I/o or OB?


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Old 11-26-04, 06:57 AM
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I/o or OB?

Hurricane Charley blew my boat away. Now I have to decide if I want an I/O or outboard for the new boats I have been looking at. Don't really understand the pros and cons of the two. Any suggestions? Like the looks of something like a 20' Bayliner with a cuddy cabin.
Thanks.
 
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Old 11-27-04, 09:51 AM
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Wink

Over the years have had them both. They are both good .A lot is in what you will do with it are have been doing with it. I will say in the over all I like the I/O best. With some of the new EPA on oil in the lake Id go for a I/O.

My .02 cents

ED
 
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Old 11-30-04, 06:31 AM
Shiprekd
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This is a huge debate for alot of people but overall, you'll find the I/O to be more "DIY" friendly to a point. Don't confuse this with "ease of use" - Too many pro's and con's to go into here. But you'll find alot more designs and options in a boat with an I/O.

An Alpha 2 outdrive is around 90lbs and you can pull it yourself for service. some of the bigger outboards are in excess of several hundred pounds on some of them and are pretty tricky if you need service on the motor; especially the newer 4 stroke motors.

I/O's you lose interior space on smaller boats, There's alot more to go wrong with with them from bilge blowers to the prop.

If you're relatively new to the marine area, go with an I/O and you'll be happy.
 
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Old 12-09-04, 02:31 PM
hawkins1988
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Thumbs up Go with an inboard

Hey, my family and i bought a Mastercraft prostar 190 last year. Best decision we have ever made. We had a 20 foot searay before, but went to the boat show and coughed up 60,000 dollar. If you can affort the slight expensive prices inboard is the way to go. but if you cant outboards are very easy to get fixed and dong cost as much.
hope this helps.
 
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Old 12-09-04, 06:47 PM
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A Contrarian Response

I guess my first consideration would be whether the boat will remain in the water for a major portion of the year. There are a lot more problems with i/o outdrives than o/b lower units cause by in-water storage.

With the new four-stroke engines, the arguments about fuel consumption and buying outboard oil are now moot.

I can work on auto engines, so I/O's are attractive, but I like outboards, and have been able to work on them also.

Just remember the two happiest days of owning a boat are the day you buy it, and the DAY YOU SELL IT
 
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Old 12-14-04, 03:22 AM
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I've had both and I would NEVER own another I/O in a salt water enviornment. The outboards can handle the higher RPMs for longer periods of time also. With the introduction of four strokes and fuel injection, pollution is not an issue any more. Repowering down the road will be much easier with an outboard also.
 
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Old 12-14-04, 04:02 AM
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As for I/O's in fresh water, here at Lake Murray, SC, the muskrats eat the outdrive seal

My neighbor has had his replaced 3 times in the past 4 years. When the boat sinks at the dock, this is usually what caused it.
 
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Old 12-14-04, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by arkayassoc
As for I/O's in fresh water, here at Lake Murray, SC, the muskrats eat the outdrive seal
Hahahaha.............. Good one. I'm in So Fla. In our canals and lakes we get these nasty ducks that sit on the gunwale with their butts hanging inside and just crap away. I just love it when a gator gets one for lunch.
 
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Old 12-14-04, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Desi501
Hahahaha.............. Good one. I'm in So Fla. In our canals and lakes we get these nasty ducks that sit on the gunwale with their butts hanging inside and just crap away. I just love it when a gator gets one for lunch.
Desi, Just so you understand, I was serious about the muskrats.
 
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Old 12-15-04, 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by arkayassoc
Desi, Just so you understand, I was serious about the muskrats.
I know you were. I was too. I had a Ski Nautique on a canal in my back yard and the Muscovie ducks would line up on the gunwale and transom with their butts hanging over my carpet and make big piles on the carpet. They also entirely covered my dock with the same stuff. We used to pray for the gators to reduce the population.
 
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Old 12-16-04, 06:52 AM
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I/O or OB

My family had several boats over the years with both setups. The outbords are noiser and dirtier unless you get one of the new four strokes. I've been on one with a Honda four stroke. I was extreamly impressed. The quietest motor I've ever heard on a boat, including I/Os.

The I/Os are usually more HP but you loose some in the weight difference when comparing boats of the same size. You also loose some room with the I/Os until you get to larger boats.

If your looking for a boat with a cuddy cabin then you're going to be limited in this choice anyway as most nowdays are I/Os anyway. The larger fishing boats sometimes use one or two outboads but man do they suck down the gas! The last one I was on had twin 150 outboards on a twenty-six foot sport fisher and the thing gulped about 16 GPH! That's an expensive day!

All and all I would stick with the I/O for a larger boat or a four stroke outboard for a smaller boat depending on what you plan to use it for. I'm big into fishing and cruising and not so much into water skiing and so forth.
 
 

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