Nothing wrong with 454s but I think it would be a mistake to not first open them up to inspect the internals , replace gaskets, seals, all hoses , and throw some fresh paint on em. The quote you got to rebuild the 350 is very reasonable as long as the shop is reputable. Either way you go , there will also be a whole host of "while your at it" tasks you'll want to tackle . Perhaps the biggest one would be potentially replacing the original gas tanks while you have access to them .

Once you remove the bad wood ,you've got several choices One of those woukd be to replace it with coosa 26 .

I understand about them catching stuff . If you choose to get rid of the teak it would be wise to glass in the fastener holes from the teak strips or at least fill them. I wouldn't rely on only the synthetic flooring to cover up all those holes.

@Jason Bock Here's are some photos of the one I have. The piece of mahogany it's attached to is just so I could display it upright because I had it at my old shop as nautical decoration...... because I guess I'm a full on boat nerd Contact me if interested at Jeremy@custommarine.biz

No the teak hs no structural value . You can also just re-bed the fasteners that hold the teak on to address the leaks you have .

There are a few different types. They often get a bit stuck in place In a nut shell Most are spring loaded and it is very helpful to push straight down at the joint between the round post and the arm after you have loosened the set screw. With your other hand helping you can wiggle the whole assy. Up off the post while maintaining pressure on that joint to counter act the spring. Some have a hidden set screw under the portion that attaches tobthe shaft. It's accessible by tilting the superficial cover

@Jason Bock I think I might have one for a 31 too. I'll go get some photos

Hap, If interested I do have this one . Its a little different than the one Chris Orphal had but certainly all Chris Craft.

In regards to hoses , while they are capable of funcioning for decades, it is very good safey practice to replace them every 10 years or so. Be sure your surveyor carefully inspects the cast iron original mufflers and exhaust collectors (also referred to as F-pipes) for thin spots and holes. Leaks in the exhaust will quickly fill your bilge with water and also carbon monoxide. Make sure all of your sea cocks operate as they should and that their wooden backer blocks are secure and not decayed. In my own opinion, installing all new sea cocks is a very worth while saftey investment! When replacing the prop shaft packing hoses , be sure to inspect engine alignment . It's very important to be sure the shafts are also not rubbing or too close to the inside diameter of your shaft logs . If mis aligned enough , the shafts will wear thru the logs . This will sink a boat at the dock. Being a liveabord ,Inspect the operation of the air conditioning pump, it's plumbing ,and thru hulls as they are also capable of filling your bilge with endless water. Inspect and service the boats fire suppression and warning systems? Check for frayed, damaged, improperly fused circuts, Check for signs leaks at all thru hull fastenings like trim tabs , swim platform brackets, and transducer. Also beware that old plastic transducers do get brittle over time and do need to be replaced periodically. On the bottom , Contrary to popular belief these boats can and do get blisters . While small ones can be addressed in time , larger ones at least should be repaired when found. Pay close attention to the bores in the hull where the shafts come thru. This is a known trouble spot that sometimes let's water enter the hull laminate. If that boat has not been barrier coated in a long time or ever , It's a very worth while step. On the port side bottom starting fwd of the shaft and I between inboard and outboard stringers , there is an imbeded copper mesh within the frp which was intended as a SSB ground from the factory. If your surveyor isn't aware of it, he may mistake it as an area of abnormally high moisture. While it is possible for water to work is way in this area , it's more than likely fine but will give a moisture meter a false high reading. While theres plenty of other items to look at these are some of the more immediate ones to look at . Hope this helps. -Jeremy

Ofcourse working from above is always nice but it's very likely you may need to replace some of the wood structure on the underside of the side deck before you're able to install a vent tube. The factory design unfortunately allowed water to easily get into the deck structure

Regarding having custom fabricated flange tubes, I am suggesting to still use your existing deck vents (as i did in the example photo) Basically it would be an aluminum tube with a form fit flange that screws to your toe rail within the footprint of your vent .

Hi John Most common blowers use 3 or 4" hose. Dryer exhaust hose works but there are purpose made hoses like this one from Trident https://tridentmarine.com/product/trident-polyduct-481/ A common way to a attach a blower hose is to use one of the beckson deck hose adapters https://www.beckson.com/vent.html Another nice way I've used to attach a blower hose is it glue in a length of fiberglass tube . This method would allow you to use a hose clamp below deck to attach the hose heres a link to centek https://centekmarine.com/products/exhaust-systems/vernatube/ A bit more custom approach is to have custom fabricated hose flange mounts made. Here's an example (sorry it's not on a commander) It's a bit hard to see but if you zoom in you'll see the deck flange inside of this bilge vent. Below the visible deck flange is an aluminum tube that accepts a bilge vent hose Hope this helps.

You certainly could add an inspection cover . There's several off the shelf ones you can pick from , you can also have them fabricated to fit your specific dimensions. Obviously it would only give you access to a small very specific spot. So you would still need to get into the engine room to give a good once over inspection of all other systems before a boat ride. Hydraserch ( more well known as Buck Algonquin) is one such example. https://hydrasearch.com/product/00dp500-bronze-deck-plates/

I recommend contacting paneltronics https://www.paneltronics.com/Power_Distribution_Panels.php?op=Deluxe-and-Premier

Usually that hose is 1 1/4" id

One of the best in the business would be Soundown Here's a photo of it in my engine room I also used their mass loaded vinyl on the back side of my cockpit walls which comes in a tenacious adhiesive backed variant . I used their non adhiesive backed mass loaded vinyl on the engine room side of the bulkhead Over top of the MLV I fit & installed A panel made by Tri Cell which consists of a core made from a mix of crushed cork and rubber in-between layers of marine plywood. This product is used heavily in the construction of brand new Vikings. The regular sound down will reduce airborne noise while the Mass loaded vinyl addresses structural borne noise . Interestingly, a byproduct of sound absorption is heat so it's a good idea to upgrade the blower / ventilation in your engine room too. https://soundown.com/marine-noise-control/ https://www.tricelcorp.com/marine/

Nothing wrong with using the original pulls. He's probably worried they'll sink too far into the carpet when installed. A work around would be to add a plywood spacer under the pull and install with longer fasteners. Or Nothing wrong with the pulls they want to use if you like them

You most likely have a "boss" which is a standard 6" long Here's a screenshot from the duramax website

4200 will work but my preference is bedding compound as its not an adhiesive yet will do a fantastic job of keeping water out. It's also simple to take it apart should you need to https://defender.com/en_us/pettit-dolfinite-bedding-compound?utm_id=143783458262&utm_campaign=19735474067&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_content=649599978904&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1f6X_cCxiQMV_DIIBR2ySgYuEAQYASABEgIHL_D_BwE#76=907 Nothing wrong with threading the hole and using machine screws. If you clean out the holes then fill them with west system epoxy thickened with #406 https://www.westsystem.com/products/406-colloidal-silica/ you'll have no problems threading the hole as 406 works great for this purpose.

On my 35 express I belive the original tanks were 87 gals each . The stickers were not easily visible as they are on the top of the tanks which are hidden by the cockpit floor . I would get a mechanics mirror and flashlight and see if you can find them . they are most likely still there . Congrats on your "new" boat and welcome to the 35 club!