I have to say, I really appreciate your content, right now...I am about to take the plunge on my first boat and realize a life long dream...as a Marine, I am very familiar with the water, boating, and seamanship...never having had to maintain or pay for one, though, is another matter! I appreciate all the tid bits of information, a guy like me is always hunting for when starting something brand new. Quick, concise, and straight to the meat of the matter. Thank you for educating me and filling in the civilian blanks. Semper Fi
Think this is a great video for most people. For those who say it's too "high level" I would say they are more of a technical person and these videos are geared towards them. Well done!
If you are buying a pleasure boat for water sports or just cruising. Then I think a inboard/outboard boat would work for most people. But get the size that fits your needs. My family size was 4 person. So I bought a 17.5' 3.0-4 cylinder i/o. It's great on fuel and easy to maintain for the diy person. I have had mine since 1997 with no mechanical issues. A year ago I pulled the sparkplugs and looked into the cylinder bores with a scope. You could see that the cylinder walls still had the cross hatch in them and the top of the pistons had little carbon buildup. I was very pleased. We only use it during the warmer seasons and winterize it during the off season. The key is to winterize it correctly. I can tell you what I do for winter storage. Now if you want a fishing boat, a outboard motor is the way to go, since you will use it throughout the year. They say boats are money pits, but like an automobile. If you maintain it correctly and don't abuse it, it will last for years.
Well done video that covered the basics. I’ve owned both and prefer outboards. For many years, I complained that manufacturers were not building what I wanted; an outboard bow rider more than 18 feet long. Man, has that changed in the last few years. Now, everyone is making big, outboard powered bow riders. Part of the reason was that stern drives were cheaper to build and to buy. That has changed as emission laws have required expensive changes to stern drives. Obviously, a stern drive is more useful in fresh water if you are swimming off the boat; unobstructed big swim platform is superior. But that is the only advantage. I got stuck with a huge repair bill after less than five years when I had to replace the Volvo out drive; I still don’t know why it failed. I use my boat occasionally in salt water, and now that I’m retired, I use it more hours in salt during Florida winter trips. Glad I now own an outboard. I no longer worry about being sure my boat is winterized by October 15th. If I don’t have access to a lift in Florida, at least I can raise the entire motor out of the salt. Makes it a lot easier to flush the engine. Outboards are better for beaching or anchoring in shallow water; no guessing if you are two shallow. I also like instantly knowing which direction my prop is pointing when backing; a quick glance to the stern tells me. A lot of people still own stern drives, even in salt water, so they can’t be that bad. But, even as a non-fisherman who uses my boats primarily to just hang out, I prefer the outboard, primarily because I take it to salt water.
Hi Shaun, good general comparisons. I live in the inland Pacific Northwest For the general boater, your advice is good. We have a good number of people who fish year round, I'm one of them. I was taught many years ago, especially in the winter, that OBs are better. That's because it's easier to flush out all the water in the system as you don't want to have water in the motor when its 0° outside or you can kiss your engine goodbye. Just my 2 cents worth
We wakeboard and love having a swim deck on the back of the boat. The extra weight is needed and wake shaping is an option. Therefore I/O is the only option for us. Better and safer. Btw: we always run our blower.
@@AB-bg1or Well that was probably the whole issue, You should not have a car motor in a boat! Huge difference between automotive Chevy 350 and a marine Chevy 350! As long as you’re properly maintain them I/Os are great!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 SBC, no matter what you do to it, is still a car motor. Yes, marinized for boats, but still a car motor. If it’s your cup of tea, have at it. I say no thanks.
There is an article that compares all 3 types in an exact glastron, jet, outboard, I/o. The outboard was better overall. You can find it on line. Good read.
Your right to a point. All outdrives I've seen are aluminum with cast Iron engines but mine is freshwater cooled so the only exhaust manifold contacts the raw (possibly salt) water. Depending upon the use, my exhaust manifold last over 10 years. Though they are not cheap. (V-P is very proud of theirs. $) The key thing is to flush the system after every use. One benefit of mine is that I can service the impeller from inside the boat. I've done that a couple of times.
@@satunnainenkatselija4478 Owning a tailorable I/O I've always used "muffs" to flush the motor after each use. I also used them to warm the motor before heading to the ramp. (the neighbors loved me in the wee hours of the mornings) I finally started using a large reinforced plastic storage box. It works and I saves a lot of water. I just monitored the engine temperature while flushing it. This I/O setup has a freshwater cooled system. Where the raw (salt) water goes through a small heat exchanger and then pumped into the exhaust manifold. I've had to replace the manifold twice in 40 years. Not too bad.
@@satunnainenkatselija4478 the engine will have less problems if you flush it. Do you need to do it every single time? Probably not, but I wouldn't not do it in salt water.
Great video to introduce new prospective owners to this conundrum. However two issues not really touched on -Performance characteristics and shallow drive (not just docking). Outboards have a much higher performance characteristic than IO but IO cruiser much better, and outboards will generally speaking drive shallower which is why almost every freshwater fishing boat has outboards.
I bought a new 1997 Maxum 17.5 foot with the 3.0 LX I/O for 10K. It has been a great boat for all these years. I still own the boat. No major issues all these years. Just general maintenance which I do myself.
What size prop do you use? I have the same boat but mines a 2002 and I have a 14.5 x19 pitch aluminum propeller 4 blade. I’m thinking of going down to a 17 pitch for better acceleration and handling. I have a 21 pitch but I didn’t like the performance.
@@ozelot250 I'll have to check. Can't remember. I have a stainless steel prop now that I installed after the first year that I owned it. I'm in Arkansas this week with the boat. Will be driving home in the morning.
The options with an inboard engine is gas/petrol or diesel. Diesel engines produce more torque, are more fuel efficient. Diesel has a much longer storage life and the risk of fire or explosion is greatly reduced. Over the years diesel outboard engines have been slowly coming to the work boat market - not really designed for pleasure craft because of weight. I hope this helps. Cheers
There are some diesel outboards available now. The one I saw going down the interstate was an OXE brand mounted on a ribb boat. I had to do a "double take" as I was passing it. Just Googling I also see Merc. makes a 3.0 liter and of course Yanmar and Perkins have them.
Good comparison! I've owned boats since old enough to and have had both. For maintenance reasons, I am not a fan of sterndrives kept in a saltwater slip. Sterndrives may open up the option of diesel power (Volvo Penta has a lot of experience with this). Some outboards may offer Japanese technology and build quality which can be very good. Outboards can cost a lot to repower whereas the marinized automotive engine on a sterndrive setup may be rebuilt for a lot less if a common GM or Ford engine. I personally find the modern outboard to be quite reliable and a better overall choice if the type of boat lends itself to OB power. Of all the choices I like a shaft inboard the best but few trailerable (non-wakeboard/ski) boats offer this now. I have a 22ft Boston Whaler with outboard power. A sterndrive might defeat the capabilities of such a boat since if swamped it can easily dewater without submerging the engine. Whaler tried sterndrives a long time ago and gave it up. If in the future electric power ever becomes a cost-effective option in the 150 to 300hp range an outboard would just bolt to the transom.
Your comment about the cost to repower is true but so long as you don't take into account the cost of pulling the engine. If you are capable of doing it yourself - well then that makes a big difference but take it to a shop and compare the cost of repowering an IO and an outboard and the labor costs of the IO pretty much negate the additional cost of the outboard.
I think outboards will become increasingly popular as they have become so much better than they used to be. In the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s, outboards were always two-stroke, meaning they were loud, smokey, and didn't have the best reliability. They were also not very powerful. You had to go to an inboard/outboard to get respectable power and a more reliable four-stroke engine. Since outboards are now four-stroke and much more powerful, they can be used on a lot more boats than they used to.
I am a Chinese，as far as I know, in China‘s offshore, the inboard/outboard(sterndrive) might be better than outboard for fishing man, because there are lots of broken fishing net abandoned in the sea, so I am looking for a surface drive, which can avoid the problem, but surface drive is always very expensive, for example, SDS Twindisc. So I payed a lot of time to look for more reasonable ones. And finally, I found one, the company is called UKS, you may not hear about this before, as well as me, but after I get to their factory, they just have built their first product, a surface drive, and also follow them to the offshore to test it, wow, I believe you may not imagine the speed and sound, the used the surface drive let the old fishing boat fly like a racing boat, they said if I want to buy their surface drive, I need to wait for a time, they still have lot of work to do. I think it is worthy to wait, because this surface drive is better and cheaper.
