Besides buying a new boat?

As few of you may remember I bought a 42' Excalibur.
I have stripped all of the cabin interior.
(replacing as we speak)
installing new Trailer rims/tires rebuilding brakes.
Pulling motors in 3 weeks, bought 8-71's.
I think the drives are ok, I will not know untill I get her in the water.( I have no clue here, never had outdrive before)
Pulling the generator once motors are done
and rebuilding.
I do not know if I will have time to paint her.

What else would you do to be sure It would be a fun and reliable boat?????????


Johnny

Service the outdrives if it has not been done already. Maybe have a marine electrician inspect the wiring if its been awhile since it ran. Maybe buy some new bilge pumps and blowers for some cheap insurance depending on how old they are.

replace the bellows.

Inspect the gimbals for slop.

I'd have the drives gone thru. They will probably need seals and maybe a bearing or two. Assuming they're TRS drives, the lower parts are getting scarce & pricey. Filling one with water or running it out of spec could tear up a hard-to-find gear or shaft. The bellows don't last forever and that's probably the #1 cause of boats visiting the bottom. Ditto on the electrics. Issues there are a very common cause of breakdowns. I'd also double-check that the starters and alternators are marine units. It never ceases to amaze me how common it is that you find auto parts substituted here.