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Take a shop vac and put the end of the hose at the bottom of the saturated areas and turn it on. You may be surprised how much water is in there. The vacuum will pull it out. Check back in an hour or so and move the nozzle to the other spot(s). Once that's done, fill foam from a can...

That Crestliner is the exact boat I am looking for. I really like their construction, ride and comfort on the water. SO much easier to work on than my current Spectrum. To get the transom out required an angle grinder, a sawzall and an aluminum welder to put it back. It was interesting...

Yes, that should be fine, even if 30 HP. You could go 1/4" thickness, if you want to increase power without worry. 1/4" aluminum can be really strong, depending on the alloy. They make space craft out of that stuff!

Impellers are cheap. Motors are not. Definitely order a new warning horn/buzzer. One lead goes to the purple power wire, the other to the tan warning system wire.

Some boats have a simple livewell, where you pull the bottom plug and water fills the livewell up to the water level, which usually isn't but 4-5", but it's enough to keep fish alive. Water goes in and out and they work surprisingly well. Otherwise, it may be a non-powered livewell being used...

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like there is an aluminum panel between the engine and transom skin. If he wants to proceed, he could simply replace that outside panel, sealing the perimeter and the old holes well. Then, drill new ones as desifed. Fill the inside of the holes with sealant...

It has to be installed somewhere on the boat with a power supply. Looks similar to a GPS puck. You aim the arrow forward, and it provides a second GPS signal, letting the unit know which way the boat is facing. That thread explains it better than I can.

Yes, the aluminum angle idea is exactly what I would do after replacing the wood, if it's a low-horsepower application.

If you have a Minn Kota with Spot Lock, add the Position puck, and it does a MUCH better job, especially if you put the nose of the boat into the wind/current before engaging. That way, it doesn't clock around.

I went through this with one of my previous tin boats. It ran well, but I was trying to make it "right" with the cavitation plate @ the hull bottom. So I did what it took to get the engine up, and it gained 2 mph, but it cavitated on anything but a straight run in flat water. I ended up...

Every once in awhile, I still use the old-fashioned trick of using a little baking soda along with my toothpaste to get my teeth feeling super-clean. This reminded me that somewhere along the line, I seem to remember that it has also been used as a metal polish, but I can't remember if it was...

If no metal shavings on the magnet, you could just close it back up and move on to more important stuff for now

I felt good about the repair, but hearing your confirmation makes me feel even better. Here are pics after the repair was done. Nothing much to look at, but it gives you the idea: Unless you are looking for it, you wouldn't notice them, but they sure made a difference.

I didn't get pictures, but there are two braces at the top of the transom. Look carefully where they bend and are bolted to the transom. On his, both were snapped at the 90 degree bends. To fix, I used 1/8" thick angle aluminum, using 4 solid rivets on each bracket side, and then bolting...

Thanks, FG. I worry that now that he's back home, he's going to fall into the same pattern. I called him yesterday, asking if he has taken the boat out since he is back home in NC. He said no. I asked him to promise me that he would take it out at least a few times while the weather is...

Soft hoses are good. Pull the bowl and take a look. Takes seconds, and will tell you a lot. Typically, the bottom of the bowl gunks up first. Maybe you should just clean the bowl and the uptake tubes, put it back together and see what that gets you. If noticeable improvement, great, you...

You have the carb off... Rebuild it!!! You never know what kind of gunk is loaded up in there. Feel the fuel lines, especially the one that goes under the powerhead to the fuel pump. If they are hard as plastic, replace them. If soft and rubbery, then you are okay. $500 is okay for a...

Often, once you add fuel and oil and run it a bit, like in the pic, compression will go up. Let it turn over for 4 seconds before stopping. That gives you what you need to know. 3 revolutions may not be enough to pump up the tester to full pressure with a small-displacement motor. It's not...

Well, that day was tough, and Friday was almost the same... Thursday night ended with a motor that ran okay. Friday morning started out with installing the fishfinder, but then we found more issues. Almost none of the electrical system worked. One by one, we found and marked each circuit...

Wow, that guy has issues. I wonder what the root cause is? My story continues long into the next day, but has a good ending. I'll type it out when I get home this evening.