Yeah, long time ago. Been back a couple of times, and fun to try and picture what it was (and difficult to do). Since then, I did quite a bit of boating in small runabouts on pretty big water, and understand the concern about following seas. My bigger fear, though, was being stranded without power, particularly in a shipping lane -- having no control when weather or traffic got dicey. I even put a kicker on the inboard I fish with these days, partly because it's quieter and slower for trolling, but partly because I still have the get-me-home thing going. And I'm in NY on one of the finger lakes -- not that big by comparison.
That cap you are going to have built sounds pretty well-designed. And given the generous horsepower rating for your hull, the weight increase with the new motor shouldn't be an issue IMO. It's a beefy hull. And you can always add splash well shields if you want. I would want a kicker of course, regardless of other considerations.
Anyway, it sounds like a nice rig and a good repower. Would like to see some pics when you get to it.
(By the way, my S-10 is still doing the job too!)
