I had 2 - one for the ocean - and one w an impeller for the river. Generally as reliable as any vehicle engine - because that's what they are. And they were out on the market before the 4-stroke outboards became so prevalent & kinda took over. But... access is most often an issue w cooling and exhaust pipes in the way. Different models better or worse I imagine. Oil changes can be a pain for the newer ones. And winterizing is more complex. The weight distribution is better - don't need a pod. Pros & cons as SV stated.
Inboard/Outboards Vs Outboards
- Thread starter Stizzla
- Start date
cracked_ribs
Well-Known Member
I can't say I have any love for the I/O but I've also been treated fairly well by mine.
Five years, five hundred hours, very little effort on maintenance. I did seal up the 280 leg after the first year, which was a fair bit of work. But other than that, it's just been simple consumables. I did swap out the exhaust manifolds after about three or four years. But that's easy. I replaced the starter for $40 when Amazon had a sale on the one I needed. Took about half an hour. I replaced the u-joints last year. Took an evening or so.
Last year it sat in the salt for half the year and I commuted to work in it every day.
The only thing that's ever gone seriously wrong was that the heat exchanger froze on me and burst. It cost $50 to fix at a rad shop.
Anyway I'd pod the boat if I had a pile of time and money but I can't justify it because it just runs and runs and runs. And the iron belly sure settles her down in the water.
What I don't like, aside from the power to weight ratio, is that in following areas it has a bit of a feeling like the boat will get overtaken and swamped. That's never even come close to happening, but it feels almost overly planted in the water at times.
But it's a 215hp 5.0 litre and will probably turn at 3200 RPM for another thousand hours if I want it to.
Anyway in conclusion, I think if you get a screaming deal on an I/O, and sometimes you can, it can be totally worth the trade-offs.
Five years, five hundred hours, very little effort on maintenance. I did seal up the 280 leg after the first year, which was a fair bit of work. But other than that, it's just been simple consumables. I did swap out the exhaust manifolds after about three or four years. But that's easy. I replaced the starter for $40 when Amazon had a sale on the one I needed. Took about half an hour. I replaced the u-joints last year. Took an evening or so.
Last year it sat in the salt for half the year and I commuted to work in it every day.
The only thing that's ever gone seriously wrong was that the heat exchanger froze on me and burst. It cost $50 to fix at a rad shop.
Anyway I'd pod the boat if I had a pile of time and money but I can't justify it because it just runs and runs and runs. And the iron belly sure settles her down in the water.
What I don't like, aside from the power to weight ratio, is that in following areas it has a bit of a feeling like the boat will get overtaken and swamped. That's never even come close to happening, but it feels almost overly planted in the water at times.
But it's a 215hp 5.0 litre and will probably turn at 3200 RPM for another thousand hours if I want it to.
Anyway in conclusion, I think if you get a screaming deal on an I/O, and sometimes you can, it can be totally worth the trade-offs.
dmurph
Well-Known Member
I think a lot of people have negative opinions regarding inboards based mostly on older beaters, a newer inboard can be pretty nice I think they are much more reliable these days. They are quite a bit cheaper new compared to a outboard. I think the older outboards were quite reliable and not as ridiculous in price, seems like I hear of lots of very expensive outboard issues these days. The doghouse isn’t always that bad, I don’t mind mine I store a food cooler on it and can still stand on it to play fish. I store my giant Costco cooler on the swim grid, which would have to be on deck if out boards were on the back. Access can be a problem for the inboard as they are bellow deck in a tight space often. I’m not all about inboards but in the right boat for the right price don’t let it be a deal killer. Outboards are nice but you usually pay for that, they are very quiet these days lots have trolling options often easier to connect steering to the kicker. Generally when I’m looking/ dreaming boats I don’t consider the older inboards, I want newer low hour Where I would consider older outboards with a bit more hours. On a smaller boats I think outboards make more sense space wise also
Wise advice indeed, dmurph - thx for sharing
ReelSlim
Crew Member
