make any difference. Outboards are specified for length based primarily on having enough lower unit in the water for the propeller to bite, but not so much that additional drag results. If you wanted to go 20 knots, you should stick with the recommended length. However, you will be going 5 knots or less so it is not any big deal. I personally would not even bother to shim it up.

The only down side I can see is the extra length will increase your working draft with the engine down. If you are not going to run in very shallow water, this probably does not matter to you.

Al