[fatalbert]

thanks guys. I just went and measured, it takes a 30" shaft.

the suzukis are 85's and have @ 350 hrs, new rings and they'd be good to go for awhile, but my issue is weight/economy. The previous owner removed the in deck livewell and installed an extra 50 gal gas tank(60 miles to the stream), thus putting more weight astern. When I saw the waterline on the transom, it scared the shit out of me. I've pulled more than one (never a seacraft) off the bottom of our canals that were ass-heavy. The bracket/full transom sounds OK, but I'm going for that original look if I can help it. It looks like the "new" motor will be a '99 Merc. 250 EFI w/ 50 hrs. Another deal I couldn't pass up. At least the blue stickers on the Merc will match the hull. If all goes without incident, I'll only have about $10K in the COMPLETE package if I don't sell my other boat and go crazy with this thing. Sight unseen, what do you guys think, good deal or not.