New Project boat. 74 Mustang 17

Hey everyone. I wanted to share my new project boat. I consider myself an amateur boat restorer and I love finding old hulls worth bringing back to life. Typically I've worked on SeaCrafts and one bass boat (that was not worth restoration, but was still fun) so this boat is totally different to me.

I bought this boat knowing that all the wood is rotten and the engine was "seized". I'm quite familiar with stringer and floor replacement and this boat looks fairly simple in that regard except for some careful geometry to ensure engine alignment. I have a plan for that.

The hull is in great original shape with all it's parts and pieces. The gelcoat is really nasty on the bottom so I'll be doing a full gel job. I did not anticipate how destroyed the motor would be. Hopefully the crank is OK. In the oilpan I found 3-1/2 connecting rods. Parts of 3 shattered pistons. A pile of bearings and other miscellaneous engine components that should be attached to things. Somehow, things did not get too banged up in there so I am hopeful. I think if the crank is bad, I'll probably switch to standard rotation due to parts availability and cost.

On to the pics! Some of you may have seen in on the FB group while I was waiting activation here.