Eisboch wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
...

You're just sliding down that hill again, Chuck. Your goal, stated or
otherwise, is to promote anything and all things that might sell boats.
I have no ongoing business interests in the boating world. I think hanging
large appendages out of the bottom of a plastic pleasure boat is
inherently risky and certainly riskier than the typical inboard prop shaft
and rudder combo. A steel commercial vessel with watertight compartments
and bulkheads, well, that's different, eh?


Harry, you seem to be taking the position that the only safe type of engine
on a small pleasure boat is an outboard (probably run like I used to as a
kid ... with the latch disengaged so if you hit bottom or something, the
engine just pivoted up).

Nothing wrong with an outboard, if fact I'd prefer it to an I/O, but both
are not practical for some boats. I've seen a SeaRay with conventional twin
screws and rudders have the entire strut on one side ripped out of the hull
when it's prop picked up and wrapped a submerged 2" hawser. I also
recently saw a mangled mess of props, bent shafts and a hole almost 2 feet
long in a boat that got out of the channel in Wood's Hole and ran up on the
rocks.

Eisboch




No, that is not my position. Though on a *small* power pleasure boat
like mine, I don't believe inboards make much sense.

On straight inboard boats, I prefer the shafts and drives be at least
partially protected by a significant keel ahead of those appendages.
There are plenty of inboards with such bottom protection. But even bare
struts, shafts and props present less of an inviting target and probably
don't hang down as low as these new variations on I/O drives that come
through the bottom of the hull. Plus they are very complex, just the
sort of thing you need when "cruising" to faraway ports. Keep in mind
that commercial vessels with these sorts through the bottom propulsion
systems have access to maintenance and repair facilities not usually
available to "yachtsmen."

I've previously stated my feelings about I/O's. I think they are ok on
trailerboats that are under regular inspection by their owners when the
boats are regularly hauled out of the water. I've seen more than a
couple of I/O boats go down by the stern at marinas because their stern
gasket sprung a big leak.

If I were in the market for a 30-35 footer, diesel, I'd want to give
serious consideration to some of the newer, higher efficiency "jet"
drive boats. There's nothing much on the bottom of these boats but an
encased water inlet. Nothing hanging down there.

I mentioned that a local dealer recently sold a 36-foot Grady with three
250-hp outboards. Nice boat, but 750 outboard horsepower? Thanks, but no
thanks.

I have a brochure now on these Zeus drives. They remind me of an I/0 in
many ways, with the lower unit mounted "lower" than usual. It seems to
me that a jackshaft equipped I/O offers the same "advantages" without
all the horrific extra complexity. Of course, the largest diesel
jackshaft engine I've seen was only 380 shp.

As for the "fancy" electronic positioning Chuck was touting, it's really
not that big a deal.
As