Inboard outboard owner here. I feel like with these engines, you really have to be pro active and replace parts before they go, especially if you do not want to do any engine damage. I feel, for the most part, you have a good idea of how long a lot of these parts will last you on average.
I own a 150 Hp mercury on a Lund and alpha one on my proline. As someone that owns both to repair urself the inboard is easier as it’s essentially a Chevy engine that someone that mechanically inclined can fix like working on your truck
Hi Shaun, thanks for the video. One thing I rarely see mentioned in the outboard vs I/O discussion is the cost of repairs. When I compare the prices for a Mercury Marine product protection plan (what some people call a extended warranty) on a 250 HP outboard vs a 250 HP inboard/outboard. I find that the outboard costs twice as much. This makes me think an outboard will breakdown twice as often, cost twice as much to repair or last half as long? Do you think that these new outboards will have the longevity and reliability that I/Os have?
This guy's assessment for repairability was completely wrong. Outboards are near impossible to work on in the water. They need to be dry. A sterndrive can easily be opened and worked on while in the water. Outboards parts are more specialized, causing them to be more compact. The inboard engines on sterndrives are more "like a car engine" (as he stated) and parts are cheaper. As far as reliability goes, it has nothing to do with whether it's an inboard motor or an outboard, nor the manufacturer. All manufacturers make ones that have poor reliability, and ones that have great reliability. It's like cars. Ford produced a motor for their diesel F series super duty trucks, and it was a did riddled with inherent systemic issues. Peachtree made an engine with systemic issues. BMW did too. But they all also produced ones with excellent reliability. So it's more specific to the model rather than the manufacturer.
First, if we’re comparing modern outboard to modern Inboard / outboard, there is really nothin the IO does better than the outboard. New outboards burn less gas, perform better and are every bit as quiet. I’ve had both and I promise you that there is nothing good about an inboard / outboard. You forgot the most important con. If your blower fan fails or you forget to run it, or even a minor gas line leak, your inboard / outboard WILL cause the boat to explode when you try to start it. If that’s not enough to steer you away here are a few more. They aren’t a little heavier, they’re a lot heavier. The same or even a little less horse power outboard will always out perform an IO. Because car engines were not designed to run at high RPM for prolonged periods like boats do, they will not last as long as an outboard that was designed for that. Try running an IO with the out drive tilted up like you need for shallow water and you learn quickly how expensive gimbal bearing replacement is. If you run in salt water, you’ll be replacing manifolds and risers every couple years. The parts alone are over $1000. The IO system takes the expensive parts from an inboard and uses several bearings and universal joints to marry it to the most expensive part of an outboard. Great system if you like constant maintenance. The only reason anyone would buy an IO is because the initial cost is cheaper than an outboard. That’s a mistake you’ll kick yourself for later. Happy motor boating. 😃
cbs645 you are so spot on there!!!! I had 1 inboard for 13 years and the last 5 or 6 years of it broke my heart with maintenance! Anybody thinking should make huge efforts to get an outboard as you say - only person that’ll recommend an inboard is some boat dealer looking to expand his workshop!!! Will never go back again
I'm on my 12th boat. 8 outboard and 4 I/O's. The choice 100% comes down to application. For a family or pleasure boat, i don't want an outboard. Pure and simple. Kids love jumping off the back swim platform, hanging out and just having fun. I/O's are excellent for that. The comment about running with trim up - any outdrive made since 1995 (SX-M drive era) can run drive up at idle without issue for short periods of time to get off sand bars. Shoot, Volvo Penta even mentions that in their manual. Gimbals aren't cheap to replace at a shop but cheap and pretty easy to do on your own. You can't make a comment about cost of replacing a gimbal bearing though without commenting on cost to work on a modern outboard! That's NOT cheap either! I certainly prefer outboards for fishing. The ability to bring the drive completely out of the water is important. And of course my bass boats have outboards - can't let the other guy beat you to the fishing spot ;) Outboards are indeed quicker and lighter, but again for my real-world usage scenario (excluding fishing) that doesn't really matter to me. There's a lot more to go 'wrong' on an I/O (leaky bellows for example) but if you're like me and stay on top of maintenance, it's really a complete non-issue. But as you can see by my ownership.. I do a lot of fishing.. so I've had a lot more outboards lol!
"...I promise you that there is nothing good about an inboard / outboard." That's kind of a ridiculous statement. I have an I/O on my Chaparral Sunesta 224 and I love it. I spend most of my time fishing, swimming, or just sitting on the swim platform with my feet in the water. The last thing would want is to have an engine sitting right next to me. I'll take my 8' x 2 1/2' platform free of any obstructions. I keep my boat in my shed here in SC when it's not in use and I use it all year round. A heat lamp in the engine compartment if it's going to get really cold keeps it safe from freeze damage. My engine compartment is so big that working on the engine is not really an issue. I can actually fit in the compartment on either side of the engine. It really comes down to preference. I've only had I/O and I plan on keeping it that way.
You missed a big no no for IOs. If the hydraulics for steering goes out you cannot steer them and if you're going fast it can swerve off to the side if it's an older one.
I have an IB/OB. From a mechanic point of view, my next boat will be an outboard. It's a real PITA servicing IB/OB. It's a lot easier to work on an outboard.
I personally think inboards are a bit easier to work on as most people who are around cars know how to work on a Chevy 350 but people may not know how to work on a mercury 150
one thing that wasnt mentioned was replacing a stern drive with an outboard. I found adding a pod and changing the dynamic of the boat is a massive consideration. not just cost of pod. the boat is designed for a stern drive. so changing that will change how the boat performs particulalry at lower speed.
I was hoping that this video would cover more about the differences in water activities, ie water skiing, tubing, or just getting to your fishing destination, how fast each type of engine can get the boats up to the proper speed and plane out. Otherwise, very informative video. Thank you.
Outboards will accelerate faster and have a higher top speed than an equivalent stern drive motor and generally plane at a lower RPM. You'll get slightly better economy with a stern drive however. I've used both for water skiing and tubing but if this is your primary usage for the boat then get the outboard. One thing a stern drive can do that an outboard cannot do however is wake surfing. Some stern drives today actually have the props facing forward (basically under the boat pulling rather than pushing) to keep them further from the surfer.
I've had both and worked on both. I like outboard but the risk of theft and transom damage from the weight being all the way on the very back is a no go for me. The price of a newer outboard is ridiculous.
Theft is a risk for smaller outboards, but not so much of a risk for larger outboards (e.g., 60 HP and up) that are bolted to the transom. Agreed about the high prices for new 4 stroke outboards. Also agreed about the risk of multi-season transom damage over time, but that can be mitigated in a few ways.
You aren't kidding. I happened to look at a new Mercury 600 HP outboard recently (just because I was curious about something this big) and it was $80K! I can buy a new Vette for the cost of an engine. It's insane
Don’t know about the US (where parts are cheaper for Mercruiser engines) but in Europe inboards are way more expensive on repairs. I’d a 4.3 V6 mercruiser for 13 years - I’d to take the engine out twice to replace the starter motor (located underneath the engine - easily located for a pick up truck on a ramp but not a boat!), once for the starter motor, second time for an incorrectly sized bolt shearing on the starter motor - an absolute fortune towards the end. New Japanese outboards are incredibly reliable now, which is why I changed across. I had a Mariner 60hp 2 stroke 25 years ago, when it was 15 years old and it never failed me in 10 years. Outboards definitely the way to go now, fuel wise / maintenance but biggest negative is theft risk. Go outboard if you’ve a choice. Added to that, in 15 years just remove it and replace it with a new or second hand one to get years more out of your boat at a minimum cost to change across.
I would add another disadvantage to inboard which is that they can have a worst fire hazard risk and that they can create an explosive atmosphere which needs to be vented before turning on the engine.
Just went to the Nassau County (Long Island NY) boat show. I saw one (1) inboard ski boat all the other boats, were outboards. I think outboards are easier to maintain, easier to winterize, and safer. While I love old school Chevrolet small blocks, I'd rather have it in a classic car rather than in a boat. Here in the USA after 2011 you are also stuck with a very expensive cat converter exhaust system, outboards don't have to have that. Having had one, there is no way I'd ever have another I/O in salt water.