First and foremost you will have to decide what the main use of the boat will be. Unless you are buying 3 boats (which I totally recommend...lol) there will be some trade offs with both options. My first boat actually was an inboard. It was a 1991 Bayliner 2755 that I bought in 97ish. A low hour boat and as young guy with a good job I fancied myself boating around the gulf islands and fishing in the summer months. After a few summers I moved to the Island and remembered what I already knew that I was a fisherman not a pleasure boater as much. It was a larger boat that got pulled each year for maintenance. My first experience wasn’t so good. After a few days to bottom paint etc I had the marina use the crane to put the boat back in the water. I drive it to my slip and turned off the 5.7 Mercruiser to hear the sound of water pissing in. I learned the hard way that the bellows will dry out and need replacing. Once it cracks water will leak through the tattle tale hole. Who knew??? So back out it came for more yard time and repairs that I had to learn to do. In 2003 I had finally come to my senses and bought a more fishy boat...a new 2003 Malibu 182 with Honda power. No more moorage and no more inboard! Lol. A great boat with high gunnels and did 80% of what I liked to do. As a die hard fishermen and really enjoyed my offshore days which the Malibu handled well but I wanted a bit more boat under me for some days. Well on to 2008 when I quickly sold my Malibu and ordered a 21’ Seaswirl Striper when the CAD was $1.04 US...got a good price! This boat had Yamaha power and was a great rig for 10 years and did 90% of everything I wanted for those years. Although a bigger boat than my Malibu and even rode bigger than it’s 21’ the cockpit space always had me wanting more. I actually sold that boat for $5000.00 less than I paid for it so pretty good for 10 years I’d say? So fast forward to 2018 (And so it begins) and some know the rest...lol. Again back to how you want to use the boat in the end. But my vote for my lifestyle is outboards for sure and podded if possible. If you buy a 21’ boat it’s nice to have the space of 21’ not 17.5’ or whatever it may be. Just my thoughts again based on my experiences over the years. There are no bad boats as long as you get to enjoy them. On a side note while I was in my slip this summer tying some gear I happened to look up and both of my last two boats were waiting for fuel....a perfect photo op! Lol. The owner of the Malibu wasn’t who I sold it to so I’m sure he thought I was nuts when I took the picture. Maybe I am?!!
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Stizzla
Crew Member
Amazing story!
MadJigga
Well-Known Member
That’s pretty cool!
dmurph
Well-Known Member
Was just looking at inlet marine web site, some pretty good pricing on outboards, I may be off a bit as it’s been along time since I looked at pricing. The one real nice thing with outboards is the fact that they are one contained unit, not so many separate components to worry about like lower unit/ transom assembly, motor and all the stuff attached to it. Less worry of fire or sinking from impact. If money was not an issue I would choose outboards on a new boat, power on my boat is always on the back of my mind, I’ve repowered once. Damn you Stizzla, now you’ve got me day dreaming new out board podded on the ol Solowey lol
turbomack
Well-Known Member
I have had nothing but inboard powered boats for the last 40 years, The most recent was a diesel Shamrock Mackinaw. Oil changes were a breeze as it had an electric pump out system for the main and generator,reversible so you could pump the new oil in also. Very easy to work on as the builder left room to get around the engine, not a lot of maintenance really needed, zincs in closed loop cooling system and oil and filters. I guess if you were to hit something and pull the shaft out of the boat it would be a stressful couple of minutes while finding something to plug the shaft hole but at 2" diameter easy to get a rag pounded in. I have always been pretty vigilant about not hitting things in the water and would happily run it as far offshore as needed to find warm water. If properly maintained and operated the Yanmar/Toyota engine will provide 7-10,000 hrs. of service life, a life time of recreational boating really. My next boat will be a 28 X 7 centre console Panga with twin Suzuki outboards, I'm hopeful that they will serve me until I'm to old to chase fish.
MadJigga
Well-Known Member
Your last Shamrock was a different beast then what Stizzla was looking at though. It was a beauty
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Another negative about inboard/outboards is the leg. Another source of problems and maintenance - more than outboard. Give me an outboard or an proper inboard (like on a Shamrock), but an inboard/outboard is the worst of both worlds IMHO. Not worth it now that outboards are up to 400 and beyond HP. There is a reason why more new boats under 30 ft. being built are now being powered with outboards than ever before.
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Very true
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
hahaha fail to do the maintenance and they will be like a Ronson "lights first every time"
rockdog
Well-Known Member
I like the I/O set-up. I'm very mechanically inclined and do all my own maintenance and repairs when needed. I've run I/O for the last 14 years on 3 different boats. Not one has ever left me stranded. Bellows and such are easy peazy on an Alpha 1 gen II drive. Do those every 5 years or so. 6 bolts basically and the drive is off. I have only had Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen II, and its all I would ever have because they are so common parts are everywhere. Plus, its what I know.
Oil changes - of course it can be a pain but if you add a 3/8" hose and fitting to the drain plug, then a cap at the other end, its easy to do. All I do when its oil change time is feed the hose through the hull drain plug, get a bucket, remove the cap and walk away. Come back in an hour and reverse order, change the filter and add the new oil.
