Old I/Os = Money Pits?

[LaqueRatt]

Just curious what you guys think. I bought two old boats this summer and have 3 motors. Heading into winter I'm seeing fairly decent looking boats for sale cheap, some are free even. Most are fiberglass and many are I/Os. Now I don't know the first thing about an I/O, but my thinking it they are more likely to turn into the proverbial hole in the water that you throw money into.

So far I got aluminum boats and outboards. Seems like staying with this formula is a lot less risky. If the motor craps out it takes 10 mins to throw another one on. If you're motor goes south on an inboard, wow, that's got to be quite a job right? Also don't glass boats sometimes become waterlogged? Transoms can be quite expensive and time consuming to repair if bad?

My two alum boats just have a chunk of wood in the back which I think is over the top of the aluminum. Seems like those transoms would be a lot easier to work with if they needed repairs.

Sorry about the long post. I'm just a bit bored today.......and boat shopping on a budget.

 

[Lou C]

Yes they are. Yep unless you’re very familiar with Chevy small blocks…
And don’t mind working with lousy engine access in sone cases…
Stick with alu boats & outboards…this is from 20 years owning a ‘glass I/O boat…

 

[flashback]

You pretty much nailed it, I/OS need alot of tinkering.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most IO boats are fiberglass and neglected and look good long after they are rotted to the point of being unsafe

 

[flashback]

Yep a good buff and detail and the boat can look like new but the rest of it could be finished..

 

[tpenfield]

Certainly a matter of how old and how well maintained. If you are price shopping, then you are probably buying problems, but it would be more than just the engine.

 

[airshot]

Been a boat owner for over 60 years, all but one have been aluminum. That one glass boat was a good boat but it taught me some lessons. Glass boats are heavy, they ride smoother but need more hp !! It takes a lot of work to keep a glass boat looking good after the first 5 years of owning it. Doesnt take long for the hull to become waterlogged, it will happen long before you realize it. Much more expensive to make big repairs on a glass boat. Glass boats do not hold resale values for the afore mentioned statements. On the plus side the glass boats normally give a smoother ride due to weight and hull shape. Putting it all together....I will never own another glass boat !!! Now, about I/O's....if you are needing less then mabey 120-150 hp then the outboard is the way to go. If your boat needs over 150 hp, you might want to consider an I/O....reason being a new 150 outboard is probably around 20k or more, where a brand new I/O of 185 hp is less than 10k. On large hp engines the I/O is much less expensive and less expensive to operate. I/O parts are cheaper than OB parts!! My large boat days are over, now I am a 16' boat guy so my 40 hp Merc is all I need and easy to take care of !!

 

[todhunter]

If you delve into I/O's, I would recommend staying with a boat that has a Mercruiser Alpha or Bravo drive. Lots of market support for those.

 

[harringtondav]

I agree with all above. I've been in I/Os since 1975, and they were all new.
The first two were owned by my wife's family, and died, or are dying from neglect. ...to many users, not enough maintainers.
I sold my first owned I/O after 25 yrs. I fussed over it like one of my children, so the buyer was safe when he bought it. But I wouldn't touch an unknown I/O with a ten foot pole. A glass O/B has the same rot risk, but at least you can walk away with the motor.

 

[Lou C]

Quotes from a few mechanics I know here in salt water land (Long Island NY)
I/O= double trouble
The only thing worse that one I/O, is two I/Os!
What do you expect…that engine was meant to be in a Chevrolet!
You can have an in (board) or an out (board) but never an in/out!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

It’s a boat, they all have their own problems. I chose a fiberglass boat because, I’m just gonna say it, they’re just better looking. I don’t do much fishing, so I don’t need a utility boat. I restored my chap because it’s a 30 year old boat. An aluminum boat of the same era and same size would also need restored. There’s plenty of threads here that document those restorations. I/Os can be money pits, but so can outboards. Really depends on what’s wrong, and how they were maintained. A lot of motor parts can be found at Autozone or Napa for I/Os. Good luck with that on outboards. Me personally, I like the 2 stroke outboards over the heavier 4 stroke models for a plethora of reasons. I also really like my Mercruiser. At over 800 hours the 4.3L is extremely reliable, and needs the same basic maintenance as a 4 stroke outboard. The Alpha 1 Mercruiser outdrive has been bulletproof in this package. Reliability and the proverbial money pits are directly proportional to how much time is spent on maintenance. Hmmmm, that should be an equation.

 

[tpenfield]

Yup, maintenance is the key. . .

My previous boat at 25 years old when I sold it had the original twin Mercruiser 454's with Bravo outdrives. 1,050 hours and still going strong. The new owner put another 150+ hours on it within a year (now 1,200 hours) and at 27 years old it is still going. The boat itself has needed more repair than the engines.

 

[harringtondav]

Really depends on what’s wrong, and how they were maintained. Reliability and the proverbial money pits are directly proportional to how much time is spent on maintenance. Hmmmm, that should be an equation.

Truth. I bought our second new I/O recently. I looked at O/B versions of each candidate, but I went with another I/O because of higher power availability, lower price and full swim platform access.
A properly maintained and sanely operated I/O engine and drive will last a long time. ...longer than the rest of the boat. Keeping any boat dry is the most important maintenance step in my mind. Boats don't rot from the hull side.