@@boatinglessons I think the prices are limiting people to smaller boats; ranging in price from $35000 for a 17’ center console to $55000 for a 20’ dual console. These seemed to get the most interest. Salt water area so center consoles & dual consoles sell well. Myself I prefer a walk around. The modern version of my old boat (20’ Four Winns Horizon), is now $77,000. My fav boat there was the Steiger Craft 21 Miami with a 200 hp outboard. $115,000. lol so I keep fixing the old one!
3 more cons for sterndrive. You can hav a freshwater system for the engine. Its easy to warm up water for the dishing or shower. At last in Skandinavien expensive outboard engine are often stoolen. No problem woth the sterndrive.
Hello. Thank you for this interesting article. I have two rib boats on 45 feet. One with 3x350 Suzuki and one with 2x750 Seatech with JMD surfacedrive. My choise is diesl inboard and surfacedrive. My opinion is that it is the best combination when it comes to speed, economy, draft and running cost.
Thanks Shawn That was a good comparision! One question I had was ride quality on a boat of same size. In other words if I buy a 20' boat, would the Outboard hanging off the stern, essentially stretching bow to Propeller length, would that length improve or worsen the ride smoothness?
For stern drives, what are your (Len's Cove) thoughts on the cooling solutions for the upper section of the outdrive? Things like the Simrek showers etc.
This is a SUPER VIDEO! Thank you! I heard that there are EPA emission regulation differences between an outboard and inboard-outboard engine...perhaps the less strict regs. on an outboard allows them to be more powerful and have less emission control technology? I don't know...not much info out there. Would love your insight! Thank you!
I have had both. An outboard seems to ride in top of the water easier than a stern drive boat. A stern drive boat seems to ride through the water and not on top of the water.
Just reading through the comments when I came across your comment. Your comment puzzled me. Running a raw water cooled inboard in salt water will lead to expensive repairs, but so will running a outboard. Running a inboard in salt water with closed cooling such as a keel cooler and dry stack exhaust is common on commercial fishing vessels where motors see 1000 hours or more per year, and last for decades. In my opinion, we consumers have options. Learning which option is best for the application is the answer. In no cases do I see gas outboards as the correct answer on salt water commercial fishing vessels. I see diesel inboards with closed cooling, keel coolers, and dry sack exhaust.
problem with an inboard/outboard in my area of southeast g.a is there is no one that does repairs to them here....and if you do find one it is ridiculously priced to fix them!
Outboards all the way especially if you go anywhere near salt. Only buy an inboard if you have mountains of money to maintain it. IOs force most owners out of boating. Outboard is for life.
thanks for the tip. I'm doing my research to buy my first boat hopefully during the upcoming 2 years . and oh I live on the Red Sea , salty salt water haha
I/O's also have alot of seal leak issues as they age and get older. So another reason to stick with an outboard and honestly the modern outboards will last just as long as an inboard engine if you take of it and do your oil and filter religiously every 100 hours and use really good quality full synthetic oils for the power head and the lower unit and it will easily go 5000 hours if not 6000 hours before it needs to be rebuilt. But alot of people let the maintenance go instead of staying on top of it.
Not to mention you can’t see if a riser has busted and you’re taking on so much water your bilge can’t keep up and it starts sinking and destroys your motors or ends up sinking your boat all together.
The V-Drive is always superior for every water sport. There are many reasons and could get long here to explain. If you want to go into details, I am happy to chat about it more - just click here to book a time: app.hubspot.com/meetings/sean715?__hstc=58870066.d6a88c2efd87e7c2408c1edb209dccd1.1566589224649.1583672159208.1583674650045.507&__hssc=58870066.1.1583674650045&__hsfp=824236545
The Volvo Penta forward drive (propellers face the front of the boat) is a great option. It allows the boat to preform as good or better as a V-drive when you’re doing water sports, but you get better performance and fuel economy when using the boat as a runabout.
I’ve always felt the ride of an i/o powered boat was better than an outboard… lower center of gravity and more weight forward of stern . Also, can you run an outboard at higher speeds for extended period of time? And last, if used the same way, which will last longer ?
Great point ls and yes, you are right. That is a good question. Any opinion on that would be simply that (an opinion). As far as the internal engine components are concerned , an IO engine, based off of automotive architecture, may have the edge there. I do not have data to back that up though
All great and factual information, but I would argue that nobody seems to talk about the physics of outboards vs inboards, or even Inboard/Outboard powered boats. Outboards place the weight off the transom, or even further back on a bracket. This makes an outboard powered boat more likely to porpoise or lift up at the bow every time it encounters a wave. Just watch the motion of outboard powered boats, there is more bow rise. Weight further forward reduces this from happening. Now let's consider the sideways motion of a boat, or the pitch or roll. An inboard or I/O is placed much lower on the boat offering greater stability. The engine acts like ballast as in the keel of a sailboat. The weight of the engine wants to right the boat, or return it normal. With an outboard, not only is the weight of the engine further backward, it is also higher up. The weight wants to pull the boat over when leaning hard in either direction, not a good thing. We tend to fish mostly off the back of planing boats. Who wants the obstruction of an outboard in the way? Next is cost. I can purchase a used 350 or 454 for cheap. Try replacing a similar horsepower outboard for that amount. Highly unlikely. Lastly, an inboard engine is basically a marinated vehicle engine. Many mechanics have knowledge of this type of engine. Have I convinced you yet?
You hit the nail in the head as for missing the issue of re-powering a boat. The initial cost of an OB is significantly higher than I/O and probably won’t last as long. Extracting the kind of performance manufacturer’s get out of O/Bs comes at a cost.
You missed one HUGE con of sterndrives: bilge blowers and needing to run them for at least four minutes and sniff for fumes before starting the engine!
Very few boats available in the 1990-2015 range?? Wow that's funny, considering 75% of the boats out there including mine, which is a 1996 model, have an outboard setup on it.
Christian, we are not saying there are none, just as a percentage of fiberglass bowriders built in that time frame, outboards were less popular than sterndrives.
@@boatinglessons This is true, there were not a ton of outboards that made sense to throw on a bowrider at the time. The ever growing offshore center console scene lead companies to develop much better engines that were scaled down and made sense to put on a bowrider. Bass fishing boats and tinnies / jhon boats have always had outboards though.
I have a Chaparral Sunesta 224 with an I/O and I absolutely love it. I want the stern of my boat open and free of obstructions. I want to be able to sit on the swim platform or sit on the rear-facing seat and not have an engine in the way or messing up my view. Will heavy maintenance be more expensive? Hopefully I'll never have to find out. I got propulsion insurance on the boat that includes normal wear and tear so I'm not too worried about it. I'm not going to get a type of engine I don't like because of a cost I MAY have to deal with years down the road. Just my opinion.
I'm looking at an inboard powered boat, Mercuiser 5L with Bravo drive. I am told it puts out about 240HP. I will mainly be diving out of the boat. How do these Mercuiser engines compare with fuel efficiency when compared with a similar HP modern 4 stroke outboard?
Great channel, great content, excellent explanations. Question: I’m getting ready to replace my back mounted mechanical rack & pinion on my 2002 Maxum 1800SR bowrider 3.0 Mercury Alpha drive, will a no feed back mechanical rack system reduce steering effort and improve feel or handling vs just a rack? My steering required a lot of effort before the rack teeth broke, hence why I have to replace it? Will a new rack vs a new NFB steering be the same?
Does your Maxum and 3.0L have power steering? If so, perhaps it is not working properly as you should not have that much effort required. The other possibility is that the cable may have been corroded internally.
Thanks for this video. I’ve just purchased my first bowrider with an inboard motor. I had the trim up and I noticed it wouldn’t start. Is this normal and bad for the motor
Do NOT put your stern drive in gear with it trimmed way up. The angle of the drive shaft knuckle/universal joint is too extreme and will snap. It can run while up maybe halfway in shallow water but only at idle. The not starting issue may be related to this as a safeguard against putting power through the driveline while at an angle. My experience has been with pre-2008 boats that had few if any operator error safeguards. Best of luck.
1) I/O have a lower and more forward centre of gravity. Much better when towed on trailer. 2) the superior CG gives lower planing speeds 3) don’t need trim tabs 4) easier to diagnose while driving 5) more dangerous due to blower/fumes
Hi you said that that the io would last a little longer . Wrong a car or truck will go 200000 miles a out board motor will not all parts of the io stern drive unit are much more robust as well. I have power trim on my stern drive so it will come out of the water like a outboard. AS far as longevity I have a 1972 slick craft from new it cost me about $50.00 per year for up keep with no over hall ever
I have a 1978 sea ray inboard I am looking for a top to keep the sun off the wife and I were want it to go from windshield to the back. Can you help us get one for our boat and we want to replace our box to cover our Motor with cup holder thank you we can't find what side the top we are looking for we want to be able to mount a light bar on the top .
