I recently purchased a Cigarette Bullet with the intention to restore it. I am planning to pull it apart in the fall. I want to take it to our lake house on Lake of the Ozarks for a few months to have some fun with it before the restorations starts. I went ahead and changed the bellows and shifts cables and while doing that I noticed that the port gimbal ring has about 1/8” of up/down play. I checked the starboard side and it’s good and tight. I understand that the play is not a good thing, but will it be a big issue for a couple months until it gets torn down this fall? We have another boat at the lake also so this boat will likely see 10-15 hours this summer at most. Thanks

Probably lower swivel shaft or upper.

I would do it now. JR Marine sells a kit to do the top from the outside. No pulling engine.

Thing is, it has probably been that way for a long time, and apparently hasn't caused any big issues. Supposed to be about 0.005" to 0.010".
Mine has had almost 3/32" for years with no issues before i realized it and tightened it up while i had the motor out. I would run it for the summer.