I found a bunch of Industry Data . . .

[tpenfield]

I came across some data about the boating industry and more specifically sterndrive (I/O) powered boats. The source was from "Info-Link" . . . not sure how good a source it is vs. some of the other industry sources.

Anyway, since we have a fairly high concentration of I/O boats among our membership, I thought that I would share . . .
.

.
Sterndrive a shrinking percentage . . .

.
Typical Sterndrive boat categories on the decline. . .

.
So, it looks that between the shift towards outboards and the decline in volume of typical sterndrive powered boats, sterndrives have really become a niche market.

It is interesting that the 'average age' of the boats in operation is 22 years . . . considering many of them are made to last 15-20 years.

 

[Scott Danforth]

A few other facts

BOM costs for most boat manufacturers with I/I or IB went up 50% between 2018 and 2023

The average wage went up 10-15%

 

[Lou C]

That is interesting, looking at what I see out back in our harbor, the # of sterndrives has definitely declined, I do still see some on the small cruisers but even those are coming on the market with outboards. It's a combination of factors, the increase in repair cost due to the biased (against inboards) policy of the EPA requiring cat converters on inboards but not outboards, killing the sterndrive market, just like they did to 2 stroke outboards, and people just don't want the maintenance headaches, that's the fault of Merc/Volvo and the boat builders.
I used to find going to the boat show at Nassau Coliseum like a comedy show, let's see how sadistic this I/O boat builder is, how much they hate mechanics, well that caught up with them. I convinced my brother to get rid of his nearly impossible to work on Chapparal with the Merc 4.5 V6, nice boat but anything other than an oil change, will really test your patience. He now has a similar size boat with a Yamaha 4 stroke. Much better for our boating environment.

 

[MRS]

I also went to a outboard motor love it had a omc with the 4.3 loved it.
But the maintenance winterizing was getting to hard for this old body
can't bend an twist like I use to.

 

[Lou C]

I am getting to that point. Still have the same old 4.3/Cobra/4bbl

 

[Mc Tool]

Huh, I thought Id really like a sterndrive boat .....until I found this site and discovered all the stuff that goes wrong and how much it cost to fix ......I'll stick to my outboards thanks

 

[Pmt133]

From dad's musings wrenching, wellcrafts with volvos in the 70s/80s were about the worst to work on. Hated benches, hated fiberglass engine boxes... he had a list. Really liked the I4 and I6s as nothing got buried on those but the 6 was uncommon when he started so it was either a 4 banger or a 350 shoe horned into the space a 4 banger would occupy with no room to work.

I never found them particularly difficult to work on but the 4 winns is about as well set up as they get. More so after I did the restoration. Seeing some boats on here and at the show, if buying new and having to deal with all the BS that comes with the fancy electronics, I'd go outboard as at least there are some real weight benefits to that to go along with it.

Seeing the price of new boats, as well as houses, cars and everything else... I'm keeping my garbage and praying some people start getting foreclosed on.

 

[aspeck]

It is hard to believe mine is 31 years old. Garage kept. OB replaced a couple times because of brother who buys, rebuilds, resells them ... and he would have customer who wanted mine. Current motor is 40 years old ... guess rectifier was due to burn up the other week. I see the new boats and some are really sweet. And the new 4 strokes might be sexy, but mine does the job, is a workhorse, actually, and is paid for. Other than fuel, oil, registration, and insurance, it costs me nothing. Even the last mechanical issue, brother wouldn't let me pay for the parts because I let him store his old wooden CrisCraft in my garage.

 

[Stinnett21]

The trend toward pontoons, center consoles and wake boats was the nail in the coffin to I/Os. The I/O was bowrider family friendly which is becoming an obsolete boat style. Factor in many kids don't want to go anymore. It's boring, would rather sit at home on social media. I've experienced this personally. Once they take all their instagram pictures they're done and bored, especially anchored in a cove with no cell reception. Pontoons and center consoles tend to more adult oriented.

 

[Scott06]

The trend toward pontoons, center consoles and wake boats was the nail in the coffin to I/Os. The I/O was bowrider family friendly which is becoming an obsolete boat style. Factor in many kids don't want to go anymore. It's boring, would rather sit at home on social media. I've experienced this personally. Once they take all their instagram pictures they're done and bored, especially anchored in a cove with no cell reception. Pontoons and center consoles tend to more adult oriented.

I think the pontoon replaced the bow rider as the main style of lake boats. My friend bought a new four wins BR last spring, was an unsold 2025, dealer told him they had only sold two BR’s in the last year, only selling pontoons and jet skis.

we like our swim platform too much for an OB

 

[ejnichol]

Have owned and operated several I/O powered boats over the past 50 years.

My latest and hopefully last one from is mfg. in 2007. Easy to see why theshift to OB powered boats has occured.

The poor durability of things like raw water pumps, power steering actuators and fuel pumps combined with lack of access drives this. My boat engine is easier to get to than many i/o I've owned in past or have viewed on line.

