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Dear Weatherly,

Thank you for your excellent input. I have been considering the possibility glassing and moving the steering hole, but only by about two inches, not to the center of the console. That should give me enough wing clearance. When running the boat I expect the RPS to be frequently occupied by two adults. The offset wheel should be easier to use under those circumstances.

I am relatively new to boating and not familiar with a rybovitch style wedge. Can you give me a description or send me a link to a photo.

You have great eyes, and those high resolution photographs do not lie! There is indeed some wood rot at the edge of the middle opening to the rigging tunnel. If this hole and the accompanying plastic sleeve are original, it is a poor design on the part of BW. No effort has been made to seal the edge of the plywood and foam. The rot goes back about 1/2" and then the wood becomes solid (impossible to scrape out with a screw driver. I am working on drying the wood completely. I will then scrape a little more out with a thin wood chisel, fill the void with glass-filled epoxy, and glass the edges. Interestingly enough, the foam beneath the plywood is in perfect shape: no dampness or disintegration at all.

I have thought long and hard about the 2-stroke vs. 4-stroke decision, and given my needs and priorities, I decided to go with a 4s. I know repowering choices can be a point of contention among the whaler community, but I like the idea of having the small but significant reduction in fuel burn that comes with a 4s. 70 hp seems to be the sweet spot for my needs, and everything I have read or been told indicates the F70 is a special motor in terms of low weight, reliability, and efficiency. Is it worth an extra $3500? That's a tough, tough call. $3500 buys a lot of gas! Right now I have a winter's worth of work in front of me. While I am now planning to repower with the F70, a special deal or technology advance may come along and change my mind. If Evinrude were to come our with an Etec G2 in this power range (and if the styling were not so radical as the 200-300hp version), I would happily pay a premium for it.