As said before - the first thing you do is find out IF the transom ( the wood between the inner and outer layer of fiberglass ) is sound. Inside the boat take a small hammer and TAP on the transom and listen for hollow spots. It is supposed to sound solid. IF you find hollow spots get hold of someone that has more expertise in boats.

Good advice and chances are there will be rot. What else works well is using your hand like tapping on a door. Very distinctive difference in sound. Easier to tell from the inside the boat also. Also drill a few cores if in doubt.

actually I knew that any motor I had would have to be rebuilt to marine spec due to the tremendous loading on the bottom end of the motor ..that was a given. True hunting junk boats may seam like a good idea but also comes with the risk of buying complete junk because Billy Bob never did nothing to it so everything is near end of service life from lack of maintenance..the engines and drives I would get would all need complete rebuilds for peace of mind ..( 27 ft Nova would be a butch to row in and embarrassing as hell to tow in.) Just looking for general ideas on how and what to do to make her scream..by way it's not my first boat in boating that is my current other boat 86 century lx2000 17 ft.open bow...true she's not off shore material but neither is the Nova both are decent lake boats at best ..I live in Nevada mo...plenty of good water around me to run either in...

Ok, not your 1st rodeo. Thats different. The engines themselves are pretty much stock GM car-truck with the exception of the camshafts. The all forged hi-perf ones, not so much, but the 365 hp 454 is very little diff from 71 corvette engine.

A friend of mine ended up using Jasper for a couple of new 383's for his old late 80's Fountain, they had them in stock, cheap and with a warranty. They stood behind their product, one of the motors developed a knock with about 15-18 hours on the new motors, they sent out a rep and had a new motor to him in under 2 weeks and paid for the labor. He has since used Jasper to do exactly what you are talking about by building him a marine motor for his Four Winns Family Cruiser out of an old long block GM motor he got out of an old wrecked GMC Suburban. He also bought one of their refurbished outdrives for that boat as well. He swears by them on price, quality/performance and customer service.

If you're starting with that open of a base, might be worth building a pair of LSXs. They're cheap to build, and can get great fuel economy for their size.

Lsx ???didn't know Jasper sold drives very help full..if I am only planning to get say 365 HP out each engine will the alphas suffice? Not crazy about drilling my transom and this already has the upper sections of the alphas in it...wonder if you can use bravo guts like shafts and bearings in alpha housings? Also what are drive showers?

Sell the boat, pocket the cash, you will thank me a year from now when your completely upside down in the boat, the old lady's B*****in at ya to sell it, and its worth 1/3 of what you have in it.

O, and good luck with the build :D

Just kiddin Matt

Ain't happening I like doing what can't be done and fired the old lady kept the boats..boats don't butch and whine when u forget to take out the trash !! And they don't need cuddle time to make them happy...no flowers on special days either and best of all they don't come with mother in laws or family to deal with...cool boats actually help you bring home women no butch when you look at another and whine... just saying...lol

Jasper's Marine division does everything from rebuilding your motors, lower units and stern drives to supplying crate motors from mild all the way up to built big HP monsters. They have great prices, very quick turn around (days or weeks in most cases) not months like some builders and everything they sell comes with anywhere from a 6 month to a 24 month warranty that covers all parts and labor. Obviously these are not the guys you want to go to to build you a 1000hp race motor but if you want reliable and affordable it seems they are one of the best routes to go.

http://www.jasperengines.com/stern-drives


Also, FWIW, my massaged and built small block 5.7 is making about 330 HP and pushing it through a Bravo One drive without any issue. I believe the Gen 2 Alpha One is rated for 300hp so the 365hp you are looking to run through each might be pushing the limits of that drive. Personally I would do two 5.7's punched out to 383's. You can get close to 350hp out of them and could probably stick with the Alphas which the smaller Alpha and smaller lighter small block would save you a few pounds of weight and a few bucks in the wallet....but that's just me. I would assume there are companies making beefed up Alpha internals that can handle more load but I am not positive on that. I am by no means an expert on any of this.