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Installing a second hatch above the galley is a little more involved than installing a vent.  I was considering installing a hatch there but the deck is not flat and it would be a significant amount of work to make it look good so I haven't yet. maybe this yr.  I have a vent above my galley but the vent is not very watertight.  When I have green water over the deck water drips down onto my stove.  The solar vents with fan cost about 220 bucks but you can buy a nice lewmar vent for about 40, that closes to be water tight.  I would definately look at the lewmar vents.

I think you might have just stated your proplem.  Your NEW speed log may need calibration,  when I first installed my new knot meter I was gettin readings over a knot below my actual speed.  Have a look into that before you start calling marine engineers because that sounds expensive!!

My 8.5 foot dinghy will fit on the foredeck however it weighs about 80 pounds and there is no room up there when i haul it on deck.  I bought it brand new in november 2004 off ebay from a supplier in the USA for $650.  It was made by mercury quicksilver with a plywood floor and 5 yr warranty.  No problems whatsoever so far.  They do make a smaller model but i think any smaller would be too small and you could not transport more than 2 people in it.

I don't think there is an instruction manual for a old boat.  Maybe if you buy a brand new production boat it might come with an instruction manual but with an old boat you have to learn through experience and other peoples experience.

The room factor up near the head is lacking a bit i would say.  I don't think I would want to be stuck with the job of cooking up in that tight spot.

Propane is the best fuel in my opinion (well CNG I would prefer but it is impossible to refill anywhere).  The only proplem is that it is heavier than air but if you build a proper propane system there is no problem.  I would rather be blown up by my propane system then watch my alcohol stove burn my boat down slowly while my water still has yet to boil.

I use cetol light on all my wood and i really like it for a couple different factors.  First of all, I think it looks very good.  It may not look as good as freshly varnished wood but after a couple of months the varnish wears a lot more then the cetol.  The cetol is super easy to apply and reapply.  I can redo all the bright work on my boat in about 1 hour and I do it once at the start of the season to make it nice for the season adn then again in the fall to protect it from the harsh wet winter weather.  If part of the finish gets damaged from excessive wear or fenders rubbing etc. with a quick hand sanding and a couple fresh coats of cetol it is impossible to see the repair, unlike with varnish which is super hard to touch up.  With regular maintenence(2 coats per yr) the wood shouldn't have to be scraped down to bare wood for a long time.

The nonskid has been painted but the rest of the deck is still gelcoat.  I renewed the gelcoat with rubbing compound and wax which worked very well.  I thought it needed to be painted at first but my friend who owns a marine store suggested heavy duty rubbing compound and wax which turned out a lot easier and probably gave a better result. 

I don't think it was ever listed on yachtworld, I bought it 2 days after it was listed on buysell.com but it is possible that it was on yachtworld in november 2004.

Those pictures are from the day I was buying it.  They are very out of date and a lot of things have been changed since they were taken, including the shorepower.  The power cord was coming in through the chain pipe and ran through the anchor locker to a heater on the floor.  It was a very low budget system.  There is now a proper shorepower plug and breaker panel with built in plugs which makes  the surveyer a lot happier!!!(he was not a big fan of the old setup)

Have you ever sailed before cole?  If you have then you would know why you would put a dodger on.  I would consider the dodger on my boat propably the most important part of gear.  With no dodger, when sailing with winds above about 8 knots you are goin to get wet and cold.  I personally would rather be dry and warm under the shelter of my dodger than be sitting out in the open cold wet cockpit.  There is a reason why 95 % of cruising boats have dodgers maybe you just need to experience the cold first hand.  If you are sailing in the tropics a dodger probably is not nescary but anywhere else it is pretty much mandatory if you want to do any serious sailing.

I have never used the dickenson solid fuel heater but I have a friend who owns a marine chandlery and I spend a lot of time in there and he has sold lots of them to people who do not have propane on there boat or are on a tight budget.  He says he has had nothing but positive feedback from customers who have bought them.  He has a working display in his store with one mounted beside the equivalent dickenson propane heater and they both seem to give off good heat.  There is no fan in the wood stove so the heat doesn't travel as well but you could always install a fan beside the stove.  If I didn't have propane on my boat and I was shoping for a heater I would personally go for a diesel fired heater but since they are about 3 or 4 times the price of the solid fuel heater it seems like it would be a pretty good alternative.