I had a 16' Baja for a few years. It was the Sport 160, they made a bigger 16 foot boat at one time.
A V4 Johnson GT100 would pull me out on one ski at 170 lb, but would not pull out a 180 lb guy on one ski. Both feet in bindings. My smallest prop was a 17" Stiletto prop that ran almost 50 (negative slip so it was tall for 17"). We re-powered with a 115 Etec HO. It would pull my 210 lb brother out on one ski no problem with the same 17" prop.

Since my 99 cube motor experience is similar to yours, I think you need less pitch or more motor. Our theory was its easier to buy horsepower than to loose weight