When I replaced the tank in mine, I spent probably 10 hours trying to dig out the tank from the foam (there was about a 1/2" gap on one side and 1/8" on the other). After 10 hours of busted knuckles, I took a sawzall and finished the job in under an hour. Of course you'll need to buy a new tank after that. Mine ('89) looked better on top than yours, and there was quite a bit of pitting on the sides and bottom.
I don't like batteries in the bilge. Too many things to go wrong. Same with oil tanks. Even if nothing happens offshore, forgetting to pull the plug when on the trailer could cause/cost you major problems.
I'm going to be doing a full tear down on my Sceptre, and that large bilge area will become storage or a fishbox (with a small bilge behind it). Too much real estate there for that tiny livewell. If you do cut out that livewell, you may need to recore the hatch. When I had mine off, it looks like they counted on the livewell to add stiffness.
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