I had a 1990 292sr1 w/twin 454 mags with a stainless marine exhaust that was an amazing boat. BUT, it was sold like 8 years ago. So, I embarked on a search at the end of last summer to get a 303 or 312. This search has gotten exhausting. Meanwhile
I have seen the pricing on the old SR1's can be pretty attractive and it seems like there might be some decent ones out there. My old 292 was trouble free except for some maintenance. But, after doing some research on the old SR1's, it seems like there
is a problem with drainage from the front to the back. I don't want to buy a structural nightmare. How can I check for that kind of problem? Are there any other issues I should be aware of?

Are you talking about the water under the step? Because they all seem to have that issue. Both my 271 fastech and my 312 held water up there. Not much and never enough to cause a problem, so I generally just didn't bother with it. I think the water originated from where the windshield was sealed to the deck, but that is just my guess.

Other threads that show the same issue (which I am working on this evening) reveal that it possibly could be from the fuel tank access panel silicone being bad.

I read that there are problems with the stringer system in the cabin area. I am assuming that could be caused by the water being trapped in the front of the boat for years. I mean, how would you check for that?
Also, before my 292 I had a 242. It had water trapped in the fuel tank section. I called Formula and they recommended me to drill a couple small holes to drain the water out from the previous owners doing and that is what I did.

I would think to check the stringers up front in the cabin would be rather complicated. I ordered a little $25 electric dehumidifier to keep in my cabin during storage. For the last 7 months I have just used damp rid and it has been perfectly dry and no water whatsoever in the cabin. It just happened this last week after a rather large amount of rain fall and my cover wasn't right allowing rain to get into the cockpit and it must have seeped into the fuel tank area filling up the cabin floor. Mine has been indoor stored it's whole life until I got it and it hopefully will be under a roof soon.

I hope some of this may help you.

what's the deal with this one

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/boa/6116666359.html

A 96' trailer might be a little long to legally pull lol.

Those colors give me a head ache! The boat looks clean

Look clean!

Looks clean. With 310s, it wont be the fastest 303 around.