I'd say comparing both engines new the O/B costs about twice the 350. I'd say that if I don't mind the fuel costs, the yammy gives me twice the usable HP at twice the money.I have had both and prefer the inboard for one reason cost a 300 hp yammy is about 32 grand a 350 chev rebuild is easy maybe 3 grand?
In general I/O's & inboards whether they be gas or diesel used on the type of boats most of us have are marinized car/truck engines. Most of them sit in the bilge in the aft. In rough seas, water in the bilge will slosh around, get into the front pulley's flinging corrosive S/W all around the engine. They are designed to push a highway vehicle at cruising speeds requiring at most 20% of output power most of the time with very brief periods requiring 80% or more of power. I have heard that the load on a marinized road engine at cruising speed in a boat is like driving a road vehicle up at steep hill at 80 MPH. The 350 in my SeaRay would not tolerate much over 4200 RPM.
I don't necessarily agree with your second comment about engine load. The engines used in boats are not quite the same. Its not as simple as pull from a car and drop in a boat. Either way, these 'car' engines are also used in towing applications as well as many different industrial applications and they get run hard in some cases.
There is also a load on outboard motors. They both handle loads just fine.
agreed, no argument at all. Just adding some more first hand experience. Thanks.I wasn't arguing that there is no load. I was taking the angle that the load an inboard motor takes is irrelevant to the argument because its the exact same for an outboard.
would you recommend a I/O to a new boat owner?
I had a 4.3L mpi in my new 2007 3500 lb Maxum 185 and that thing went like all hell and cost pennies to run. Just did regular maintenance on it for the 7 years I owned it. Sold to a guy on the coast and he's now had it for another 6 years with zero issues. Lots of power for the load is what's key I think. Now my 2006 6500 lb Bayliner with a carburated 5.0L had all kinds of issues. Blown valves and dead sensors the list goes on. The guy that owned it prior to me didn't take care of it at all though and you could tell. So yes I would 100% recomend a nice new, well maintained I/O because swim grids are a blast to well, swim off of.Not an old one but newer? Why not?
Would you recommend a boat with a 1993 2 stroke 175 merc with 1709 hours on it to a new boat owner?
I have a friend who isn’t mechanically inclined. He Bought a boat 10 years ago. The motor it came with (175 merc 2 stroke) cooked. So he replaced it with a used 200 2 stroke merc. These are the older ones. Cost him another few g’s after it was mounted. 1 year warranty. 3 years later pooched again. So he now has put a new Merc on the back and with rigging and all that, there’s 22g. In 10 years, this boat has cost him close to 45g, maybe more because every hiccup and the boat goes to a shop. During the same period, I had a 3.0 I/o and it ran flawlessly. Mine was also a ‘93 vintage. My boat cost me virtually nothing in that same time period.
so what’s the answer? I don’t think there is a right answer wmy .I suppose it would depend on how much money someone was prepared to spend. I can’t have 22,000 invested in just a motor, so my I/o gets me out there and catching fish like everyone else at a fraction of the cost.
just an open ended question no right or wrong answer required.