yeah, risk in everything. Pay attention to mrnecsteve's coments in my opinion. What the hell... for a 1977, seems like you could expect some trouble with the hull maybe. Newer ones like Sea Ray aren't using ANY wood anymore.... That 4 banger is pretty good on gas. I was out on the St. Croix river last week with a friend on his Rinker 18ft. with that 4 banger. it ran nice and would'a pulled up a skier okay. One ski might be tough on the skier's arms a bit, but... when you're up, you sure don't wanna be goin' 40. 30 is plenty fast for me.
I've got an 85HP merc sittin' in my yard looking for something to do... Outboards seem to hold some value, but the boat I get will likely be a 20' or so with an I/O.... Depends on where you're at...mentally and nautically. Is that water out there "big water"? Will you need to run from storms? Hell, a Kilobuck is like a steep ticket to a pretty cool amusement park...