I just replace both of my V6 gas nboards on my twin engine cruiser. Less than $7k for both, did the work myself. Try to find two new 200 hp outboards for that price. Nuff said.
Most Comments Are Fake yes they are great for both. I take my 27’ bow rider in water 18” deep, no problem because the motors trim up. Also, The prop is not sharp, and it’s not going to be spinning anyways because the motor should be off when you stop for a swim. I wouldn’t wakeboard with an outboard though.
Hmm. Interesting. Thank you for that presentation. What experience do you have with jack plates?? You mentioned that one of the benefits of an outboard is the ability to trim right out of the water. However, I have a brand new boat with an outboard on a mini-jack plate, which neither brings the prop up above the bottom of the hull like it's supposed to, nor does the engine trim fully out of the water regardless of what position the jack plate is raised to because a mercury level trim limiter is fitted that restricts the engine from trimming up fully. It trims you even less under slow power becauhse the boat tips up at slow speeds, so the mercury level is affected. The trim limiter was installed post purchase of the boat, because trimming it up fully breaks the hydraulic steering fittings. Do you think the problem could be an incorrectly sized and positioned jack plate by the dealer??
Not that I am aware of Michael. I would estimate that it would be less expensive to trade for a similar age jet powered boat of a similar size than try to retrofit.
Dude those jet drive lower units for outboards are the worst things ever made. Don't get as much power, they break alot and are a pain to maintain. Ik bc im a marine technician
To anyone who wants to get into watersports PLEASE don't get either of these. Once you ski behind a true inboard inboard nothing will be the same. Your heart will sing. Colors will be brighter. You will never want to go near an i/o again.
No mention of the increased fire risk in a boat with the engine mounted inside the boat? I am not sure I agree with the inboard being more difficult for the do it your selfers. Conventional "car" engines are much easier than an outboard. Access my be tougher on some. a 300 HP out board is >30k, you can get an I/O >300 HP for less.
Outboard all the way, don't forget that the exhaust/cooling water runs through your hull, if your seals (bellows) fail you're looking at a sinking boat. Not to mention working on them is a MASSIVE pita. (I own one)
I don't think this is true. Anything in the same performance range as an I/O is going to weigh 600 lbs and up. It would be easier to steal the whole boat whether in the water or on a trailer. Smaller outboards can be stolen but also aren't going to run an 18 foot ski boat.
I/o setups are easier to maintain for diyers than outboard engines. Especially if they are used to working on cars. Outboard engines are a lot more compact and not as easy to work on in my opinion.
One point that was missing was high performance boats. Outboards are way way more expensive to run high horsepower. More outdrives in the water scrub speed Where are you going to buy an 800hp outboard for $25k? You’re going to have to buy two 400s that will be slower and cost $80k.
@@sultanaljuhani1571I boat often in a saltwater area. Virtually everyone has outboards. Inboard/outboards can be used, but are really more appropriate for freshwater lakes.
@@mikestevens2053 noted. Thanks . I'm doing my research now. And it seems that where I live it's very hard to find maintenance/spare parts for the inboards any way
You left out a BIG consideration on this decision and I think it is due to your lake bias. Here on the coast of Florida where salt water is king, outboards are also King. Outboards are better for salt water applications since the entire engine was designed to run in salt, whereas a converted car or truck engine that uses salt water for cooling will rot the engine from the inside out faster. I/O Exhaust risers are know to corrode much faster in salt water.
Outdrive trims up past the hull, how is that any different in a shallow situation, if anything weight distribution gives it to the inboard engine boat.
In order to get the drive that high, the angle of the prop is different and less useful (because of where it pivots). Also, it is never completely out of the water which is beneficial in salt water
@@boatinglessons Nah, both are just as shitty, 2 degrees this way or the other from boat to boat makes no difference... like I said non-issues. Salt? you think it's any different if you hang the drive 6 inches above the water, add oxygen to the mix, and on top of that dry out that prop bearing?
Outboards are slowly coming back in popularity here in Ontario Canada. Do you see that where you boat?
Outboard motors are everywhere in Australia, I miss mine but someone stole me whole tinny from my jetty, and now I don’t have the money to buy another
Stephen Taylor that's horrible!! It has happened to us too 😔
Where I boat in Wales, inboards are much more popular. But TH-cam is full of outboards (must be more popular in USA).
In Alabama USA all I see is outboard motors
@@tracyp1987
And toothless sibling lovin' inbreds...
I have to say, I really appreciate your content, right now...I am about to take the plunge on my first boat and realize a life long dream...as a Marine, I am very familiar with the water, boating, and seamanship...never having had to maintain or pay for one, though, is another matter! I appreciate all the tid bits of information, a guy like me is always hunting for when starting something brand new. Quick, concise, and straight to the meat of the matter. Thank you for educating me and filling in the civilian blanks.
Semper Fi
Think this is a great video for most people. For those who say it's too "high level" I would say they are more of a technical person and these videos are geared towards them. Well done!
Thank you! We plan to do more technical videos going forward also.
If you are buying a pleasure boat for water sports or just cruising. Then I think a inboard/outboard boat would work for most people.
But get the size that fits your needs. My family size was 4 person. So I bought a 17.5' 3.0-4 cylinder i/o. It's great on fuel and easy to maintain for the diy person.
I have had mine since 1997 with no mechanical issues. A year ago I pulled the sparkplugs and looked into the cylinder bores with a scope. You could see that the cylinder walls still had the cross hatch in them and the top of the pistons had little carbon buildup. I was very pleased.
We only use it during the warmer seasons and winterize it during the off season. The key is to winterize it correctly.
I can tell you what I do for winter storage.
Now if you want a fishing boat, a outboard motor is the way to go, since you will use it throughout the year.
They say boats are money pits, but like an automobile. If you maintain it correctly and don't abuse it, it will last for years.
Well done video that covered the basics. I’ve owned both and prefer outboards. For many years, I complained that manufacturers were not building what I wanted; an outboard bow rider more than 18 feet long. Man, has that changed in the last few years. Now, everyone is making big, outboard powered bow riders. Part of the reason was that stern drives were cheaper to build and to buy. That has changed as emission laws have required expensive changes to stern drives.
Obviously, a stern drive is more useful in fresh water if you are swimming off the boat; unobstructed big swim platform is superior. But that is the only advantage. I got stuck with a huge repair bill after less than five years when I had to replace the Volvo out drive; I still don’t know why it failed. I use my boat occasionally in salt water, and now that I’m retired, I use it more hours in salt during Florida winter trips. Glad I now own an outboard. I no longer worry about being sure my boat is winterized by October 15th. If I don’t have access to a lift in Florida, at least I can raise the entire motor out of the salt. Makes it a lot easier to flush the engine. Outboards are better for beaching or anchoring in shallow water; no guessing if you are two shallow. I also like instantly knowing which direction my prop is pointing when backing; a quick glance to the stern tells me.
A lot of people still own stern drives, even in salt water, so they can’t be that bad. But, even as a non-fisherman who uses my boats primarily to just hang out, I prefer the outboard, primarily because I take it to salt water.
Hi dear do you need help buying a boat?
@@lindajohn8014 scam post
Hi Shaun, good general comparisons. I live in the inland Pacific Northwest For the general boater, your advice is good. We have a good number of people who fish year round, I'm one of them. I was taught many years ago, especially in the winter, that OBs are better. That's because it's easier to flush out all the water in the system as you don't want to have water in the motor when its 0° outside or you can kiss your engine goodbye. Just my 2 cents worth
We wakeboard and love having a swim deck on the back of the boat. The extra weight is needed and wake shaping is an option. Therefore I/O is the only option for us. Better and safer. Btw: we always run our blower.
Suzuki outboard for 13 years...not one issue.
before, chevy 350...always issues
4 Stroke outboards, in my mind, the ONLY way to go.
Yup. Done with car motors in boats.
@@AB-bg1or Well that was probably the whole issue, You should not have a car motor in a boat! Huge difference between automotive Chevy 350 and a marine Chevy 350! As long as you’re properly maintain them I/Os are great!
