Advantages of an I/O?

[PhatboyC]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

drooling....

 

[dingbat]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

This oughta handle 4 of 'em, lighter and less drag too . . .

Factory available, twin supercharged, 557 cubes, 1200 bhp

Does it come with a 5 year factory warranty or do I have to haul a pit crew around fishing with me.?

 

[MikDee]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

This oughta handle 4 of 'em, lighter and less drag too . . .

Factory available, twin supercharged, 557 cubes, 1200 bhp

Yeah, What he said ^^^ Yeah, yeah right! That's the one I meant,,,lol,,,

 

[Hitech]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

Thanks guys, I'm beginning to get the idea. Basically it seems like they are cheaper for the same HP. I would also consider the swim platform a bonus, except the VP 280 I have takes up about as much ?transom room? as an OB.

I hadn't thought of the fact that most OB are 2 strokes. Isn't the trend toward 4 strokes?

I'm guessing that comparing a 4 stroke OB (do they even make 200+ HP 4 stroke OBs ?) to an I/O would help make the I/O look better?

When you start talking about multiple 300 + hp motors and drives I'm lost, not much experience there.

Oh yeah, I can't believe I didn't think about working on them "on the water", as I did just that to get mine running. But then, inboards have the same advantage, so it's not just an advantage of an I/O.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

(do they even make 200+ HP 4 stroke OBs ?)

Yup, you can get up to 350 horses from a 4 stroke OB - check out Yamaha

 

[Bamboo]

Re: Advantages of an I/O?

I've had both and, as has already been said, there are advantages to each. Things I really liked about I/O - lots of power for the buck, nothing beats the sound of a V-8, engine format is common to autos so most people can easily understand how they work and do basic maintenance, unlike older outboards almost all older I/Os are 4-stroke engines.

When I lived in California and boated mainly in fresh water, I liked the I/O format a lot. I only had one that was a maintenance hog (an Olds 455 Rocket coupled to a mercruiser...but it was mighty quick!), but the others (chevy 4.3 and 5.7s) were not too bad. However, I moved to Florida where the waters are mainly brackish or salt and my experiences with the I/O turned sour. The salt water took it's toll on the drive, motor, and my wallet (yes, I flushed, maintained and everything else you are suppose to do). Sold the I/O and got a 18.5' no wood, dual console boat with a Yamaha F150 four stroke. This rig is perfect for my Florida needs. Runs reasonably fast (49 mph WOT gps), super economy, very quiet (quieter than most I/Os), smooth, no below the waterline through hulls to leak, easy to maintain, and it's darned near salt proof. I don't see myself going back to an I/O as long as I'm in Florida.

So, depending on where you run the boat, one man's advantage may be another's liability.