I just bought my first boat. It's an aluminum 1975 14 foot Springbok Runabout with a 1997 Johnson 40 HP. When I tried it out on the lake it was very sluggish, boat ran very bow high, and didn't seem to be able to get up on plane. The motor revved fine with no load but seemed to bog or load up when in gear. I had hoped to run it for the summer before tearing into it but it is not acceptable as it is. The previous owner had replaced the floor with pressure treated plywood and the transom wood was replaced with a 2x4 and a 2x6 stacked on top of each other - also pressure treated. Then to accommodate the long shaft Johnson they then fabricated a 3 inch plywood extension on the top of the transom cap. I asked what was under the floor and he said "Oh the original pour in foam is still there." The day after I got home from the lake I pulled up a section of the deck and sure enough it was the original foam complete with 40 years worth of water. No wonder performance was awful. So it seems a full rebuild is in order. Thanks to the members of i-boats I have some idea how to proceed but I'm sure I'll have questions as I go along. Thanks in advance.