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I purchased a 1989 Outrage 18 last spring. The boat was in factory original condition and had the original 1989 120hp Johnson, but the engine was blown. All other aspects of the boat are great and just need some TLC and elbow grease to being things back to looking like new. Only error I found was the owner applying a cheaper non-factory original Whaler spec'd decal when the original ones must have worn away. I've compounded the topsides to clean them as well as possible and will be re-applying all new factory correct decals. Hopefully the UV faded imprint of the incorrect decal on the gelcoat will fade out over time. I've had the hull soda blasted and new bottom paint applied. I'll be working on re-powering this winter with a new i-4 Yamaha outboard and had some concerns about how to best address the console with having new instruments/gauges installed.

I don't want to lose the classic Whaler appearance, but at the same time I wanted to opt for a DEC outboard model. Is the best option to stick to individual new digital instruments/gauges in order to try and install where the original instruments/gauges are located? DEC outboards do have the option to go with a single touchscreen display for all instrumentation/gauges (which would be nice), but that's really going to be hard to integrate into the existing console without either leaving the old gauges in and not working or plugging a bunch of holes. I don't think re-glassing the console is a good idea due to how good the original condition the boat is in and doubt if it's able to successfully match original gelcoat and not look like it had been re-glassed. Any suggestions?

I also wondered about the black panel behind the steering wheel on the console. I've always seen the black panels on each side of the wheel, but not behind the wheel. Is that a modification? Can you purchase new black panels like the ones on either side of the steering wheel?

Any insight from members who have undergone similar projects is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!