'85 Sceptre, project planning

[Cutiger]

All, I'm excited to have the Sceptre in the driveway waiting on me to get started. Right now, I'm looking closely through the layout and starting to plan the process of getting it back into running condition. I'm trying to read through old threads to get different ideas as I can, it's just very time consuming to go about it that way. If anyone has bookmarked redo threads or discussions that you find particularly applicable or important to this one, please feel free to post up a link.

My goals for this boat are to redo the important, necessary systems to get the boat back on the water. Once that is all completed, I can turn attention to cosmetics as needed and as funds allow. I intend to put together a fishing boat, not a show piece.

My anticipated order of operations:
1. Remove fuel tank to have pressure tested. Proceed as needed based on results
2. Remove remaining fuel system
3. Strip the old wiring
4. Put a battery to these old motors and see what kind of shape they're really in while I'm waiting on fuel tank work.
5. Recore tank hatch, repair bow soft spot, repair old screw holes, nicks, dings, etc.
6. Reinstall tank and all fuel lines
7. Rewire and install electronics
8. Re-rig old or rig new motors

Now, a couple thoughts and questions that immediately come to mind. Some I know have been widely discussed.

If it ends up not taking too much money to get them running fine, I want to run the boat with the old 140s just to get a feel for weight on transom, how the boat runs, etc. That'll let me make the best decision for me on repower choices. But I'm considering the single vs. twins debate. Performance, efficiency, and cost vs. having twins for the really long offshore runs we have out of Charleston. I think the flotation bracket and closed transom is out of the question right now simply due to the cost.

Secondly, battery location. Refer back to engine debate. With a single, keep them in the transom corners. With twins move them forward, but to where? I haven't identified a good place for 3+ (2 starting and a house minimum) batteries for a twin engine setup.

Really I just need to make these two particular decisions before I start installing the new fuel system and the electrical. Feel free to weigh in on order of operations, the engine and battery debates, or any other suggestions of things to pay particular attention to. Or don't weigh in at all, sometimes it helps to type it all out and have a conversation with myself like a crazy person