hopefully that boat has full Hyd steering....you are going to need it...

the 1 inch longer bolts are not for the bottom row,they are for the middle row.you will not have a problem with an afr head.

Since you have a 502 block you should have blind bolt holes for the head studs - good thing because sealing head studs in water jackets can be a pain. Sounds like you have a good package going together. Are you planning to have it dynoed? I highly recommend it, or at the very least, run the engine on a startup cart prior to dropping it in the boat. I discovered a reversion issue that I did not expect doing this with mine. Glad I discovered it on the test stand instead of in the boat!

without a doubt... I have the impeccable luck that gauranteed if I didn't the rear main seal would leak in there

so does anybody have any info on those crossover pipes? Should I get it or stick with my circulation pump?

HaHa - sounds like you have the same kind of luck as me! :eek:

Some people like to run the crossover just to clean up the front of the engine and eliminate another set of belts. I don't think there is any compelling performance advantage. I have run a circ pump for years with no issues. Buddy of mine ditched his when he installed a roots supercharger - had no choice. However, he had to do some work with bypass valves to bleed off excess water pressure. Also, I have read about some people having issues with hot spots in the heads, etc., when running a crossover. Others with experience with this may reply, or you can probably find more info with a search on "crossover".

I have found the stock Merc seawater pump to be more than adequate. You could put out a 3 alarm fire with the water those things move. I would advise adding a water pressure gauge and also an oil temp gauge.

Ditto...You got the right guy!---Bob Madara is top quality when it comes to marine hi-perf engine consultation.

502's do not have blind holes.

As far as I've seen they do.

In fact, had a customer with headgasket issues. Turned out, block+heads where milled a good amt, and his bolts where stopping before it was squeezing the heads down far enough. Gots some thicker washers and all was okay. That was an azz kicker to figure out.