I think I recently screwed myself by buying a boat without having someone
with a clue look it over. That being the case, I'm trying to decide just
how badly screwed I am and what I can/should do about it.

The boat in question is a 1990 Bayliner 20' inboard/outboard, with a 5.0L V8
Mercruiser engine. It's obviously a pleasure boat for lakes, not a
seagoing vessel. When I bought it, the previous owner told me that he had
replaced the stock Rochester 2-barrel carburetor with a Holley 4-barrel,
for increased power. That seemed like a nice thing, right?

When I got it home and started really looking into it, I noticed that there
was no spark arrestor on the carb. I also found out that local (Utah)
regulations and basic good sense require a spark arrestor, so I set out
about trying to get one. To do this, I went to a local marine shop.
Because I mentioned the carb was not stock, the owner, a guy named Fred,
wanted to look at it to see what exactly I had, so he could tell me what
part I needed.

Fred's immediate reaction upon looking at the motor was "I will not touch
that, and I wouldn't ride in your boat". The reason? Well, there were
several, but they all boil down to a rather nasty hack job done on the
engine to replace the carb.

First, the carb on the engine is not a marine Holley 4BBL, it's an
automotive Rochester 4BBL, complete with all sorts of vacuum tubes that are
not normally used on marine engines.

Next, Fred questioned the installation of three different fuel lines. The
line from the fuel pump into the carb, which was originally steel, has been
removed and replaced with rubber hose without a hose barb, or even a clamp!
I don't know squat about engines, much less marine engines, but even I
understand that a line that carries pressurized fuel should be a bit more
secure than that. Another line between pump and carb which is yellow in
color and is some kind of overflow line (I didn't get this part very
clearly) is installed in the wrong place, though he says it should work.
The line normally attaches to a fitting on the spark arrestor. Finally,
the line from the fuel tank to the fuel pump is a lightweight plastic
tubing, which Fred says should be something called "A1 marine-grade hose".

Finally, there were various other hoses and wires that had been cut and
plugged or just disconnected and left hanging, because they were for the
previous carb setup and aren't needed for the new one.

Fred's recommendation was this: replace the automotive carb with a
remanufactured Rochester 4BBL with an electric choke (the original 2BBL had
an electric choke, so the lead is there); put a proper spark arestor on it;
replace all of the hoses with the proper types and connect them properly;
and finally get rid of all the blasted vacuum tubes. He said he could do
it for between $800 and $1000, and he says that until it's done, he would
not consider the boat safe.

Now, Fred seems like a pretty straight-up guy, but he also wants to sell me
some stuff, so I'm mildly skeptical. On the other hand, I do *not* want to
take my family out in a boat that is likely to blow up, and it's clear even
to me that there are real problems. The fuel line into the carb, for
example; if that popped loose and started spraying fuel into the engine
compartment, the result could be rather spectacular.

So, my questions to any who care to answer a Is Fred right that the
automotive part is just unsafe and unacceptable? Even if it's safe, are
there other disadvantages? Would it be adequate to merely replace the
hoses with proper ones and install them correctly? Are Fred's prices
reasonable? He's quoting $400-$500 for a remanufactured Rochester 4BBL,
about $100 for the spark arrestor, and the remaining $300-$500 is for hoses
and labor.

Thanks for your input/flames/guffaws (at my foolishness),

Shawn.