excited about my first boat..picked a center console just a few q's

[Thechevyman122]

I have decided on a center console/bay boat for the obvious reasons of size, stability, fishability, and specifically looking at ones with people holding capabilities. I am looking at buying a 5-10 year old boat that is well taken care of. My questions are pretty simple and straight forward, also any advice would be appreciated.
1.) If i run it on the lake any boat with the recommended hp motor, should be capable of getting a skier up correct?
2.) how big is too big? I will be running it on lakes and in and out of ************************s not designed for large offshore boats.
3.) who do yall use for aftermarket leaning posts, ttops, jump seats, cooler seats etc? Also who do yall use for upholstery work?
4.) what do yall think about removing the rail around the front of the boat, what do yall fill the holes in with? i was thinking of putting lights around in every mounting point, would be inexpensive and look sweet at night.
5.) can you have too much power? one thing ive thought about doing is buying a boat a little underpowered, getting a decent deal and then repowering it. obviously im a guy and ive got the tim allen syndrome, more power=better. Is there any problem with going 25-50 hp over recommended? not suggested? illegal? any info would be great thanks.

and on this note, when repowering assuming different brand motors need different controls, most motors dont include them and was wondering about how much they cost?
6.) last question, what are things i should look for when buying a boat of this age, obviously compression on cylinders is a must check but what are some other sleeper signs.


Thanks in advance, btw guys, Im only 20, and have been working my ass off and saving for a long time for this, i plan on trying to get a boat at the end of summer when prices come down.

[jmhron]

1) You will have no problem getting a skier up.
2) The size of your motor really depends on the size boat you get and what you want to be doing with it. I would not recommend overpowering your boat as the manufacturer puts those limits based on the structure of the transom. You could put some sort of jack plate on the transom and probably be ok. If you do overpower, don’t go way over the recommended.
3) Taco (tacomarine.com) makes good stuff for what you asked for.
4) Don’t know
5) Your choice
6) I was in a similar situation that you are in about 3 years ago. I was 20 and had saved up for about 4 years to get a boat. I bought a used Promaster 185 with a 150hp Merc Black Max for about 7000. About a year and a half later I blew a piston and the floor of the boat is starting to rot out. My new boat is going to be a brand new boat, and I am just going to have to swallow the cost of the other boat. I am tired of used crap because you never know everything about it until its too late. I don’t mean to scare you, but I suffered a horror story, and it cost me a lot of money.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.