The Problem with Stern Drives Boats (MerCruiser, Volvo, OMC)

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[@mikeperry6794]

My 24 year old Mercruiser has been fantastic. 4.3lt v6. Only fresh water. It still runs like the day I bought itm

[@briankelly2040]

I had the same motor just sold the boat last week love that engine 1997 never had not one problem with it just changed the oil and gear lube every year and spark plugs every other year

[@whiteSharkRSV]

Fresh water boats do not give alot of trouble. He is refering to saltwater

[@shanechostetler9997]

That’s a great package, I had a 7.4 with a Bravo 2, I loved it too.

[@cannonfodder6299]

My dad owned a marina in the 70s and 80s. He did a lot of work on steins and inboards, all saltwater. Yes there was rusting in the exhaust manifolds but it was almost never as bad as what was shown here. The majority of the issues were from boats that just weren't maintained, usually damaged outdrives that haven't hade the oil changed or low on oil and needed to have pump impellers and bearings replaced. Zincs not being replaced was a huge issue. The old OMCs and Mercruisers were very reliable. We had an old Deckboat with an OMC for about 20 years, the engine outlasted the boat itself. It always ran perfectly. Biggest issues were with the boats build quality. Engine was only removed when we had to rebuild the transom itself.

[@chrisdoppel670]

I love my sterndrive in the Great Lakes! Nothing better than hanging out at the swim platform!!

[@Loveinlife1980]

Agreed! A well cared for, used freshwater stern drive can be a great first boat for the money.

[@fatdaddio3796]

+1.....I’ve got that monster size extended swim platform on a 24 foot formula bow rider. It’s like it’s own little party zone, can’t do that with an outboard

[@TheStephenspann27]

Something else worth mentioning when comparing outboard and sterndrive power numbers is torque. The power to weight ratio may be better when looking at the HP figure, but the big V8 sterndrives, especially the big blocks produce a ton of torque, which more than makes up for the added weight. Another thing is the noise... I have a cobalt, and maybe that's the reason, but I can't hear my sterndrive at all, especially at idle. I've gotten compliments about how quiet it is, so it can come down to the quality of the engine cover.

[@greghayes9118]

I need torque more than power as I am trying to put together a freight barge.

[@REDMAN298]

@@greghayes9118 horsepower is how fast you hit the wall torque is how far you drag the wall

[@rosewood1]

My Alpha is relatively quiet much better than an outboard. And weight is down low giving the boat much better stability. And the engine is easy to maintain. Outboards corrode just as much as inboard and can be much worse because it's all alloy. Flushing is critical

[@yoster77]

I'm freshwater only, and I'll take a sterndrive every single time. The only exception is my fishing boat. But for family fun, I just love sterndrives.

[@SC-yx6wr]

Great vid! I have had three Mercruisers, and they do have a lot more annual maintenance. In particular the drive shaft u-joints that need servicing and the drive itself needing periodic alignments. Also, if the bellows leak, your boat will sink at the dock. Fire and fuel leak explosions are a problem for stern drives requiring engine compartment vent blowers and auto fire extinguisher systems, not a problem for outboards. Other issue is stern drives use marinized automotive engines, and problems arise since they are not dedicated marine designs like ouboards. For example '90's era Mercruisers had a very bad design adaptation of the automotive mechanical fuel pump being used for the marine engine in a belt driven combination fuel-water pump. These are prone to sudden failure when the shaft seizes causing engine to die. Among the benefits to the sterndrives is that the engines being heavy duty automotive or truck derivatives, are quite simple in comparison to outboards, extremely reliable and robust, easy to work on, and parts are common and inexpensive compared to outboards. Also, nothing like the added stability the weight of a big block 454 cubic inch motor provides when mounted low and along the keel of a deep vee boat.

[@jonesjones7057]

Agree with all. Also, stern drive engines also have suffered from water reversion where exhaust water that has mixed with outgoing cooling water reverses flow back into the engine causing hydro lock. Its a crazy phenomenon that cost Sea Ray a ton of money at one point. It was resolved with higher risers BUT, anyone putting in an aggressive cam or anyone that puts the spark plug wires on the wrong plug (massive timing issue) can almost immediately destroy the valves on some cylinders because that will overcome the higher risers. The water reverts back onto the cylinder. There is a video on youtube abound it. Its a mercury service bulletin. How do I know about this? Glad you asked. Well, because when I was selling a Sea Ray 330, a mechanic did a compressions test on the cylinders. I wasn't there, my broker was, but the mechanic mixed up cyl 1 with 3 with the plug wires and then they went for a sea trial which failed because the right engine wouldn't rev to 4300rpm,..... and goodby cylinders 1 and 3. They were dead due to water reversion. He did eventually pay for it but only after I showed him the SB. He tried to deny it at first. It was an epic mess and hassle. But like you say, there are huge advantages too. Just gotta be really careful.

