Re: How bad is the OMC stringer drive?
Salt water is a demanding mistress.<br />Especially for a moored or slipped I/O<br />you have to think of maintenance like an airplane, the whole thing has to be checked out each season.<br />So far I have had to replace one bellows, a few seals, and I replace the impeller and thermostats regularly. Manifolds get checked 4 seasons and most likely replaced. Biggest problem you will have is fouling, the antifouling paints for alu do not work as well as the copper based hull paint.<br /><br />Now about the OMC stringers, I have seen only one around here, and I noticed that the lower unit was able to tilt all the way out of the water, something no modern outdrive can do! So if they could have improved the sealing and the ball gear drive system, this abiliy to fully tilt out of the water could have been a really good selling feature for salt water use.