 

[Lou C]

It's really a 2 pronged problem
I/O power systems are by nature high maintenance, it is possible to make it easier but the boat companies are cheapskates and the engine marinizers just go along with that:
closed cooling, definitely makes winterizing easier, because you don't have to struggle with getting at the block drains on V6s and V8s, yet, very few boats have this, why, cost
remote mount oil filter, same reason, much easier to get at than the typical Chevy small block mount, but it costs a bit of money
Boat companies, want the boat to look "pretty" with nice comfy seats that are either all round or on top of the engine. It could be made easy to access but won't be as "pretty"; the old school dog house and jump seats on the side, was much better/easier
I have the full size seat in front of the engine but re-did the whole thing got rid of that huge heavy seat, replaced it with 2 easily removable 36" seats for a pontoon boat, and made the wood bulkheads easy to remove. It went from "horrible" to "ok" even at my advanced age lol. When I get round to it I will install the remote oil filter mount I bought a few years back.
So because they (boat companies) alienated customers selling style and doing business the cheap way, result being difficult and expensive to service boats with I/Os
now they are selling outboards, great, they are better but just wait till you have to replace one. Look at the parts prices, it is insane how much things cost
I would still take an I/O if and only if:
engine has closed cooling and remote oil filter mount
access is at least "ok"
I thought of converting mine to the dog house style as I don't even need the rear seats, no one but me goes out anymore, but more work than I want to do, unless one day my brain twists and I do it.

 

[ejnichol]

The ownership experience of the recreational boat owner and their boat is interesting to consider. Only a small % of these owners put many hours on their boats. Recreational boats, are marketed and sold more on the sizzle than the steak.

Many used boat listings I look at for used 20 - 25 ft boats have really low hours. Interestingly the higher powered versions of any model tend to have higher hours on the clock. Good throttle response appeals to the operator.

 

[Pmt133]

Dad's 77 had some 1600 hours put on it between 85 and 95, which is quite unusual. On the flip side the 84 has about 900 on it since 98 which is in line with industry norms. But it sat for several years in there and when it became mine, I'm doing nearly 100 hours some years.

 

[Kosmofreeze]

Pardon me while I make-up some statistics ... About 85% of the stern drives ever made operate in salt water. The average life span of a stern drive in salt water is about 10 years. If my made-up statistics are anywhere near true, that means that the market and after-market (i.e. service parts) will all but dry-up soon. I've already noticed more 'obsolete' parts for my 2001 Volvo-Penta 5.7GXi on the marine parts websites. In my case, the engine is still fresh (only 420 hrs - never seen salt water) and the boat is pristine (inside storage on the trailer), my rig does everything I need and has proven to be very reliable. Yes - maintenance is a ***** but I've done it enough that I've learned my way around things. Kinda like my wife ... not perfect, but I think I'll keep her until I can't get new parts.

 

[Lou C]

Wow so mine is on it's second lifetime already and then some, 25 years in salt water.
if you maintain it in accordance with knowledge of saltwater use, they last a LOT longer than 10 years, I can see evidence of this at boat yards and marinas all over Long Island which is all salt water.
What that means:
drive gets pulled at the end of each season
any needed work is done right then (bellows, leak testing outdrive, etc) not put off due to laziness or cheapskate-ism.
drive/transom mount gets painted with anti fouling paint in the spring
anodes are replaced at the start of each season
attention paid to moored/docked boats with stray current in the water (this is especially bad at some marinas, I have never had problems with this because my boat has always been on a salt water mooring where no one has shore power.
if the maintenance is done, and attention paid to the stray current issue, they do not disintegrate in 10 years the way some people who never venture out of freshwater think.
In fact there is a poster over at the Hull Truth who is based in the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, he is a marine mechanic there and he has reported that there are many I/Os used in the Med Sea (all salt water) but they are maintained properly. Many are diesels due to fuel cost but still, are outdrive boats.

 

[Pmt133]

My lower is circa 1976 and has been wet stored until 2011. It got more corrosion damage on fresh water then it ever did in the bay.

 

[Lou C]

For boats stored in salt water during the season, this is a good resource:
Boatzincs.com has some tech info on their site about using a reference electrode to make sure your drive has enough galvanic protection. This can actually be measured, in a marina, I would highly recommend this EVEN IN FRESH WATER. Fresh water with a lot of dissolved minerals is just as corrosive as salt water! You just can't tell by looking! Until the corrosion happens that is. Everyone has heard of the Bravo III corrosion problems, for early models, well many of those were in fresh water.
I know mine has enough because the anodes are slightly deteriorated at the end of the season, but not really gone. I always replace them just the same.

Corrosion Reference Electrode with User's Guide | BoatZincs.com

Corrosion Reference Electrode with User's Guide | BoatZincs.com | America's Superstore for Marine Anodes

boatzincs.com

I get my zincs every year from this site, have been thinking of getting one of these reference electrodes because I love testing instruments and are just curious.

 

[nola mike]

Huh, I thought Id really like a sterndrive boat .....until I found this site and discovered all the stuff that goes wrong and how much it cost to fix ......I'll stick to my outboards thanks

Stern drive is much cheaper and much easier to fix... The old ones. Once you get to proprietary parts and electronics it's a different story.

 

[Lou C]

The best ones are simple GM marine engines, Quadrajet/Holley/Edelbrock carbs, mechanical fuel pump if a pre-Vortec, and points distributor with mechanical/centrifugal advance. Why points? No electronic mystery boxes, NLA modules, short run parts, etc. Boats don't do enough hrs to have to replace points every year like we used to on cars. I can go at least 5 seasons if not more on one set of points. I can get any part I would need for a Quadrajet carb that hasn't been made since 1990 or so. Holley and Edelbrock can be bought new, or used, whatever you want, and every speedshop across the land has parts. I get my Quadrajet parts from Cliff's High Performance and Quadrajetparts.com. Why is this, seeing as how cars have not used carbs in decades? The collector car hobby! The muscle cars we could buy new in the '70s for 4500-5000 are now 50K-->100K investments and the demand for OEM style parts is high. Most GM muscle cars came with Quadrajets, except the highest performance Chevrolets, so that's what people want for an accurate restoration.
Can be 100% maintained with aftermarket parts, no proprietary stuff that always gets discontinued. I also have a bunch of spares so I can keep it going as long as I want to.