Outboards Vs Inboards.....

jeffywestcoast

Well-Known Member
The age ole debate continues...would like some pro's and cons for and against each.... Annual maintenance costs and reasons why i should go inboard or outboard.....
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Or even go one step further, how much have you spent on your motor( breakdowns, mechanical,tune ups,etc) in the last 5 years?
 
I new there would be an oldie.. Thanks man
Can you repost the link.. Says invalid parameters..
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I myself I have to say inboard now. I have had outboards for over 30 years and made the switch 3 years ago (girlfriends idea) now I like the heat on those cold mornings ( I must be getting old)

cheers
 
I've had bad luck with both but I grew up fishing out of my dad's old whaler with a 2 stroke yami for years and that motor never broke down, not once, nada.
 
I had an I/O and had terrible luck. I was constantly fixing small things. This was on a low hour boat. I have a outboard now and its simple to maintain , quiet and gives me more room in the boat. I will never own a I/O again. If you need heat then buy a diesel heater. The price of new risers/ manifolds alone will buy you a diesel heater.
 
Same , i grew up in campbell river fishing with my stepdad fishing out of a 15 ft whaler with 35 johnson tiller


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In my opinion a lot depends on the size of the boat. 16 to 20 feet or so I would be inclined to want an outboard. Any boat getting into the 22 ft and up need a fair bit of horsepower and torque. When you consider the cost difference between a good late model inboard as opposed to 1 or 2 outboards, I think the value is with the inboard. These newer fuel injected engines are hard to beat for both power and economy.
 
I'm a fan of the old school 80s 2 stroke Mercs. Tons of power and cheap to replace. If you do regular maintenance they are hard to kill. When they do finally croak it's a half day job and they can be had rebuilt for under 2k. I don't know if it matters or not but I only use one brand of mix oil. Never vary my mix ratio either. Always exact measurement plus one teaspoon per 20ltr can.
 
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The age ole debate continues...would like some pro's and cons for and against each.... Annual maintenance costs and reasons why i should go inboard or outboard.....
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I am happy with my inboard. I had equally same experience with outboard as my inboard....A lot of it was learning the inboard and maintenance... The ride personally it just my opinion on the inboard I find is better the center of gravity is different... I like outboards.... But then again lets take my current boat...I am in at least 15k-17k to get a decent motor with a pod...I can right now just go out and get brand new motor and put it in for 5k.... Its not like a don't have an outboard I have my Yamaha kicker on my boat. The motor I have is a simple mercruiser 3.0L.. It has one manifold and the freshwater cooling.... Parts are very cheap.. I had a few problems last year but that is because I had just bought it and some things were coming up for maintenance.. The doghouse isn't huge and rarely bothers me...

It is something that takes getting used too..But each have there pluses and minus.... With any engine they need to run and they need maintenance... I am actually looking forward to getting heat put in cabin with inboard... I find a lot of peopl with any motor don't use it and then wonder why things got problems...

My advice not one is better than other.. They both bust/breakdown.... Its what your comfortable with.. You can see my posts on those threads what I went through...
 
I've got a Volvo 5.0 with duo prop. Motor and drive have 825 hours, replaced primary fuel pump, raw water pump and a power steering cooler. That's it. Annual maintenance and Oil changes as required . Boat is moored full time. Gotta agree with Spring Velocity on the replacement cost factor. Plus you can run a buss heater to stay warm!! I've got no complaints.
 
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I guess the only added thing with an inboard is a blower and switch. Fires are pretty rare. Blow ups are pretty rare and usually operator error. The fuel consumption thing can be bashed around. The thing I don't like about them is the big azz hole in the hull out back. I may be freaking out but it does scare me. I haven't read or seen too many accidents in regards to boats going down because of it, but it does scare me.

I like the price point on inboards compared to outboards. I like the parts price point as well. I think that is why there will always be inboards. They make a ***** load of money off of the parts. Most of them are standardized parts. This new Mercury inboard has me sitting on the fence. Sure it's a total for boating design but have they shoe horned folks into just buying through them for parts?

Anyways, I have always been pretty impressed with the ride of a boat with an inboard in it. The low center of gravity has merit for sure. I just don't like the big azz hole in the back. A true inboard has a microscopic weep with the through hull fitting against the shaft that doesn't worry me as much. Easier to contain in case of a failure.

Anyways, if you can tell, I don't like holes in boats below water line lol.
 
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I think its important to note that the inboards have become far more reliable in the recent years than they were in the past. Think they have a bad rep from the old days. the newer fuel injected inboards seem pretty good and are cheap compared to outboards. If the boat design has good access to the motor a lot of inboard work is easy to do your self. If mooring your boat I do like that outboards can sit out of the water. i
 
I think when I hear the argument over inboards vs outboards in terms of replacement costs people forget the cost of the leg. Yes, you can replace the motor for $3K-5K, but the leg could cost you that as well. I have had both and have found that the outboards have been cheaper to maintain and run. might be that I just had better luck with the outboards. The inboards have been easier to repair but were more expensive to run, outboards the opposite cheaper to run but more expensive to repair. That mainly has to do with the fact that I repair all the inboard stuff myself and have to job out the outboard stuff. JMHO.
 
I say outboard. True that inboards are better now with fuel injection, but IMHO it is the leg that is the weak link, they are chronically underbuilt, prone to problems like leaking seals and gaskets, and expensive repairs and replacement. Now that outboards come up to 350hp why bother with an inboard I say. My 2 bits.
 
I say outboard. True that inboards are better now with fuel injection, but IMHO it is the leg that is the weak link, they are chronically underbuilt, prone to problems like leaking seals and gaskets, and expensive repairs and replacement. Now that outboards come up to 350hp why bother with an inboard I say. My 2 bits.

Just curious have you ever had an inboard? I sort of agree with you..But the expensive repair/parts its a little opposite I find..I find the inboard parts cheaper.... Some of my outboards were money pits as well.. Then again I run a 4cylinder so if tomorrow I replaced everything brand new its 7k..To me that's more affordable..
 
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Jerrod....boats are money pits!!! LOL
 
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