Hello,

I have just purchased, from a private seller, an old 55x14 69 Stardust that has been rebuilt. The hull has been replated and painted. I had the marina repair pull it to replace the bellows and the service manager said the hull is great and no need to do anything to the hull except to clean it. The previous owner took the boat completely back to the steel hull and rebuilt the house structure, using all 2 x 6 for studs, double decked the roof, and offset the joints, with marine plywood. He dropped the salon floor to the level of the galley/stateroom, except the helm which has rounded steps leading to my little corner of the boat. The 350 merc I/O engine has 20 hours on it, but the build was a bad one and the engine is siezed ( not a problem as I LOVE to buikld small block chevys ).

NOW to my question....It seems that all the major wiring was done with solid core wire. Do I need to rip all that out? Also, on a boat this age, do I need to hacve all engine and generator stuff marine and not automotive? i.e., starter, altenator, distributor, carb.

I am keeping the boat at a private dock in Lake Lanier, Georgia while I replace the engine and finish the trim work inside the boat, then I plan to move into a marina. My other problem is finding insurance without a survey, which I want to wait to have done after I finish getting her in running order.

Oh yeah, I paid $2500 for this boat, the owner showed me reciepts for about $35, 000 for the work he has done. His wife got tired of looking at the boat at his dock. He was done working on it.

Sorry for the long post, I am a newbie, and very excited, LOL.