Bozeman Bob

Might be easier to install a dedicated deep cycle battery with a isolator so that it will charge off your engine but not discharge the starting battery if the engine is off. I have converted a few and now go with a new electronic distributor that eliminates points and the Thunderbolt ignition module or whatever your wired in to Same price as petronix but IMHO a better set up and a new distributor to boot. Best price I could find for a used module was 150.00 , paid 120.00 for updated distributor and pitched the Thunderbolt module. Is your engine idling higher now ? I wonder if you couldn't put in a Mercruiser momentary kill switch that they use for there older models. I am sure you could fabricate a bracket by your shift mechanism that would hold the switch and work off something moving the shifter ( not familiar with OMC outdrives ).

Another Albe on marketplace ,28' newer engines ,in Oswego ,maybe its on this site , named Sparks, a lot more money than the other one. It is a lot more boat and gear ,so there's that. The 28 should have a 10-11' beam vs 9-6" .

That Sportcraft has the doghouse located towards the center of the boat ,not at the transom. Still somewhat in the way and you end up working or always walking around it. Keep looking for what you want , do not settle for anything less.

1993 27' Albemarle on Buffalo Craigslist, asking 25,000 , new motors . Probably started out in the ocean with a tower . Good looking rig.

"Large rolling waves " are usually the aftermath of a big blow on the lake . They slowly dissipate over the course of a day or so. Controlling speed isn't any different than being out in 3-4'+ waves. Short of looking at a Lake cam or getting info from someone that is or was just out on the Lake it's a crap shoot . Weather forecasters do not mention this and they seem to be wrong about 50% of the time.

Read it itoday in the Buffalo News sport section ,was in there weekly fishing report .

The water border is now open for fishing the Canadian side. Still need a Province of Ontario license, you cannot touch there shore ,anchor or contact another vessel.

Might want to research inject a deck , for the money they want and all the holes you have to drill , the deck looks like swiss cheeses when your done . And it really has not removed the rotten wood ,all it does is solidify it ,not strengthen it. A few pros to it and a lot of cons according to the research I did before doing mine the right way.

Mark off the area with a square if possible. Take a circular saw and adjust the cutting depth to a 1/4" or so. Cut the top deck off ,which will leave the bad wood exposed . Do not cut below your wood core , the underlying fiberglass should not be cut. Remove all wood that has been compromised. New wood is put in with fiberglass resin or similar material. You may be able to put the skin you removed back on to the repaired section or you may have to glass over the repair. Rustoleum makes a deck paint and a non slip additive that can be bought at Loew's. Paint on or cover repair area with Seadek ,Marine Mat or whatever you come up with if you don't want to paint it. Non slip works great . You can also Google or You Tube for more info.

You may want to tell your friend that 7- 10% of the capacity is unusable fuel. Gauge may read a bit less than1/4 and you can be running on fumes. Depends on pick up location , how far it is off the bottom and running angle.

If you can get at the tank ,get the dimensions, Google the mathematical formula to get capacity in gallons. Useable fuel will be less , about 7-10 % of your tanks capacity cannot be picked up.

You should also ask what is the disadvantage. Cost , usually about 4 times as much. Hitting a rock, you may end up with a bent prop shaft $$ as there is no give compared to aluminum which would take the brunt of the hit. Top speed is within 1 maybe 2 mph but who drives around wide open ? Cruising speed may go up by .5 mph. Probably take quite a few years to recuperate the extra cost to make up for it in any fuel savings from the minuscule difference in prop slip and with a new quality aluminum prop there might not even be a difference. If I was a bit tight on cash I would lean towards using that 5-600 for gear. Deeper pockets and mainly using it where I know I am not smacking bottom I would buy a SS. The one I run on a 15' speedboat I can feel a slight difference in it being smoother when idling out . May be better quality control or they balance them.better. So you have a few things to consider.

I would invest in two trolling bags ,allows you to bump your throttle a bit in most cases,thus reducing fouling along with better steering , settles the boat right down/ reduces rocking in any direction. No affiliation, I have the small and medium from G2outfitters.com. Best bags I have seen on the water .

If no one replies, I would contact the DMV or maybe try Google .

Some Charter Captains have more than a 6 pack license and can take 7 out. I personally wouldn't want to be on that . You would be lucky to get up more than once if you were number 7 in line.

X 2 on the 5.7 , exact block . The only thing might be getting your throttle controls parallel and you might be under pitched a little bit on that side. If you think.your going to be replacing the other engine in the next few years then yes go that route. If not then I might stick with the 5.0s if I was happy with my current cruise and or top end speed.

MichiganMotorz.com would be my choice. I have heard so many mixed reviews on Jaspers that I would not use them. I am sure they have sold quite a few that has no issues. Friend recently picked up two 502s from them , Michigan, and is extremely happy with the outcome.

Did you ever register it ?