"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
...

On 8/1/13 10:17 AM, Eisboch wrote:


On the two I/Os I had the trim was useful in making sure the leg
was
fully up when retrieving the boat at the launch, but that was about
it. Oh, it was also useful in troubleshooting a problem on the old
Century I had. A leak in the hydraulics would allow the leg to
slowly
be pushed back down, once adjusted and the damn boat would start to
bow
steer. Not fun at higher speeds.


I managed to avoid owning I/O's for my entire boating life. My father
sold them but didn't like them for many reasons, and I suppose I
picked
up on his opinion/prejudice.

My dad's best friend was a competitor boat dealer who handled Century
boats. I always loved the fancy mahogany speedboats but my favorite
was
a 20-footer (I'm guessing from a long ago memory) lapstrake model, not
unlike a Lyman, straight inboard, maybe 120 hp or so. Nice riding
boat,
soft chines.

------------------------------

The Century I had wasn't one of the nice, older classics like that.
It was a 1982 26' Express Cruiser I/O and probably should have been
retired from service years before I bought it. It had been repowered
by an amateur and had all kinds of problems. The second time out
Mrs.E. and I were enjoying a nice cruise towards Boston Harbor when I
started smelling burning rubber. Looked back from the helm and black
smoke was coming out of the engine space. The engine had not been
aligned properly with the outdrive and the rubber drive coupling
(forget what they are called) self destructed. My father-in-law
came to our rescue and towed us back to port with his Uniflite.

That started a series of repairs, corrections and adjustments and I
learned the value of having both a survey, mechanic's inspection and
sea trial before buying a boat. It was also the second and last I/O
I owned. Two footitest set in and all the the subsequent boats
(except for a few smaller outboards) had fixed props and rudders.

I'd never even consider an I/O again.