Ryan,

Contratulations on getting the boat home. Definitely keep the hull graphics - but then they'd be hard to get rid of. The design is not vinyl nor paint - it's gelcoat and goes all the way to the glass. The boat is one of three with a similar design, all originally owned by Jim Howard (he and his son David currently sail the other two and look forward to seeing yours back on the water). Jim always said that Frank put the lightning bolt on upside down, so we called it the pterodactal boat.

The cheapest tiller extensions can be found at HomeDepot/Lowes in the paint department mislabeled as handles for paint rollers. Before you buy one, though, try the rabbit-ears tiller. It is very easy to use. The only drawback is that it's not long enough to use on the trapeze.

Regards,
Eric