Re: I/O vs outboard cost
IMO, each has its place. An inboard, for example, is out of the question for the 16 foot Lund that we drag into remote lakes or bounce off the rocks in rivers. But inboards, like a SeaRay, are much nicer for comfortable cruising on accessible larger bodies of water.
As far as cost of ownership goes, we have found the inboards to be much cheaper than the outboards. With a properly serviced inboard, you can pretty much forget about repairs, and they use much less fuel.
How many broken down outboards that won't start do you see at the boat launch each year? Or if they will start, the owners are doing circles near the dock trying to get them to run properly.
