The original ones that came with the motor...

are they done bone or tie bar......or ?

Not tie bar, lifters are held in place by this:
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performa...SABEgKX3_D_BwE

okay, thats referred to as dog bone

Ive never done it like this before, I always rotate the engine while setting the lash to make sure the lifter roller is on the base circle of the cam
With #1 at TDC I tightened exhaust 1,3,4,8 and intake 1,2,5,7
With #6 at TDC I tightened exhaust 2,5,6,7 and intake 3,4,6,8

I changed the oil and now am in the middle of replacing riser gaskets. Once I'm done with that I will probably adjust valves while its running

Fwiw, I’ve read about manifolds holding pressure but having a crack open up as they heat up while running so near impossible to find. I have no practical experience on the matter though.

From my experience, if you are getting water in through the exhaust then you could see it on the spark plugs. The cylinder getting the water will look brighter with less carbon buildup. Also the water has to get past the rings to get into the oil. If that is the case you have bad rings as well, for that much water to get in the oil. Check your oil cooler, my brother just had to pull his to get brazed back up.

Rings are brand new and the cylinders were just bored .030 over. I will check the oil cooler

No oil cooler on this boat. Just a power steering cooler

Other than exhaust, Head-bolts and intake gaskets are common. How did you seal them ? Which intake and what gaskets and how prepped ?