John wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..
John wrote:
"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
m...
Good one.

If ypu want a recreational boat then the i/os are the biggest bang for
the buck. Plus you get to have a full length rear deck for messing with
the ropes, skis, tubs etc. Sometimes we're bringing in multiple people
the same time we're putting out multiple people. Outboards are just in
the way, fine for fishing, but forget about it for recreational boating.
I/o's are a bad choice if you're going to leave it in a slip full time
though.

AGREE, in-land, trailer boating, the i/o is the way to go. But like you
said, if left in the water an outboard is better, because all of the
water drains out when you trim it up.

There are many other reasons to pick an outboard over an I/O. One is that
the outboard doesn't have that rubber gasket...

This is a classic "funny line" : " Outboards are just in the
way, fine for fishing, but forget about it for recreational boating."

All you guys using outboards for "recreational boating," well, you're all
wrong, wrong, wrong. :)

LOL - didn't read it that way but you have a point. About the only big
advantage that the i/o has is that the top of the outboard is not in the
way. BUT, with a bunch of kids in and out of the boat or the teenage
bathing beauties lying about, the additional floor space, the flat deck
behind the rear seat, and the diving platform across the whole back ARE HUGE
advantages.




I've never owned an I/O, but, like "Reggie," I've read about them!

Seriously, I suppose they have their place, but there's not much about
I/O's that have appeal for me. Were I a "freshwater" boater, maybe I'd
feel differently.

I don't like that rubber gasket protruding below the water line. I don't
like the fact that the drive unit doesn't lift completely out of the
water. I don't like the extra change in direction from the engine to the
drive to the propeller. I don't like giving up space inside the boat for
the engine box. I don't like the weight of that engine against the
stern, although with the huge outboards now available, the outboard
weight advantage is disappearing. I don't like the manifold maintenance
on an I/O.

Some years ago, I asked one of the Parker Boats family why the company
had dropped the I/O option on several of its pilot house boats, because
the I/O models were fairly popular. Parker offered a diesel I/O. The
response was, "with the new high horsepower four strokes, the advantages
of the diesel are pretty much gone." Well, I agree with that.

Now a straight, conventional driveshaft diesel...that's still appealing
on smaller boats that can handle one properly.