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Chris Benny's classic Nauset is an absolute knock-out. One of the finest I have ever seen. And even this diehard Merc guy likes the E-tec 90 done up as a Bearcat 4-stroke. Very cool! I am amazed how good it looks with those colors and graphics, and how much it actually looks like an old Bearcat. Great work, Chris! Will I be seeing the boat in my area this winter?

Regarding drilling holes in an older shallow transom, I have discovered that the centerline of the top holes from the top of the transom can be raised to about 1-3/8 to 1-1/2" instead of the standard 1-7/8". I have done this on two my older Whalers, also using a transom stiffener bar on the inside, and it works well, even with high HP and allows for drilling the bottom holes using the 7-1/4" vertical spacing.
Neither boat shows eny indication of transom stress inspite of the high HP engines, even with jackplate setbacks.

This gives increased flexibility on mounting heights and does not force the engine up the full 1-1/2" for those not desiring to do this.

You can see such an installation here on the 1979 Montauk with 115 Merc:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lgolt...6809375088