New here, my introduction

Just joined the forum and am looking forward to learning!
My name is Dan and I teach auto shop at a high school in Montana. For a winter project for the kids I bought a 16' Sea Nymph of unknown vintage. It is an aluminum v-hull with a '78 Evinrude 70 hp jet. It has console steering and Johnson remote throttle and shift. I also acquired a '79 Merc. power tilt and trim.
Here is where we are at. Pulled all the seats out to weld up cracks that have showed up and will have a small gash in the keel welded up as well. After that I plan to coat the inside with Gluvit to help seal any leaks we may have around the rivets (is that a good plan?)
After some work with the lathe and welder I think we have the Evinrude engine and Merc. tilt/trim mated together. I now need to find some replacement parts for the tilt/trim as it needs some repair. We will then need to find a starter for the engine as it did not come with one.
This boating stuff is completely new to me (hot rods and motorcycles are where my experience lies) so I am completely excited to learn new stuff...
Again, I know next to nothing about boats so please feel free to offer any advise, criticism, whatever!
Thanks!

Re: New here, my introduction

Hi Dan. Welcome to iboats. Sounds like you're on the right track. Cool Frankenstein E-rude/Merc hybrid motor you've got too. I don't know much about jet drives personally, but I'm curious to see how your project turns out. Good luck!

Re: New here, my introduction

Hi Dan and welcome too! Join the boat, no pun intended, when it comes to restoring and fixing one. Lots of great people here with lots of good advice.

Re: New here, my introduction

Welcome Dan-- sometimes you can find a "donor motor" that is toast but may have usable parts you can use. These are usually found on craiglist for little or no $.
There is a OMC -Johnny'Rude O/B forum here and these folks can realy help ya. Good Luck!