The big thing for me was replacement cost. If I ever needed to, new long blocks are not very expensive compared to re-powering with a new outboard of equivalent power. I haven't had to at this point, but it gives me a sense of security that if I had to, I won't break the bank.
The modern I/O if well looked after, will give the owner many years of trouble free service. The key is look after it, stay on top of it.
I can pull the motor in short order and it is easy to do.
They get a bad wrap I think because there were a lot of older I/O's that sat for a long time or had zero maintenance for years. Then it became someone else's problem and to fix everything on a rusty old motor is a nightmare. Just like buying an old car that hasn't had sqwat done to it in years, and being pissed off because you tried to get to Duncan and it broke down. I see posts about certain Yamaha outboards that have corrosion issues, or $30k verado's with super charger problems, others say stay away from such and such manufacturer and the list goes on there. My current 4.3 and alpha 1 gen II hasn't changed for years, there is gobs of info on the net and parts are literally everywhere. It's very well supported and I'd much rather have that that an old 2 stroke outboard or one of the other outboards that have major issues.
Anything goes wrong with the motor, misfire or whatever, troubleshooting is easy and does not require a shop to scan.
Yes there is a doghouse, but it causes me no grief. I see some outboard hulls have a large motor wells that protrudes into the boat, so I don't know why that's good but the doghouse is bad? Seems like same same to me. Except no big motor hanging off the back so more room to bring in a fish or play fish.
The I/O vs OB debate kind of really only seems to be an issue here. Go to the interior or down south in Florida and its totally reversed. The majority there are I/O. I belong to a few different forums and most run I/O in those areas.
My buddy podded his boat last year and bought a brand new Merc 150 outboard for it. Maybe 11 hours on it and he had to get towed in from whirl bay a month ago because it wouldn't start. So, just because you spend 20g on a new outboard doesn't mean you are immune from mechanical problems. He wasn't very happy.
Just my thoughts and perspective from a happy I/O owner.
Oil changes - of course it can be a pain but if you add a 3/8" hose and fitting to the drain plug, then a cap at the other end, its easy to do. All I do when its oil change time is feed the hose through the hull drain plug, get a bucket, remove the cap and walk away. Come back in an hour and reverse order, change the filter and add the new oil.
The big thing for me was replacement cost. If I ever needed to, new long blocks are not very expensive compared to re-powering with a new outboard of equivalent power. I haven't had to at this point, but it gives me a sense of security that if I had to, I won't break the bank.
The modern I/O if well looked after, will give the owner many years of trouble free service. The key is look after it, stay on top of it.
I can pull the motor in short order and it is easy to do.
They get a bad wrap I think because there were a lot of older I/O's that sat for a long time or had zero maintenance for years. Then it became someone else's problem and to fix everything on a rusty old motor is a nightmare. Just like buying an old car that hasn't had sqwat done to it in years, and being pissed off because you tried to get to Duncan and it broke down. I see posts about certain Yamaha outboards that have corrosion issues, or $30k verado's with super charger problems, others say stay away from such and such manufacturer and the list goes on there. My current 4.3 and alpha 1 gen II hasn't changed for years, there is gobs of info on the net and parts are literally everywhere. It's very well supported and I'd much rather have that that an old 2 stroke outboard or one of the other outboards that have major issues.
Anything goes wrong with the motor, misfire or whatever, troubleshooting is easy and does not require a shop to scan.
Yes there is a doghouse, but it causes me no grief. I see some outboard hulls have a large motor wells that protrudes into the boat, so I don't know why that's good but the doghouse is bad? Seems like same same to me. Except no big motor hanging off the back so more room to bring in a fish or play fish.
The I/O vs OB debate kind of really only seems to be an issue here. Go to the interior or down south in Florida and its totally reversed. The majority there are I/O. I belong to a few different forums and most run I/O in those areas.
My buddy podded his boat last year and bought a brand new Merc 150 outboard for it. Maybe 11 hours on it and he had to get towed in from whirl bay a month ago because it wouldn't start. So, just because you spend 20g on a new outboard doesn't mean you are immune from mechanical problems. He wasn't very happy.
Just my thoughts and perspective from a happy I/O owner.
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Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Yup if you like doing lots of maintenance get an i/o. Ok if you like/can do it yourself. If not, then better to avoid to save you time and $ IMHO. For many this issue comes down to personal experience and choice and who can argue much about that.
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
There both the same in maintenance costs. Different animals. Each have ****** things about them. If you don't take care of stuff it breaks.
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