From bow cuddy looking back towards lazzerte


Your right this is where the potty went it even still had the threaded rods were it bolted down i think ill send it next


Threaded rods

Looks like it might have been light blue ?




Mid hull stern

The console itself sits on a separate cockpit sole insert that is removable from the rest of the floor. It appears that 'somebody' took the old console out and cut that separate insert at the recess where the old one fitted into .This created a new oblong shaped cutout that they somehow must have fitted the new tank under and then put a board over the top of it to cover it all up.
That's my guess .
If you look at the bottom inside circumference of the 'new console' you can see that it now extends way over the new hole and out onto the non skid areas of the floor , an area that was originally exposed to sunshine and feet .
The battery on mine appeared to have always been in its original location on a platform that was glassed into the hull on the stbd side of the engine utilizing the inner stbd hull side and the top of the stbd stringer at the transom . It's only about 1.5 sq feet but the perfect size for a group 24 series battery. The battery is underneath of the stbd side removable fish box.

I didnt notice any weak spots arround the out side of the old cc but the new monstrosity covers all that lol . in the bottom of the lazzerte there seems to be a plug is this for storage draining ?

So it should be under the fish box on the transom ?

Some of those pics are a bit too close up for me to fully grasp them ! There certainly should be a drain hole at the rear of that lazarette for draining water . Can you imagine if it didn't have one ? I'm presuming that some of those lower pics are under the bottom and I'm looking at old antifouling paint . The one where I think I can make out the rear of the lower strake def shows stress lines but that's not the area I was originally referring to. Still , not surprising to see them there .
I've seen those semi-circular blisters in the gelcoat on both the St T and the Magnum but there's never an older gel finish under them. More likely it's the color (very aged color) of the original first coat of resin that was sprayed on after the gelcoat was applied in the mold .
If yours did at one time have a head in it I'd be amazed. I can't imagine putting one in a 19' open boat , although Matty has an original one in his 19 Hornet . incredible .

Edit; correct , pull out the stbd side fish box. The battery should be under there . When mine arrived here we were miffed as well trying to figure out where it was.

I did pull it out and it's not there but it's just forward of the engine compartment who ever put it there was not thinking . I'll move it back to where yours is that seems like a more mangable spot

Any thoughts as to weather my steering cable is shot or is it the steering box the threaded gear rod is striped it looks like

Do you in fact have the original platform there for it to go on that I mentioned ?
Putting a battery on the center line makes good sense but if it has to go where Donzi intended it to all those years back you just need to get creative with your weight and balance techniques.
When I had the Merc setup I had the trim pump on the port side as well as the trim tab pump to help with balance.
I'd recommend a nice safe setup like a Gil bracket or whatever there is nowadays that fills the same role . Very secure .

Again , hard to tell just by looking at pictures but the steering cable looks like it's been heavily greased . Get a friend and have them rock the steering wheel port and stbd while you stay at the stern (with hatches open and fish boxes removed) and observe the amount of play at the transom connectors.
Also rock the lower unit from the outside right and left and see how much slack there is in the inside at the connections .
I think there's so much going on there that needs rectifying before you run it that the steering is only one small part of the equation .