First of all, a big
WELCOME ABOARD, glad to have you as a reader and forum participant. My dad is 80 and he’s loving his 31 Sedan, they are fine boats for sure. Theirs doesn’t have the flybridge, and I think one on a 31 gives the boat a lot more room, fun, and some utility too. On the river system in the heartland, for instance, you can see a lot more of the countryside if you get your field of vision up over top of the river bank, for instance, and it’s a great place to have a nice conversation with guests too. You can spot debris, see shallows, fish, what’s not to like about it? They're great boats, and we even have one here on the Forum that is cruising the English Channel! That one happens to be diesel, and if you have diesel it's great, but if you are doing a restoration as I understand you are, then diesel is a major expense factor that you may do well to avoid.
My Dad's boat, SHADY LADY, has the 327Q motors and it is quite speedy, and gives no real indication that it needs more power. However, more power is rarely a bad thing and if you have a pair of big blocks fitted into your boat, I'd be VERY tempted to refit it with big blocks when you do the restoration.
The OMC motors as noted, are not original on the 31, and also as noted, that boat will be a rocket ship (to use Tom’s comments again). As usual, I agree with all of Tom’s comments about the rebuild, diesel, etc., gas is the way to go.
To be sure you see the links he noted, here they are for your handy reference:
This is Rob Schiller’s web site, he has a boat just like yours, and a LOT of experience running it too.
http://www.geocities.com/just_two_more/31CHRIS.html?1119845753671
This thread is more of an overview, with lots of manufactures brochures, photos, whatever.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1168458191
Send photos! You can copy and paste the “direct link” from a free photo host like photobucket.com or you can email em to me at
chriscraftcommander@hotmail.com
Regards, good luck on the project, don’t be a stranger,
Paul
Forum moderator