@@NeverEnoughPyro40 SBC, no matter what you do to it, is still a car motor. Yes, marinized for boats, but still a car motor. If it’s your cup of tea, have at it. I say no thanks.
I had a johnson 2 stroke 90hp outboard. It was a gem.
There is an article that compares all 3 types in an exact glastron, jet, outboard, I/o. The outboard was better overall. You can find it on line. Good read.
Huge difference in salt water, outboards are mostly aluminum where car engines and exhaust manifold are cast iron.
Your right to a point. All outdrives I've seen are aluminum with cast Iron engines but mine is freshwater cooled so the only exhaust manifold contacts the raw (possibly salt) water. Depending upon the use, my exhaust manifold last over 10 years. Though they are not cheap. (V-P is very proud of theirs. $) The key thing is to flush the system after every use. One benefit of mine is that I can service the impeller from inside the boat. I've done that a couple of times.
@@satunnainenkatselija4478 Owning a tailorable I/O I've always used "muffs" to flush the motor after each use. I also used them to warm the motor before heading to the ramp. (the neighbors loved me in the wee hours of the mornings)
I finally started using a large reinforced plastic storage box.
It works and I saves a lot of water. I just monitored the engine temperature while flushing it.
This I/O setup has a freshwater cooled system. Where the raw (salt) water goes through a small heat exchanger and then pumped into the exhaust manifold. I've had to replace the manifold twice in 40 years. Not too bad.
@@satunnainenkatselija4478 the engine will have less problems if you flush it. Do you need to do it every single time? Probably not, but I wouldn't not do it in salt water.
Great video to introduce new prospective owners to this conundrum. However two issues not really touched on -Performance characteristics and shallow drive (not just docking). Outboards have a much higher performance characteristic than IO but IO cruiser much better, and outboards will generally speaking drive shallower which is why almost every freshwater fishing boat has outboards.
I bought a new 1997 Maxum 17.5 foot with the 3.0 LX I/O for 10K.
It has been a great boat for all these years. I still own the boat. No major issues all these years.
Just general maintenance which I do myself.
What size prop do you use? I have the same boat but mines a 2002 and I have a 14.5 x19 pitch aluminum propeller 4 blade. I’m thinking of going down to a 17 pitch for better acceleration and handling. I have a 21 pitch but I didn’t like the performance.
@@ozelot250
I'll have to check. Can't remember.
I have a stainless steel prop now that I installed after the first year that I owned it.
I'm in Arkansas this week with the boat. Will be driving home in the morning.
@@ozelot250
I have a Turbo Prop 3 blade M 14 1/4 X 21 pitch.
The options with an inboard engine is gas/petrol or diesel. Diesel engines produce more torque, are more fuel efficient. Diesel has a much longer storage life and the risk of fire or explosion is greatly reduced. Over the years diesel outboard engines have been slowly coming to the work boat market - not really designed for pleasure craft because of weight. I hope this helps. Cheers
There are some diesel outboards available now. The one I saw going down the interstate was an OXE brand mounted on a ribb boat. I had to do a "double take" as I was passing it. Just Googling I also see Merc. makes a 3.0 liter and of course Yanmar and Perkins have them.
Good comparison! I've owned boats since old enough to and have had both. For maintenance reasons, I am not a fan of sterndrives kept in a saltwater slip. Sterndrives may open up the option of diesel power (Volvo Penta has a lot of experience with this). Some outboards may offer Japanese technology and build quality which can be very good. Outboards can cost a lot to repower whereas the marinized automotive engine on a sterndrive setup may be rebuilt for a lot less if a common GM or Ford engine. I personally find the modern outboard to be quite reliable and a better overall choice if the type of boat lends itself to OB power. Of all the choices I like a shaft inboard the best but few trailerable (non-wakeboard/ski) boats offer this now. I have a 22ft Boston Whaler with outboard power. A sterndrive might defeat the capabilities of such a boat since if swamped it can easily dewater without submerging the engine. Whaler tried sterndrives a long time ago and gave it up. If in the future electric power ever becomes a cost-effective option in the 150 to 300hp range an outboard would just bolt to the transom.
Your comment about the cost to repower is true but so long as you don't take into account the cost of pulling the engine. If you are capable of doing it yourself - well then that makes a big difference but take it to a shop and compare the cost of repowering an IO and an outboard and the labor costs of the IO pretty much negate the additional cost of the outboard.
I think outboards will become increasingly popular as they have become so much better than they used to be. In the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s, outboards were always two-stroke, meaning they were loud, smokey, and didn't have the best reliability. They were also not very powerful. You had to go to an inboard/outboard to get respectable power and a more reliable four-stroke engine. Since outboards are now four-stroke and much more powerful, they can be used on a lot more boats than they used to.
I/O only for me. Swim decks and all around better for having fun and cruising. Never had an issue with any of them.
Great to hear! As long as you are having fun on the water, we think both are great 😊
I have a 115 merc 2 stroke 1994...
Simple and great on gas.
Easy to maintain
And if a steering cable breaks you can steer it by hand, slowly. LOL
2+2 Mercury 2 stroke power! God I hate that chugging idle but she won’t die yet!!
I am a Chinese，as far as I know, in China‘s offshore, the inboard/outboard(sterndrive) might be better than outboard for fishing man, because there are lots of broken fishing net abandoned in the sea, so I am looking for a surface drive, which can avoid the problem, but surface drive is always very expensive, for example, SDS Twindisc. So I payed a lot of time to look for more reasonable ones. And finally, I found one, the company is called UKS, you may not hear about this before, as well as me, but after I get to their factory, they just have built their first product, a surface drive, and also follow them to the offshore to test it, wow, I believe you may not imagine the speed and sound, the used the surface drive let the old fishing boat fly like a racing boat, they said if I want to buy their surface drive, I need to wait for a time, they still have lot of work to do. I think it is worthy to wait, because this surface drive is better and cheaper.
And my English maybe not that good.
I was really hoping he was going to say "let's go motorboating"
LOL, Tyler - we actually have a local insurance company that has buttons and t-shirts that say "I love motor-boating!" 😂
Inboard outboard owner here. I feel like with these engines, you really have to be pro active and replace parts before they go, especially if you do not want to do any engine damage. I feel, for the most part, you have a good idea of how long a lot of these parts will last you on average.
I own a 150 Hp mercury on a Lund and alpha one on my proline. As someone that owns both to repair urself the inboard is easier as it’s essentially a Chevy engine that someone that mechanically inclined can fix like working on your truck
Don't forget about those bellows
Clean rear end is the most important for a pleasure craft
Hi Shaun, thanks for the video. One thing I rarely see mentioned in the outboard vs I/O discussion is the cost of repairs. When I compare the prices for a Mercury Marine product protection plan (what some people call a extended warranty) on a 250 HP outboard vs a 250 HP inboard/outboard. I find that the outboard costs twice as much. This makes me think an outboard will breakdown twice as often, cost twice as much to repair or last half as long? Do you think that these new outboards will have the longevity and reliability that I/Os have?
This guy's assessment for repairability was completely wrong. Outboards are near impossible to work on in the water. They need to be dry. A sterndrive can easily be opened and worked on while in the water. Outboards parts are more specialized, causing them to be more compact. The inboard engines on sterndrives are more "like a car engine" (as he stated) and parts are cheaper. As far as reliability goes, it has nothing to do with whether it's an inboard motor or an outboard, nor the manufacturer. All manufacturers make ones that have poor reliability, and ones that have great reliability. It's like cars. Ford produced a motor for their diesel F series super duty trucks, and it was a did riddled with inherent systemic issues. Peachtree made an engine with systemic issues. BMW did too. But they all also produced ones with excellent reliability. So it's more specific to the model rather than the manufacturer.
Here on the lower Colorado river, outboards are king!
Nothing like a 475 pound, 250hp motor on an 18 foot boat! Running mid 70s all day long!
Sounds scary and exhilarating 😳
First, if we’re comparing modern outboard to modern Inboard / outboard, there is really nothin the IO does better than the outboard. New outboards burn less gas, perform better and are every bit as quiet.
I’ve had both and I promise you that there is nothing good about an inboard / outboard.
You forgot the most important con. If your blower fan fails or you forget to run it, or even a minor gas line leak, your inboard / outboard WILL cause the boat to explode when you try to start it. If that’s not enough to steer you away here are a few more.
They aren’t a little heavier, they’re a lot heavier. The same or even a little less horse power outboard will always out perform an IO.
