Wow FB, I get to debunk just about every statement you made about inboard vs outboard! lol.
is pretty much the deciding factor for me. Twin power, although ideal offshore, costs a goddamn fortune. And they are pretty much impossible to maintain yourself in the garage, let alone on the water (2 strokes are a little easier but who runs 2’s these days?)...whereas with a mercruiser, you can trouble shoot ect ect. On top of that, for about 600 bucks you can get the mercruiser diagnostic program so you can trouble shoot your EFI system, should any problems come up. As well new inboards have so many safety options...I think the computer will power down to as low as 15% if the motor has a failure and it needs to limp home. Unlike an outboard that says something’s wrong when a piston blows through the hood!
Outboards are actually easier to maintain than inboards. The motors are hanging off the back of the boat with unrestricted access for maintenance and repairs. Maintenance on an outboard consists of changing gear oil, checking and greasing prop shaft, drive shaft and linkages, replacing plugs and fuel filter plus oil changes on 4-strokes. Pretty much exactly the same as on an inboard except the outboards are easier to access! Oh yeah, inboards need their risers and bellows replaced periodically as well.
Also, the vast majority of outboards made after 1995 have a built in feature to slow the motor down in the case of an error code on the computer. OMC called it S.L.O.W. back in the 90's but there are many variants. The newer the outboard the more of these safety features that are in place.
Speaking of working on the motor, I’d much rather diagnose and hopefully repair a problem on the water from INSIDE of my boat, rather than hanging onto the transom, or literally humping the outboard just to keep dry and ‘somewhat’ safe. Yes outboards free up deck space by removing the doghouse, but at the same time you eliminate the option of a swimgrid (which in the case of my boat, has more sq footage than the doghouse occupies so I’m actually GAINING space). Finding parts??? Hell even the local gas station might have Mercruiser parts! Lol. The main parts have been more or less the same for the last 20 years. Finding that new Yamaha or Honda outboard part in a pinch? I wouldn’t be as confident as I would a Mercruiser (or similar) part.
Outboards can be mounted on a combo pod-swim grid. As for repairs on the water, I've had to do many. You're forgetting that an outboard will tilt up all the way so you have direct access to the powerhead from the back on the boat. At least that's how it is on a typical runabout. Might be more difficult on a pod. You're right about the parts but luckily there are marine parts dealers around most docks but not all. I can't really think of a specific part that might easily fail and be replaced that would make the case for an inboard over an outboard.
The technical aspect of twins...you lose 30% of your power (300 in twins will perform similar to a 225 single)...you also spend 30% more on fuel when running a twin. Maintenance is double that of a single, obviously.
The leg of your inboard is easily replaceable, you can even carry a spare at the dock. Blow up the original during the morning bite, and be back on the water for the night bite, so long as you have a socket wrench and a screwdriver.
The 30% power and fuel consumption difference with twins is wrong. As one example, performance tests on a Gulfstream 232 with Yamaha outboards showed 9% more fuel consumption with twins and better performance with twins compared to single engine.
Single 300hp 4-stroke:
Best fuel economy: 2.33 MPG at 29.3 mph. Top speed 43.8 MPH.
Twin 150hp 4-stroke:
Best fuel economy: 2.12 MPG at 33.1 mph. Top speed 45.4 MPH.
Source:
http://gradywhite.com/232/performance_data/
As for upfront cost, you are absolutely right inboards are less expensive than outboards, single or twin. And yes, inboards with FWC provide additional benefits like hot water heating etc. But most of the other variables are actually in favor of the outboards.
As you can see I'm an outboard guy..in fact I run two strokes!
Cheers