You can find books about restoring a boat or you can follow the links @Scott Danforth offered, from folks who have actually done the work. Hang with the forum and as you dig into the project many here will help you.
Yep, quite a chop job in the helm. While it probably doesn't effect mounting the instruments Ii speaks loudly for the quality of construction.
Be careful you don't cut your hands up messing with it.
Yea I got ya, 5 extra feet makes a huge difference. The cabin in your boat reminds me a lot of mine. The fresh water tank was on the starboard aft of the galley.
