I had a 14ft Gamefisher loaded with a trolling motor, large battery, 6 gallon gas tank(full), downriggers, 3 10lbs weights, 15lbs anchor, Ice chest, more fishing gear then we needed and two guys weighing over 200lbs each. A 1974 Johnson 9.9 with a 15hp carb would push us 16+ mph.
fyi, A 9.9 motor will run pretty good on one cylinder but won't have any power. Also, a damaged prop will do the same.
Running at 7.75 mph start looking at the boat having to much weight, the motor not running on both cylinders, damaged prop/wrong prop. Trying to run at high altitude.
I don't think you mentioned what motor you have?
One Solution:
Motor has good compression, running on both cylinder, carburetor cleaned but still not running over 10mph. A lower pitch prop might be the answer. Going from a 10 pitch to an 8 pitch will give more power at slower speeds and help to get the boat on plane.