What age of i/o style boat should I not consider buying?

[robeffy]

Hi,
I am considering buying a I/O style boat, 18-20 ft long, and while there are lots for sale, many were built in the 1980's or 1990's.
So, I wonder, are parts available for the drives? Are they so worn that I am buying nothing but trouble?
I am fairly sure I could get into problems transom and stringer rot, but, I think I should be able to find boats that were stored indoors( boat house ) or on a lift with a cover that are okay.
I realized there is more maintenance on an I/O, but, I really want a 4 stroke, and a new outboard price is "insane" to say the least. Supply and demand I guess?
Having never owned an I/O, I suspect that the main replacement items are the gimbal bearings and bellows. I am not afraid of the engines, having rebuilt a few V8's, swapped intakes, done headgaskets, etc... in my day.
Thanks

 

[Lou C]

Stick with Mercruiser you will have an easier time with both availability & parts cost. The things that get replaced are bellows (5-10 year lifetime) gimble bearings & ujoints IF a leaky bellows was not found & replaced promptly. If your bellows is changed on time & never leaked you can have the gimble & ujoints last a very long time like 15+ years. I changed my gimble bearing once and the ujoints are original.
Other things: trim cylinders can leak, so can trim lines and power steering actuators can leak. In salt water exhaust systems are a regular replacement item 5-7 seasons.
Whatever you buy make sure there is good access all around the engine. DO NOT buy a boat with the molded in ‘glass round the engine, better to have the dog house & simple jump seats on both side. Or, the big sun pad style as long as you can more the rear seat out of the way. Trust me if you want to DIY maintenance & repair and the access is bad you’ll hate it. Imagine pulling the engine to do a simple starter replacement or change the steering actuator. I have to laugh at some modern I/O designs. Like putting the transom walk thru on the same side as the starter. What idiots! I guess they never worked on a GM V6 or V8!

 

[Sprig]

In general you should get the newest and lowest hour boat you can afford. As with most things the older it is the more things wrong with it and the more things that will go wrong with it. It’s similar to buying a car to commute in. Which car do you think you’d be most likely to have years of trouble free commuting in, a 1970 ford falcon with 400,000 miles or a 2020 Honda Accord with 10,000 miles?
I’m not even getting into I/O vs. OB. Having owned over a dozen boats in 50 years I have a clear preference but not getting into it here.

 

[robeffy]

In general you should get the newest and lowest hour boat you can afford. As with most things the older it is the more things wrong with it and the more things that will go wrong with it. It’s similar to buying a car to commute in. Which car do you think you’d be most likely to have years of trouble free commuting in, a 1970 ford falcon with 400,000 miles or a 2020 Honda Accord with 10,000 miles?
I’m not even getting into I/O vs. OB. Having owned over a dozen boats in 50 years I have a clear preference but not getting into it here.

LOL, I am also not getting into which I think will perform troublefree.
I would sooner own a 1970 Falcon than the Honda. My CRV was nothing but trouble as soon as I bought it, and with all the computerization, it was impossible for me to maintain it.
The older the machine, the easier to fix when it breaks down.
I totally agree with buy the lowest hours you can afford.
Newest, not so sure. I am on the Dodge Ram Forums, have a 2018 Cummins Turbo Diesel and a 1995 Ram 1500, and everyone there says the same thing, the 1995 Ram will still be on the road ( if I maintain it ) long after I gave up on the 2018 Ram ( my motor will be fine - the computers and electronics will kill it )

 

[robeffy]

Stick with Mercruiser you will have an easier time with both availability & parts cost. The things that get replaced are bellows (5-10 year lifetime) gimble bearings & ujoints IF a leaky bellows was not found & replaced promptly. If your bellows is changed on time & never leaked you can have the gimble & ujoints last a very long time like 15+ years. I changed my gimble bearing once and the ujoints are original.
Other things: trim cylinders can leak, so can trim lines and power steering actuators can leak. In salt water exhaust systems are a regular replacement item 5-7 seasons.
Whatever you buy make sure there is good access all around the engine. DO NOT buy a boat with the molded in ‘glass round the engine, better to have the dog house & simple jump seats on both side. Or, the big sun pad style as long as you can more the rear seat out of the way. Trust me if you want to DIY maintenance & repair and the access is bad you’ll hate it. Imagine pulling the engine to do a simple starter replacement or change the steering actuator. I have to laugh at some modern I/O designs. Like putting the transom walk thru on the same side as the starter. What idiots! I guess they never worked on a GM V6 or V8!

Good advice! I am on fresh water.
I lean towards a V6 over the inline 4, inherently smoother.

 

[Lou C]

With respect to newness and I/Os, I would avoid any inboard or I/O that has cat converter exhaust. These are very expensive to replace, and can have trouble with O2 sensor codes.
For my own preference I will probabaly buy an outboard boat next time, but if the right I/O boat came along (not sport boat style, cuddy with wide open engine compartment, NO Cat Exhaust) I would still consider one due to the benefits of the simple and cheap to rebuild/repair GM marine engines.

 

[Lou C]

Good advice! I am on fresh water.
I lean towards a V6 over the inline 4, inherently smoother.

The V6 is smoother than the inline 4 and is a good choice for boats from 17' to 19'. Bigger than that, you'd want a V8.
I always thought the GM 3.0 four cyl needed a balance shaft even more than the 4.3!
The older ones like mine (pre-1992) have the even fire crank but no balance shaft, they are fairly smooth but the balance shaft on the later models makes a difference in refinement. With these (Vortec V6) you can get 225 hp with a 4bbl carb. They are easy to maintain as long as you have good access. Parts are available and inexpensive.
The basic design of the V6 was good enough that Mercruiser adapted all this old GM engineering when they created "their own all new" 4.5 liter V6., It is so similar I'd swear the bought the old tooling from GM!

