I found a bunch of Industry Data . . .

[tpenfield]

I came across some data about the boating industry and more specifically sterndrive (I/O) powered boats. The source was from "Info-Link" . . . not sure how good a source it is vs. some of the other industry sources.

Anyway, since we have a fairly high concentration of I/O boats among our membership, I thought that I would share . . .
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Sterndrive a shrinking percentage . . .

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Typical Sterndrive boat categories on the decline. . .

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So, it looks that between the shift towards outboards and the decline in volume of typical sterndrive powered boats, sterndrives have really become a niche market.

It is interesting that the 'average age' of the boats in operation is 22 years . . . considering many of them are made to last 15-20 years.

 

[Scott Danforth]

A few other facts

BOM costs for most boat manufacturers with I/I or IB went up 50% between 2018 and 2023

The average wage went up 10-15%

 

[Lou C]

That is interesting, looking at what I see out back in our harbor, the # of sterndrives has definitely declined, I do still see some on the small cruisers but even those are coming on the market with outboards. It's a combination of factors, the increase in repair cost due to the biased (against inboards) policy of the EPA requiring cat converters on inboards but not outboards, killing the sterndrive market, just like they did to 2 stroke outboards, and people just don't want the maintenance headaches, that's the fault of Merc/Volvo and the boat builders.
I used to find going to the boat show at Nassau Coliseum like a comedy show, let's see how sadistic this I/O boat builder is, how much they hate mechanics, well that caught up with them. I convinced my brother to get rid of his nearly impossible to work on Chapparal with the Merc 4.5 V6, nice boat but anything other than an oil change, will really test your patience. He now has a similar size boat with a Yamaha 4 stroke. Much better for our boating environment.

 

[MRS]

I also went to a outboard motor love it had a omc with the 4.3 loved it.
But the maintenance winterizing was getting to hard for this old body
can't bend an twist like I use to.

 

[Lou C]

I am getting to that point. Still have the same old 4.3/Cobra/4bbl

 

[Mc Tool]

Huh, I thought Id really like a sterndrive boat .....until I found this site and discovered all the stuff that goes wrong and how much it cost to fix ......I'll stick to my outboards thanks

 

[Pmt133]

From dad's musings wrenching, wellcrafts with volvos in the 70s/80s were about the worst to work on. Hated benches, hated fiberglass engine boxes... he had a list. Really liked the I4 and I6s as nothing got buried on those but the 6 was uncommon when he started so it was either a 4 banger or a 350 shoe horned into the space a 4 banger would occupy with no room to work.

I never found them particularly difficult to work on but the 4 winns is about as well set up as they get. More so after I did the restoration. Seeing some boats on here and at the show, if buying new and having to deal with all the BS that comes with the fancy electronics, I'd go outboard as at least there are some real weight benefits to that to go along with it.

Seeing the price of new boats, as well as houses, cars and everything else... I'm keeping my garbage and praying some people start getting foreclosed on.

 

[aspeck]

It is hard to believe mine is 31 years old. Garage kept. OB replaced a couple times because of brother who buys, rebuilds, resells them ... and he would have customer who wanted mine. Current motor is 40 years old ... guess rectifier was due to burn up the other week. I see the new boats and some are really sweet. And the new 4 strokes might be sexy, but mine does the job, is a workhorse, actually, and is paid for. Other than fuel, oil, registration, and insurance, it costs me nothing. Even the last mechanical issue, brother wouldn't let me pay for the parts because I let him store his old wooden CrisCraft in my garage.

 

[Stinnett21]

The trend toward pontoons, center consoles and wake boats was the nail in the coffin to I/Os. The I/O was bowrider family friendly which is becoming an obsolete boat style. Factor in many kids don't want to go anymore. It's boring, would rather sit at home on social media. I've experienced this personally. Once they take all their instagram pictures they're done and bored, especially anchored in a cove with no cell reception. Pontoons and center consoles tend to more adult oriented.

 

[Scott06]

The trend toward pontoons, center consoles and wake boats was the nail in the coffin to I/Os. The I/O was bowrider family friendly which is becoming an obsolete boat style. Factor in many kids don't want to go anymore. It's boring, would rather sit at home on social media. I've experienced this personally. Once they take all their instagram pictures they're done and bored, especially anchored in a cove with no cell reception. Pontoons and center consoles tend to more adult oriented.

I think the pontoon replaced the bow rider as the main style of lake boats. My friend bought a new four wins BR last spring, was an unsold 2025, dealer told him they had only sold two BR’s in the last year, only selling pontoons and jet skis.

we like our swim platform too much for an OB