drewm3i

Cockpit lights, anchor lights, accessory?

You need a closed bow boat if a sportboat.

For old porous gelcoat, I recommend poliglow or zep high traffic floor polish. It is lip stick on a pig, but a #$^% of a lot better than buffing all of the time just for it to go dull again.

For what you describe, that would not be my preference. Sounds like you would be better off with a closed bow boat with a deep vee hull. Something like a Formula 330 SS or a Chaparral 285 SSI. You will want something larger than 26' and able to carry more fuel. You will also probably want twin engines for redundancy. There is also a lot that goes into planning for a Gulf stream crossing beyond picking a boat and a date and going. In a power boat, you want to leave early in a summer month like July or August and do not go if there is any wind from the north.

Things to check: Accessory circuit in-line fuse Starter fuse if any Main engine breaker Starter slave solenoid Starter Master battery switch

Good prep work chaparral...your fix is to sand the bilge down and paint it with ezbilge mixed with their performance enhancer.

It's really not hard to do, but a pain so go enjoy your new boat. If you mess up, you can always sand it down or add more fiberglass!

Pics?

Elementary OS, Duck the NSA/I mean CIA/oops Microsoft.

SS series boats had PLASTIC fuel tanks. That is most likely not where a leak would be coming from. Check the fuel sender gasket that is accessed either under a carpeted, screwed down deck plate just behind the ski locker or under the black plastic deck plate.

Yes, definitely fair with peanut butter, aka polyester resin mixed with silica. Microfiber or microbaloons are too hard to sand after.

Also, Consider this: http://www.jrmarine.com/instructions.htm

I found like new used transom assemblies for like $400 each locally on craigslist. If the motor is out, go ahead and check/replace if needed the coupler, u joints, shift cable, oil pan, starter, etc.

Looking closer I see some delamination and dry glass in the original layup. This definitely needs to be repaired. Start by grinding it out with a 40 grit flap disk and then cut and apply a few layers of fiberglass. Then fair with polyester resin mixed with silica and then sand a gel coat. Not difficult, but time consuming.