Because car engines were not designed to run at high RPM for prolonged periods like boats do, they will not last as long as an outboard that was designed for that.
Try running an IO with the out drive tilted up like you need for shallow water and you learn quickly how expensive gimbal bearing replacement is. If you run in salt water, you’ll be replacing manifolds and risers every couple years. The parts alone are over $1000.
The IO system takes the expensive parts from an inboard and uses several bearings and universal joints to marry it to the most expensive part of an outboard. Great system if you like constant maintenance.
The only reason anyone would buy an IO is because the initial cost is cheaper than an outboard.
That’s a mistake you’ll kick yourself for later. Happy motor boating. 😃
cbs645 you are so spot on there!!!! I had 1 inboard for 13 years and the last 5 or 6 years of it broke my heart with maintenance! Anybody thinking should make huge efforts to get an outboard as you say - only person that’ll recommend an inboard is some boat dealer looking to expand his workshop!!! Will never go back again
I'm on my 12th boat. 8 outboard and 4 I/O's. The choice 100% comes down to application. For a family or pleasure boat, i don't want an outboard. Pure and simple. Kids love jumping off the back swim platform, hanging out and just having fun. I/O's are excellent for that. The comment about running with trim up - any outdrive made since 1995 (SX-M drive era) can run drive up at idle without issue for short periods of time to get off sand bars. Shoot, Volvo Penta even mentions that in their manual. Gimbals aren't cheap to replace at a shop but cheap and pretty easy to do on your own. You can't make a comment about cost of replacing a gimbal bearing though without commenting on cost to work on a modern outboard! That's NOT cheap either!
I certainly prefer outboards for fishing. The ability to bring the drive completely out of the water is important. And of course my bass boats have outboards - can't let the other guy beat you to the fishing spot ;)
Outboards are indeed quicker and lighter, but again for my real-world usage scenario (excluding fishing) that doesn't really matter to me. There's a lot more to go 'wrong' on an I/O (leaky bellows for example) but if you're like me and stay on top of maintenance, it's really a complete non-issue. But as you can see by my ownership.. I do a lot of fishing.. so I've had a lot more outboards lol!
well an I/O is better for watersports and gives you a larger swim platform.
"...I promise you that there is nothing good about an inboard / outboard." That's kind of a ridiculous statement. I have an I/O on my Chaparral Sunesta 224 and I love it. I spend most of my time fishing, swimming, or just sitting on the swim platform with my feet in the water. The last thing would want is to have an engine sitting right next to me. I'll take my 8' x 2 1/2' platform free of any obstructions.
I keep my boat in my shed here in SC when it's not in use and I use it all year round. A heat lamp in the engine compartment if it's going to get really cold keeps it safe from freeze damage.
My engine compartment is so big that working on the engine is not really an issue. I can actually fit in the compartment on either side of the engine.
It really comes down to preference. I've only had I/O and I plan on keeping it that way.
You missed a big no no for IOs. If the hydraulics for steering goes out you cannot steer them and if you're going fast it can swerve off to the side if it's an older one.
I have an IB/OB. From a mechanic point of view, my next boat will be an outboard. It's a real PITA servicing IB/OB. It's a lot easier to work on an outboard.
Noting like skiing behind a 2-Stroke outboard :)
Been working at boat/PWC shop for about a month. Outboards are way easier to work with. Repair costs are lower too.
Yes, you are correct. That is the case the majority of the time
I personally think inboards are a bit easier to work on as most people who are around cars know how to work on a Chevy 350 but people may not know how to work on a mercury 150
one thing that wasnt mentioned was replacing a stern drive with an outboard. I found adding a pod and changing the dynamic of the boat is a massive consideration. not just cost of pod. the boat is designed for a stern drive. so changing that will change how the boat performs particulalry at lower speed.
I was hoping that this video would cover more about the differences in water activities, ie water skiing, tubing, or just getting to your fishing destination, how fast each type of engine can get the boats up to the proper speed and plane out. Otherwise, very informative video. Thank you.
Hi dear do you need help buying a boat?
Outboards will accelerate faster and have a higher top speed than an equivalent stern drive motor and generally plane at a lower RPM. You'll get slightly better economy with a stern drive however. I've used both for water skiing and tubing but if this is your primary usage for the boat then get the outboard. One thing a stern drive can do that an outboard cannot do however is wake surfing. Some stern drives today actually have the props facing forward (basically under the boat pulling rather than pushing) to keep them further from the surfer.
Thank you Rich. Very informative!
@@balam574 My pleasure. Get yourself a boat and have some fun
I've had both and worked on both. I like outboard but the risk of theft and transom damage from the weight being all the way on the very back is a no go for me. The price of a newer outboard is ridiculous.
Theft is a risk for smaller outboards, but not so much of a risk for larger outboards (e.g., 60 HP and up) that are bolted to the transom. Agreed about the high prices for new 4 stroke outboards. Also agreed about the risk of multi-season transom damage over time, but that can be mitigated in a few ways.
You aren't kidding. I happened to look at a new Mercury 600 HP outboard recently (just because I was curious about something this big) and it was $80K! I can buy a new Vette for the cost of an engine. It's insane
Don’t know about the US (where parts are cheaper for Mercruiser engines) but in Europe inboards are way more expensive on repairs. I’d a 4.3 V6 mercruiser for 13 years - I’d to take the engine out twice to replace the starter motor (located underneath the engine - easily located for a pick up truck on a ramp but not a boat!), once for the starter motor, second time for an incorrectly sized bolt shearing on the starter motor - an absolute fortune towards the end. New Japanese outboards are incredibly reliable now, which is why I changed across. I had a Mariner 60hp 2 stroke 25 years ago, when it was 15 years old and it never failed me in 10 years. Outboards definitely the way to go now, fuel wise / maintenance but biggest negative is theft risk. Go outboard if you’ve a choice. Added to that, in 15 years just remove it and replace it with a new or second hand one to get years more out of your boat at a minimum cost to change across.
I would add another disadvantage to inboard which is that they can have a worst fire hazard risk and that they can create an explosive atmosphere which needs to be vented before turning on the engine.
Great breakdown!
Thank you for the kind words!
Just went to the Nassau County (Long Island NY) boat show. I saw one (1) inboard ski boat all the other boats, were outboards.
I think outboards are easier to maintain, easier to winterize, and safer. While I love old school Chevrolet small blocks, I'd rather have it in a classic car rather than in a boat. Here in the USA after 2011 you are also stuck with a very expensive cat converter exhaust system, outboards don't have to have that. Having had one, there is no way I'd ever have another I/O in salt water.
All valid points! How was the mood at the show? Were people buying?
@@boatinglessons
I think the prices are limiting people to smaller boats; ranging in price from $35000 for a 17’ center console to $55000 for a 20’ dual console. These seemed to get the most interest. Salt water area so center consoles & dual consoles sell well. Myself I prefer a walk around.
The modern version of my old boat (20’ Four Winns Horizon), is now $77,000. My fav boat there was the Steiger Craft 21 Miami with a 200 hp outboard. $115,000. lol so I keep fixing the old one!
Makes sense and we are now carrying Edgewater so we have access to more center and dual consoles here as well
3 more cons for sterndrive. You can hav a freshwater system for the engine. Its easy to warm up water for the dishing or shower. At last in Skandinavien expensive outboard engine are often stoolen. No problem woth the sterndrive.
Yep, same in Denmark. Lately the police found a 40ft container stuffed with outboards, on the way to easteen Europe.
Hello. Thank you for this interesting article. I have two rib boats on 45 feet. One with 3x350 Suzuki and one with 2x750 Seatech with JMD surfacedrive. My choise is diesl inboard and surfacedrive. My opinion is that it is the best combination when it comes to speed, economy, draft and running cost.
Hi dear do you need help buying a boat ?
Those sound like interesting vessels! :)
@@lindajohn8014 Are you a boat manufacturer or are you a boat seller?
Beautiful presentation 🙂 Calm & knowledgeable speaker 🙂 well done
That is such a kind thing to say, thank you!
I just spoke with my new mechanic about this. He said outboard motors can be more costly to maintain and isn't sold on them.
Ill take inboard any day. You want it shallow, put a tunnel in it.
Note, anything multi-purpose does nothing well.
Thanks Shawn
That was a good comparision! One question I had was ride quality on a boat of same size. In other words if I buy a 20' boat, would the Outboard hanging off the stern, essentially stretching bow to Propeller length, would that length improve or worsen the ride smoothness?
