RE: my first boat
By the hull design of your boat it is either a Prather Commander II without a hatch or the Offshore Style Deep Vee. The length of both hulls is 46" x 14" wide.I had the offshore version and it ran slightly over 50 mph with a mild mod Zen 260 in it.A stock Homelite will probably get you between 25 and 30 mph and will make a good boat to learn with. You could cut out the area around the cannister exhaust and plug that hole.It will blow oil all over your boat.Most put two 1/2" stacks on the cannister.You can upgrade the engine as you go along or buy an engine made for boat use.