Offshore, do you think I should run the stock heads or use the 124cc merlins with 269cc intakes that I have.

deffinetly reccomend the merlins,make sure you get the valve spring pressures,and installed height correct,and the inconells are still on the exh side,give the guides an extra .001 clearence on each sice to compensate for the heat,and no seals on the exh side......then let it eat.....

I totally agree with offshore addiction and Okie Tunnel. Ring gaps man I forgot that. Gen 6 will have a roller cam. If it was me I would stay with a cam that runs the stock type hydraulic roller lifters. I like there retainer set up and I know with stock lifts and spring rates they last a long long time. Just be careful not to run to much cam. Run it like Okie says. Once you start up that HP ladder there are a lot of other parts beside the motor that will need attention to. Should be a fun winter project for sure. Just curious what size boat is this going in? What RPM is normal cruise and how long do you normally run at that rpm?

The motpr is going into a 26' scarab. Most of the time I cruse around between 3000 and 3500rpm. Like most of us I have upgrade the engine over the years. I started off with the standard 7.4L and ended up with a 9.6cr engine running a 224/230 110cl. roller cam. I found a good deal on a B&M blower, so I bolted in on just for grins. It really woke it up to the tune of about 10mph and great out of the hole acceleration. I'm scared to run it hard for more than a few seconds because of the weak bottom end not to mention the motor is built all wrong to run a blower. I got another good buy on a used 502 crate motor. So now I'll see what I can do with the 502 and the 174 blower while I look for a bigger blower.