AE-21 Hydrostream, recently acquired, structure and set up questions

[dusty69camaro]

i recently acquired an AE-21 Hydrostream 1989. i'm new to these boats and i'm new to this site as well, so any help and direction on anything is appreciated in advance.

the deck, hull and transom is quite reasonable i think. no stress cracking or obvious signs of weakness except for......: "checker" backing plates for top motor mounts are pulling a bit and (the big one)...agh...driver side stringer is missing from the back forward about 1.5'. it appears to continue from there forward under the floor and "sounds" like it's dry and intact, but i am here asking questions as i have no experience in this arena.

the boat itself weighs 1,500 lbs on scales with half tank of fuel. i'm guessing it's saturated, however there is probably a couple hundred pounds of fuel and i've read somewhere that these boats were 1,200 lbs dry till half way through 1989 where they dropped to 900 lbs. i'm not sure the reliability of this source or how to find out when this hull was made.

the ultimate question is: what am i doing with this boat, what are my options?

1- i feel with my experience (with "regular" boats up to 65mph) i could let sleeping dogs lie and put a 150-200hp on it and use it as a run about all day long on the small lake i'm going to use it on, as is, and be boating SAFE. am i probably correct or totally out to lunch?

2- could i add an extension to the broken stringer and a scab on the side going from old stringer to extension (bolts or screws), glass it in and be SAFE boating going with a bigger motor and running the boat potentially wet and higher speeds (and if i love the boat do a complete structural rebuild later)?

3- is there just no question, the stringer(s) have to be replaced period or the boat isn't safe to run period?

4- if i get a professional to do it, i'm in the kawartha lakes ontario area, what would be a reasonable price to pay to have the stringers and core done to put hull back to "new" and any recommendations on who?

lastly, i apologize for my ignorance. i got this boat as a therapy boat. it was a childhood dream this style and set up. i've been somewhat practical with my other boats. that being said i don't think i can just slap a motor on it and go and play run about. my dream was a go fast boat and i think i'm cheating myself if i don't go all the way, even if i don't use it but twice a season......the impulsive side of me wants to just put the boat in the shop, pull the fuel cell and start cutting the floor back and back to reveal my kinda surprise. copy what i find, get rid of the rot and replace with new to the best of my ability. the reasonable side of me is saying hey, i'll bet somebody has done this before and can help me not waste energy getting this boat safe and dry i.e. where to cut, where all the foam is, what wood to use, fibreglass, where to pay for things and where to do things yourself etc. so i can get on with dreaming and actioning the magic setup recipe...

sorry everyone, i'm looking for the 101, and trying to be more safe now that i have a family. i hope to be a quick study. maybe this isn't even the hull for me...agh...maybe i should just sell it as is...or maybe i should fall in love and get some sweat into the game and own it...

any direction and opinion is appreciated. thank you!