4 stroke or 2 stroke, inboard or outboard? from a financial standpoint

[Nathan k]

Hello,

I'm on a budget and stuck on what will be cheaper.

How much will it cost to service and maintain a 3 liter 4 stroke mercruiser inboard in a year?
and how much would a 2 stroke 125hp (ish) outboard cost? (not including 2 stroke oil)

i have heard that to service a 3L mercruiser your looking at around ?500? how much else do you have to spend on it though? like oils and whatever i have missed out

i have no clue about the 2 stroke outboards but if someone could estimate both engines for a year i would really really appreciate it

Many Thanks

Nathan

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: 4 stroke or 2 stroke, inboard or outboard? from a financial standpoint

Upkeep on an inboard outboard is essentially 5 quarts of oil, a filter and lower unit oil change per year. It's best if the engine is drained of water for the winter vs. sucking antifreeze into it. The upkeep on the inboard outboard comes after a few years when you have to replace the bellows on the outdrive--a pain in the rear. I/O's are great on fuel, and they'll all run fast after you get them on a plane. Towing an extra 700 lbs in the U.K. means you may need a larger tow vehicle. You'll have to live with lower fuel mileage all year, however.

70% of the outboard market in the U.S. are 4 strokes--and our fuel is 1/2 the cost of your fuel. Upkeep is very little if you can change your own oil and spark plugs. They're all electronic fuel injection--and don't often require much maintenance. A 2 stroke motor is not your best bet for a boat in the U.K. (or the rest of Western Europe) due to enormous gas taxes. Your government doesn't make it too easy to live well.

 

[Nathan k]

Re: 4 stroke or 2 stroke, inboard or outboard? from a financial standpoint

Your government doesn't make it too easy to live well.

I know right, if it wasn't for all my family being in the UK I'd be in US or the Caribbean by now.
Thanks for the reply.