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I am a little perplexed by this notching issue. Judging by the year of your boat you have a smirked hull introduced in 1979 (year of my 22' Revenge). I have an extremely low transom. It was a Whaler feature that made the boat "self bailing". The top of my transom is about 5" above the deck (not exact without measuring but you get the idea) yet I still had a 1981 2"thirsty"5 hp. Johnson with a 25" shaft. Some of the low transoms in that hull were by design. Actually a pretty slick feature I would have to use on occasion. To the chagrin of passengers. Also, I would be a little concerned about sand blasting. I know the Guardian is a heavier built hull than mine but when doing drain tubes.....my shell about 1/8" thick give or take.
Garris