They both stick off the back of the transom about the same distance.
For stern drives, what are your (Len's Cove) thoughts on the cooling solutions for the upper section of the outdrive? Things like the Simrek showers etc.
This is a SUPER VIDEO! Thank you! I heard that there are EPA emission regulation differences between an outboard and inboard-outboard engine...perhaps the less strict regs. on an outboard allows them to be more powerful and have less emission control technology? I don't know...not much info out there. Would love your insight! Thank you!
Good video thank you.
Merci des ces explications.
Just bought a 19 foot prowler. Its a nice bow rider
I have had both. An outboard seems to ride in top of the water easier than a stern drive boat. A stern drive boat seems to ride through the water and not on top of the water.
Why was there not any mention of inboards not being ideal for saltwater environments because you have to change the manifold and headers often?
Just reading through the comments when I came across your comment. Your comment puzzled me. Running a raw water cooled inboard in salt water will lead to expensive repairs, but so will running a outboard. Running a inboard in salt water with closed cooling such as a keel cooler and dry stack exhaust is common on commercial fishing vessels where motors see 1000 hours or more per year, and last for decades. In my opinion, we consumers have options. Learning which option is best for the application is the answer. In no cases do I see gas outboards as the correct answer on salt water commercial fishing vessels. I see diesel inboards with closed cooling, keel coolers, and dry sack exhaust.
problem with an inboard/outboard in my area of southeast g.a is there is no one that does repairs to them here....and if you do find one it is ridiculously priced to fix them!
Outboards all the way especially if you go anywhere near salt. Only buy an inboard if you have mountains of money to maintain it. IOs force most owners out of boating. Outboard is for life.
thanks for the tip. I'm doing my research to buy my first boat hopefully during the upcoming 2 years . and oh I live on the Red Sea , salty salt water haha
@@sultanaljuhani1571 sultan where u r from;)؟ i wish i kood go boWding
@@rezagrans1296 I live in a small city called Yanbu, Saudi Arabia very nice area for scuba diving and fishing
I/O's also have alot of seal leak issues as they age and get older. So another reason to stick with an outboard and honestly the modern outboards will last just as long as an inboard engine if you take of it and do your oil and filter religiously every 100 hours and use really good quality full synthetic oils for the power head and the lower unit and it will easily go 5000 hours if not 6000 hours before it needs to be rebuilt. But alot of people let the maintenance go instead of staying on top of it.
Not to mention you can’t see if a riser has busted and you’re taking on so much water your bilge can’t keep up and it starts sinking and destroys your motors or ends up sinking your boat all together.
Would you recommend an inboard bow rider for beginner water sports such as kneeboarding and wakeboarding or a V-drive boat ??
The V-Drive is always superior for every water sport. There are many reasons and could get long here to explain. If you want to go into details, I am happy to chat about it more - just click here to book a time: app.hubspot.com/meetings/sean715?__hstc=58870066.d6a88c2efd87e7c2408c1edb209dccd1.1566589224649.1583672159208.1583674650045.507&__hssc=58870066.1.1583674650045&__hsfp=824236545
The Volvo Penta forward drive (propellers face the front of the boat) is a great option. It allows the boat to preform as good or better
as a V-drive when you’re doing water sports, but you get better performance and fuel economy when using the boat as a runabout.
I’ve always felt the ride of an i/o powered boat was better than an outboard… lower center of gravity and more weight forward of stern . Also, can you run an outboard at higher speeds for extended period of time? And last, if used the same way, which will last longer ?
Great point ls and yes, you are right. That is a good question. Any opinion on that would be simply that (an opinion). As far as the internal engine components are concerned , an IO engine, based off of automotive architecture, may have the edge there. I do not have data to back that up though
All great and factual information, but I would argue that nobody seems to talk about the physics of outboards vs inboards, or even Inboard/Outboard powered boats. Outboards place the weight off the transom, or even further back on a bracket. This makes an outboard powered boat more likely to porpoise or lift up at the bow every time it encounters a wave. Just watch the motion of outboard powered boats, there is more bow rise. Weight further forward reduces this from happening.
Now let's consider the sideways motion of a boat, or the pitch or roll. An inboard or I/O is placed much lower on the boat offering greater stability. The engine acts like ballast as in the keel of a sailboat. The weight of the engine wants to right the boat, or return it normal. With an outboard, not only is the weight of the engine further backward, it is also higher up. The weight wants to pull the boat over when leaning hard in either direction, not a good thing.
We tend to fish mostly off the back of planing boats. Who wants the obstruction of an outboard in the way?
Next is cost. I can purchase a used 350 or 454 for cheap. Try replacing a similar horsepower outboard for that amount.
Highly unlikely.
Lastly, an inboard engine is basically a marinated vehicle engine. Many mechanics have knowledge of this type of engine.
Have I convinced you yet?
These are all really great points that to be honest, slipped my mind when making the video - good feedback! Thank you.
You hit the nail in the head as for missing the issue of re-powering a boat. The initial cost of an OB is significantly higher than I/O and probably won’t last as long. Extracting the kind of performance manufacturer’s get out of O/Bs comes at a cost.
You missed one HUGE con of sterndrives: bilge blowers and needing to run them for at least four minutes and sniff for fumes before starting the engine!
Stern drive has all the problems of an inboard and all the problems of an outboard.
Sean Michel or Sterndrive has all of the advantages of an inboard and of an outboard. All depends on what you want.
@@ChristianCastleman No stern drives are just pieces of shit thats why they're starting to not make them
Very few boats available in the 1990-2015 range?? Wow that's funny, considering 75% of the boats out there including mine, which is a 1996 model, have an outboard setup on it.
Christian, we are not saying there are none, just as a percentage of fiberglass bowriders built in that time frame, outboards were less popular than sterndrives.
@@boatinglessons This is true, there were not a ton of outboards that made sense to throw on a bowrider at the time. The ever growing offshore center console scene lead companies to develop much better engines that were scaled down and made sense to put on a bowrider. Bass fishing boats and tinnies / jhon boats have always had outboards though.
75%?? Where did you pull THAT number out of?
Jet drive FTW 😎👍
I have a Chaparral Sunesta 224 with an I/O and I absolutely love it. I want the stern of my boat open and free of obstructions. I want to be able to sit on the swim platform or sit on the rear-facing seat and not have an engine in the way or messing up my view. Will heavy maintenance be more expensive? Hopefully I'll never have to find out. I got propulsion insurance on the boat that includes normal wear and tear so I'm not too worried about it. I'm not going to get a type of engine I don't like because of a cost I MAY have to deal with years down the road.
Just my opinion.
"I'm not going to get a type of engine I don't like because of a cost I MAY have to deal with years down the road." Exactly!!!
I'm looking at an inboard powered boat, Mercuiser 5L with Bravo drive. I am told it puts out about 240HP. I will mainly be diving out of the boat. How do these Mercuiser engines compare with fuel efficiency when compared with a similar HP modern 4 stroke outboard?
If it is a Bravo 3 it would use only slightly more than an equivalent 240/250 hp current outboard if used the same way (perhaps 10%)
@@boatinglessons so Bravo 2 is much worse? Bravo 3 has the double props right? I thought they were only for bigger boats.
Bravo 2 is a “work” drive, and great in a twin counter rotating application. Is this on a larger cruiser?
Great channel, great content, excellent explanations. Question: I’m getting ready to replace my back mounted mechanical rack & pinion on my 2002 Maxum 1800SR bowrider 3.0 Mercury Alpha drive, will a no feed back mechanical rack system reduce steering effort and improve feel or handling vs just a rack? My steering required a lot of effort before the rack teeth broke, hence why I have to replace it? Will a new rack vs a new NFB steering be the same?
Does your Maxum and 3.0L have power steering? If so, perhaps it is not working properly as you should not have that much effort required. The other possibility is that the cable may have been corroded internally.
Len's Cove Lessons in Boating no power steering just mechanical manual steering.
Do you have any experience with No Feedback Mechanical Rack Steering?
@@ozelot250 Yes, what would you like to know? Feel free to call in anytime with questions: 613-272-2581 and ask for Sean
Try adjusting the zinc fin above prop. They aren't supposed to be perfectly straight.
Nice thing is the ease of working on winterizing and swapping an outboard if you had any issue. True inboard or jet drive isn't for me.
