[CaptMick]

Great question as I was just working on that on my 1985 18'. I just got it a few weeks ago and the engine on it is a Mercury 150 XL or 25".

I know the boat was refit between 2000 and 2002 or 2004. I looked and I do not see that the transom was raised at the time. Nothing inside the ransom looks as though glass work was done to the transom. The motor is not why I bought this boat. The powerhead and bracket serial numbers do not match up and I knew it was a rebuild. The bracket number has the model and the XL but I need to measure to verify the lower unit and midsection (If that is what it is called on a Mercury) are really a 25 inch.

I know it looks like a normal transom and I get water over it like what I remember being a normal transom. I wonder if the transom hight was changed from the Potter years to mine?

I have two reference points to check as I move forward on this. First there is an 18' a friend of mine owns. It is that hull that made me make the decision to buy this one. I grew up working for him and running that boat about 100 days a year. That boat is still in use for the same purpose I used it for in the late 80's and early 90's. I am going to check his out asap.

Second, I just found out from a friend that he knows my hull and the guy that did the refit. They were neighbors when he was doing my boat. He is giving me his contact info this weekend so I can get the scoop on what was done and when.