 

[tpenfield]

Consider Mid-2000's and up.

A lot of the boats that still used wood (and there are many) were switching to rot-resistant wood ( aka 'Perma Panel and Greenwood XL) around that time.. The outdrives were addressing early corrosion issues better. The fuel injected engines were into their 3rd generation of evolution.

Mercruiser is more plentiful than Volvo-Penta.

Boats in the 2005-2010 era are fairly well down their value loss curve and should be able to provide a good value, as long as the boat has been maintained.

Older boats are more of a crap-shoot, so unless you really know what you are looking at . . . stay about 15 years of age or newer.

 

[robeffy]

With respect to newness and I/Os, I would avoid any inboard or I/O that has cat converter exhaust. These are very expensive to replace, and can have trouble with O2 sensor codes.
For my own preference I will probabaly buy an outboard boat next time, but if the right I/O boat came along (not sport boat style, cuddy with wide open engine compartment, NO Cat Exhaust) I would still consider one due to the benefits of the simple and cheap to rebuild/repair GM marine engines.

A CAT in a boat, definite no no... did not know they were even installed!

Balancing a inline 4 is possible, I suspect the Europeans know best how to achieve that. I had a Saturn with a 4 cyl, sourced from Europe, amazing motor. Most are "shaky".

 

[robeffy]

Consider Mid-2000's and up.

A lot of the boats that still used wood (and there are many) were switching to rot-resistant wood ( aka 'Perma Panel and Greenwood XL) around that time.. The outdrives were addressing early corrosion issues better. The fuel injected engines were into their 3rd generation of evolution.

Mercruiser is more plentiful than Volvo-Penta.

Boats in the 2005-2010 era are fairly well down their value loss curve and should be able to provide a good value, as long as the boat has been maintained.

Older boats are more of a crap-shoot, so unless you really know what you are looking at . . . stay about 15 years of age or newer.

Thanks, my conclusion too. A mid 80's boat can be had ( in Canada ) for $4000, all kinds of choices. Lots of choices in the mid 2000's for not much more and much more reliable, back to what Sprig also said.

 

[JASinIL2006]

A Mercruiser drive behind a V6 or V8, for sure. if you can find a boat from the mid-2000s without having to pay an arm and a leg for it, I agree that’s probably your safest bet.

In addition to what everyone else has mentioned, and beyond making sure the boat is mechanically solid, you want to make sure that the boat is structurally in good shape. If you have not worked with a boat or owned one before, it would really behoove you to find someone who knows a little bit about boats and take that person with you when you go looking.

 

[rustybronco]

The 1995 Sea Ray 175's were built with no structual wood. That is an 18'-2" boat. Glass dog house with jump seats. I would think you would be safe with a 96?97 and up 175/180 with the 4.3L. The 185/195 series 'should' be similar in construction.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Buy a boat newer than 2000. If you want no electronics, you are stuck with a 3.0, or a carbed 4.3 or 5.0.

Since you mentioned your in Canada, I would buy in the US and pay the duty as it will be cheaper than buying the equivalent in Canada

 

[roffey]

I think you want to stay clear of OMC as parts are not available or at least new replacement parts or not available.

 

[QBhoy]

Avoid anything with wood in the build…if possible and budget allows. As in wooden floor or wooden stringers or transom.

 

[robeffy]

Buy a boat newer than 2000. If you want no electronics, you are stuck with a 3.0, or a carbed 4.3 or 5.0.

Since you mentioned your in Canada, I would buy in the US and pay the duty as it will be cheaper than buying the equivalent in Canada

I will have to check that out.. I know prices in Canada are nuts. I was quoted $15k for a 60 hp Mercury outboard, no stock until 2023... Unbelievable..
Is there a site you would recommend?

 

[airshot]

I would highly recomend an aluminum hull, only wood to wirry about is transom and floor and both a easy to repair. I have owned numerous alum hulls over my 60 years of boating. My 3.0 was very smooth, no vibration right down to 600 rpm. Easy on fuel and would hit almost 40 mph. Most aluminum hulls have bigger acess to engine, where glass boats do not. Give me a Starcraft Holiday 18' with a 140 hp 3.0 anyday...yes the I/O will have more maintenence and winterization but the fuel ecomomy is so worth it. My 24 gallon fuel tank would carry me well over a hundred mile cruising range with fuel to spare. One other thing to consider...if a glass boat hits something in the water at speed, the hull will shatter, where an aluminum hull will just dent or cave in and you will probably stay afloat. My insurance is much cheaper on my aluminum hull and my agent clued me in on the hull failures of glass boats driving ins costs higher. Something to consider,..........

 

[QBhoy]

I will have to check that out.. I know prices in Canada are nuts. I was quoted $15k for a 60 hp Mercury outboard, no stock until 2023... Unbelievable..
Is there a site you would recommend?

If you are in Canada…sounds like you are in campion territory. Won’t get much of a better quality boat…if you get one of the early 2000’s kevlar hull apex models. Not cheap though.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I will have to check that out.. I know prices in Canada are nuts. I was quoted $15k for a 60 hp Mercury outboard, no stock until 2023... Unbelievable..
Is there a site you would recommend?

$15,000 CAD ($11,500) for a $8200-$8500 USD 60 HP motor would have me driving across the border and paying the duty

 

[robeffy]

I found a decent site called " Powerboatlistings.com"