Thanks for this video. I’ve just purchased my first bowrider with an inboard motor. I had the trim up and I noticed it wouldn’t start. Is this normal and bad for the motor
Do NOT put your stern drive in gear with it trimmed way up. The angle of the drive shaft knuckle/universal joint is too extreme and will snap. It can run while up maybe halfway in shallow water but only at idle.
The not starting issue may be related to this as a safeguard against putting power through the driveline while at an angle. My experience has been with pre-2008 boats that had few if any operator error safeguards. Best of luck.
Excellent advice Steve! It definitely is hard on them and should be avoided.
Nobody is gonna talk about the guy backing the boat at 3:50 jack knifed or hit something😂
No jack knife there….for context you would need to see what area they were backing into :)
1) I/O have a lower and more forward centre of gravity. Much better when towed on trailer.
2) the superior CG gives lower planing speeds
3) don’t need trim tabs
4) easier to diagnose while driving
5) more dangerous due to blower/fumes
Hi you said that that the io would last a little longer . Wrong a car or truck will go 200000 miles a out board motor will not all parts of the io stern drive unit are much more robust as well. I have power trim on my stern drive so it will come out of the water like a outboard. AS far as longevity I have a 1972 slick craft from new it cost me about $50.00 per year for up keep with no over hall ever
What about pilothouses?
Yes, they are technically a separate category and gaining in popularity. There are a few others I missed too due to lower sales/popularity numbers.
I have a 1978 sea ray inboard I am looking for a top to keep the sun off the wife and I were want it to go from windshield to the back. Can you help us get one for our boat and we want to replace our box to cover our Motor with cup holder thank you we can't find what side the top we are looking for we want to be able to mount a light bar on the top .
Hi Ray, where do you do your boating? If you want to ask more questions, you can always book a call with us here: app.hubspot.com/meetings/sean715
Any comment on purchase price for equivalent HP of both types?
In the example of a new 23' boat, with equal horsepower, the outboard would be slightly more expensive to purchase
I just replace both of my V6 gas nboards on my twin engine cruiser. Less than $7k for both, did the work myself.
Try to find two new 200 hp outboards for that price. Nuff said.
How do I find out what engine came with my boat
Paul, did you find the answer to your question?
At my Home lake there’s a lot of I/O pontoons
There is no such thing!!!
Actually they do follow the link
boats-from-usa.com/south-bay/south-bay-925-cr-io-48911
Key word here is "lake". He didn't mention that salt water is where outboards rule.
@@SonnyGTA yes there is I own one
Inboard spent more time in workshops that on the water. It always something wrong with them.
Also crazy fuel consumption compare to outboard
Although not an absolute rule, that is correct more often than not :)
So let's see an outboard engine attached to an inboard outdrive
That is exactly how it is
Here in south Florida I/O's are rare. Nearly every boat up to about 40 feet is an outboard.
Are outboards best for shallow water and beaches ? But the thought of a sharp propeller at the back terrifies me.
Most Comments Are Fake yes they are great for both. I take my 27’ bow rider in water 18” deep, no problem because the motors trim up. Also, The prop is not sharp, and it’s not going to be spinning anyways because the motor should be off when you stop for a swim. I wouldn’t wakeboard with an outboard though.
Hmm. Interesting. Thank you for that presentation. What experience do you have with jack plates?? You mentioned that one of the benefits of an outboard is the ability to trim right out of the water. However, I have a brand new boat with an outboard on a mini-jack plate, which neither brings the prop up above the bottom of the hull like it's supposed to, nor does the engine trim fully out of the water regardless of what position the jack plate is raised to because a mercury level trim limiter is fitted that restricts the engine from trimming up fully. It trims you even less under slow power becauhse the boat tips up at slow speeds, so the mercury level is affected. The trim limiter was installed post purchase of the boat, because trimming it up fully breaks the hydraulic steering fittings. Do you think the problem could be an incorrectly sized and positioned jack plate by the dealer??
That is messed up. The purpose of the tilt and jack plate is to get the prop up and out of the water if needed. Something is not right there.
I know. But I've yet to convince the dealer of their mistake, which I truly believe is the undersized mini-jack plate.
That cruiser looks like a repurposed lobster boat, I like it
I have a 5.7 in 18 1/2 ft, It can out accelerate most 2 stroke Outboards. I feel that a 5.7 is too small in a boat over 22 ft.
Is there a lower unit jet drive I can replace my Mercury 3.0 135HP inboard-outboard propeller with?
Not that I am aware of Michael. I would estimate that it would be less expensive to trade for a similar age jet powered boat of a similar size than try to retrofit.
Dude those jet drive lower units for outboards are the worst things ever made. Don't get as much power, they break alot and are a pain to maintain. Ik bc im a marine technician
Outboard for life!!!
To anyone who wants to get into watersports PLEASE don't get either of these. Once you ski behind a true inboard inboard nothing will be the same.
Your heart will sing. Colors will be brighter. You will never want to go near an i/o again.
No mention of the increased fire risk in a boat with the engine mounted inside the boat?
I am not sure I agree with the inboard being more difficult for the do it your selfers. Conventional "car" engines are much easier than an outboard. Access my be tougher on some.
a 300 HP out board is >30k, you can get an I/O >300 HP for less.
You forgot direct straight shaft drive, z drive, allison and pods.
Outboard all the way, don't forget that the exhaust/cooling water runs through your hull, if your seals (bellows) fail you're looking at a sinking boat. Not to mention working on them is a MASSIVE pita. (I own one)
Next video: paddles vs oars
Con - Outboard engines being totally exposed are much easier to steal.
@@maple-leafs13 What makes them hard to steel? Is there anything a owner can do to prevent steeling?
I don't think this is true. Anything in the same performance range as an I/O is going to weigh 600 lbs and up. It would be easier to steal the whole boat whether in the water or on a trailer.
Smaller outboards can be stolen but also aren't going to run an 18 foot ski boat.
I/o setups are easier to maintain for diyers than outboard engines. Especially if they are used to working on cars. Outboard engines are a lot more compact and not as easy to work on in my opinion.
From a repair standpoint, I think you are right. From an annual maintenance though it is the opposite (in our opinion)
One point that was missing was high performance boats. Outboards are way way more expensive to run high horsepower. More outdrives in the water scrub speed Where are you going to buy an 800hp outboard for $25k? You’re going to have to buy two 400s that will be slower and cost $80k.
Yes - that is a market we see very little of up here in the north ;)
Not a boater, but my common sense is telling me that it is a whole ton easier to swap out outboard engines.
Yes, 100% true.
TEAM OUTBOARD
Never buy out boards, someone will steal it sooner or later.
Peter N, sorry if that has happened to you! It has here a few times also, although fortunately...not to often
depends where you live. on a lake i have had no issues, nor has anyone I know.
Where u live ?? In the hood???
Maybe a 9.9 lol
BLM don’t go near the water, so you should be good.
The main difference is: I/O's are trouble-prone and break all the time; expensive to have repaired. Avoid them if you boat in salt water.
may I ask, they r not recommended for salt water?
@@sultanaljuhani1571I boat often in a saltwater area. Virtually everyone has outboards. Inboard/outboards can be used, but are really more appropriate for freshwater lakes.
@@mikestevens2053 noted. Thanks . I'm doing my research now. And it seems that where I live it's very hard to find maintenance/spare parts for the inboards any way
You left out a BIG consideration on this decision and I think it is due to your lake bias. Here on the coast of Florida where salt water is king, outboards are also King. Outboards are better for salt water applications since the entire engine was designed to run in salt, whereas a converted car or truck engine that uses salt water for cooling will rot the engine from the inside out faster. I/O Exhaust risers are know to corrode much faster in salt water.
Yes you will defiantly want closed cooling for an inboard or I/O motor.
Outdrive trims up past the hull, how is that any different in a shallow situation, if anything weight distribution gives it to the inboard engine boat.
In order to get the drive that high, the angle of the prop is different and less useful (because of where it pivots). Also, it is never completely out of the water which is beneficial in salt water
@@boatinglessons Nah, both are just as shitty, 2 degrees this way or the other from boat to boat makes no difference... like I said non-issues. Salt? you think it's any different if you hang the drive 6 inches above the water, add oxygen to the mix, and on top of that dry out that prop bearing?
Watch at 1.25x
Conclusion: outboards
New outboards are quieter than I/Os.
Outboards dont explode when you forget to operate blower
that is true
With all the advantages of outboards, why were they hard to find recently?
Because other people also know about these advantages?