Voltage Regulator

[msbhammer]

Hello all,
New to this site and to the boating world, other then rolling off the side and diving the wrecks along Delaware and Maryland.
I just purchaesed a 1986 Wellcraft V-20 off of E-Bay.
The motor is an older 1986 Black Max. I noticed a small black box in front of the motor that had a white and red wire. I had two engine guys, oops, I mean three guys look at it and nobody seems to know what it is. Today while on E-Bay I seen the same part, it appears to be the voltage regulator. The boat starts and runs, so what the purpose of this. Do I need to have it replaced ?
Thanks,
Mike.