 

[Lou C]

Yup, maintenance is the key. . .

My previous boat at 25 years old when I sold it had the original twin Mercruiser 454's with Bravo outdrives. 1,050 hours and still going strong. The new owner put another 150+ hours on it within a year (now 1,200 hours) and at 27 years old it is still going. The boat itself has needed more repair than the engines.

That’s been my same experience. My boat needed a lot of rot repair (due to sub par construction techniques and poor storage) but the mechanicals were pretty long lived. Only major job I had to do was replacing cyl heads from a past overheat. Even that was pretty easy and didn’t cost much. And since in salt water use the cyl heads can rust thru after 15-20 years it was just as well I had to replace them (cracks) I think it gave the old 4.3 V6 a new lease on life. Cobra outdrive? Very few repairs. Shifts as new and no gear noise at all.
However this boat mechanically was maintained by the book for the 20 years I owned it. I think that’s hard to find few people have the patience or will spend the cash when it’s needed…

 

[LaqueRatt]

Wow, you guys are a wealth of wisdom. So glad I found this site!

I get what you I/O fans are saying about maintenance and of course, buying a brand new boat would be a whole different ballgame than picking up a $700 beater boat. I agree the glass boats are nicer looking, some are almost....sexy maybe? LOL I didn't really get that larger outboards are much more expensive than similar HP inboards, but that makes perfect sense now that it's been pointed out.

I know my way around a sbc, or a bbc. Even GM V6s I've had a few of. So the motor work doesn't scare me much. I'd just hate to have to jerk the block out as it seems like it may be harder than getting one out of a car. So guess I'm going to stay away from these cheap old I/Os. I suspect by the time I have them whipped into shape I'd have been better off shelling out more money for a newer one. Another concern is an I/O obviously has a big hole in the hull for the drive which I imagine sometimes can develop leaks?

All I'm really thinking is that a boat with a proper helm would be better than my two tiller drives which are woefully aft heavy with the motor, tank, trolling motor, battery, and my fat butt all in the rear 2'. Sometimes I have company which helps, but often I'm by myself. I'm sick of having to have the boat at nearly WOT to keep it on plane. I've thought of throwing some sacks of pea gravel in the front, but that seems kind of stupid maybe.

 

[Lou C]

I think pulling an inboard boat engine is easier than most if not all auto engines. You pull the drive and disconnect the wiring harnesses & linkages & fuel lines. You have 2 nuts on the rear engine mounts & 2 lag screws on each front engine mount. That’s it…

 

[stresspoint]

id like to see the cheap 200 + hp outboard that takes 10 minutes to fit that wont cost money to fix .
i want one of those when the unicorn info becomes public...,.

now , with the sarcasm out of the way , any cheap outboard that has 200 + hp is going to cost to repair ,
iv been working on boats a long time and have yet to find a 200 + hp outboard motor i can swap out in 10 minutes and it run forever with no maintenance.

for reference > I/o boats are new to me , i have had lots of outboard V drive , jet drive and dog clutch centre mount and i have worked on all types 2 and 4 stroke big and small HP ,almost all makes and models ,
i don't touch Etec ,the early OMC DFI or any of the EFI / DEI Mercs , and i wont go near one of those supercharged in line six 4 stroke Mercs POS ( no names mentioned ) for the reason that most owners do not want to or turn white when the have to pay the high dollar bill just to quote the cost of the explosion .

my recent I/O experience was an eye opener , as well as a learning experience .
i love the power and torque of the I/O 4.3 V6 inboard as opposed to a 4 stroke outboard equivalent , much smoother running IMHO ,much easier to work on and modify for performance.
i can see maintenance costs working out cheaper and fuel efficacy is around the same as a 250hp grey or black motor ( no name mentioned ).

as with inboard , outboard not properly maintained are a money pit ,i have seen 5 to10 year old 250 hp outboards with ""repair "" bill well exceeding 6 k, i completely rebuilt a 2011 4.3 doing the work myself for less than 1k in parts , a few hundred in machining costs and it was a job a dyslexic monkey with a blindfold could do. what more could you ask for when it comes to a boat motor.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I've owned an I/O and outboards. I don't think I'll ever go back to an I/O..... I've done nothing but simple maintenance to my EFI OB....

 

[Lou C]

It really depends on your comfort level, and if you'd buy a nearly new boat, the modern OB is fine...however for me having grown up literally with Chevrolet small blocks in our everyday cars 50 years ago, they are like second nature to me. But if you're asking me for advice, well just because of the poor glass work, and poor coverage of the wood structure, you're asking for trouble with a glass/wood compsite boat that is over 15 years old, in some cases even only 10, in a constantly damp climate like where I live and the fact that most people store their boats outside due to very high real estate prices here. Now in a dry climate, or if it was inside dry storage, totally different story. A 20 year old boat could be fine. Here, highly suspect....that smell of mildew and rot...arrgh...never again...
Now at my age this stuff is getting harder, more of a price to pay so to speak in the after effects of difficult jobs, so the next boat....all composite...3-5 years old...outboard only....I'll get another Chevy small block...in a classic car...of course...gotta have at least one...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Any boat under $5000 is a project. A $700 boat is definitely one needing work