[@jonesjones7057]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon You bet. Hopefully I can help someone avoid that experience. It was brutal. I should also add that when this happened, the oil was milky. It pulled in THAT much water. Thanks and take care.

[@SC-yx6wr]

@@jonesjones7057 Its funny how we seem to learn about these things only after experiencing an incident like an off-shore stranding, or arriving at your dock and finding your boat full of water. Too bad we did not have videos like this 30 years ago!

[@brycekrulic1785]

Hi Matt, I would add that the other great equalizer between the two types is being trailer-bound. If your boat is on the trailer 20 times longer than in the water on average, then either power package is good. Face it...it's an automotive derived engine, so it does the best out of the water. I would also add that @ 300 HP or more, sterndrive initial cost investment is always better. All I see is $100/HP on most all outboards, especially above 250 HP. Sterndrive doesn't cost this much with engine + drive. And then you can easily budget for replacing either large component, if necessary. Large outboards cost way higher in upper/lower components or as a whole. And then sterndrive is just as easy to maintain as outboard when trailer-bound, as mentioned above. Also, don't forget that in many states, you have to register each outboard as if it's a separate boat at an uncapped excise tax. Sterndrive and motor is not taxed nor separately registered...just the boat as a whole.

[@mbferrari308QV]

My sterndrive is trailered after each use so to me no big deal - plus fresh water usage. Chap 236SSX - better for wake boarding and skiing too.

[@scottbryant9425]

Having owned both, Im going to say this. Yes stern drives are more work keeping them healthy. Most people don't like to put work into a boat. I always say for every hour on the water, plan on 15 mins of maintaining it. Wax, gear lube, trim lube, flushing, wax, buff, oil changes, blah blah... Outboards are getting better, but they break and when they do, the repairs can be crazy expensive. They corrode, they blow pistons, exhaust mid sections, etc. A new 200hp outboard from Yam, Honda, zuk, all 20k give or take. A 5.7 efi merc i/o that puts out 300hp is around 13k in the boat, it's more power, torque, I think quieter, and many of us can do a lot of the annual maintaining. Both have plusses and minuses, it comes down to finding a boat that you like with one or the other. Runabouts on the used market are generally alot less money than a dual console of similar size. Center consoles with stern drives are very nice in the water, wouldn't keep in salt but if your trailer, that weight is really a bonus in the 3 footers. It's cheaper for boat makers to set up an outboard boat than a stern drive boat and that is really why they're more common. It's just much simpler at the factory and thus why they lost popularity.

[@ridgewoodgardens6253]

Stern drives motors are susceptible to all those things listed. Seems just a rant on outboards. I’ve had both and would never do a I/O again. Maintenance is a PIA, harder to winterize, have to wait 5 min before starting for the blower to do its job, etc,

[@collinparsons3363]

At the start of the chart shown in the 90s, it's important to consider what outboards were back then. They were all two-stroke, meaning you had to mix gas and oil, and they were also loud, smoky, and not very powerful. You needed a stern drive to get respectable power on a recreational boat. Four-stroke outboards are none of the things that two-strokes were, are just as powerful as stern drives, and easier to maintain. It seems like nowadays, the main reasons to buy a stern drive are the large swim platform and cleaner look. I've also heard that stern drives tend to be more fuel efficient than outboards of the same horsepower, but then again, I've also heard the opposite.

[@jurisavtschenko]

Rewatching this, have to say I hate this trend towards outboards. As I'm boating in fresh water, stern is the way to go. I want my swim platform for me, not for the engine.

[@richardbanks6025]

Hope you have lots of money for maintenance and repairs

[@cheapme1850]

@@richardbanks6025Not been the experience of many boaters in freshwater. The Chevy-based engine is very durable and easy to work on. Simple preventive maintenance on the gimbal and bellows and they are trouble free for years.

[@ItsDaJax]

To me, outboards look cheap. I don't care if there are seven of them back there, it screams economy to me.

[@jurisavtschenko]

@@ItsDaJax Copy that. The one and only instance, where outboard makes sense, is if you're boating in icy conditions.

[@parkerjon29]

Appreciate your videos. I don’t have a boat, but I want to start boating… I’m trying to do a lot of long term education and learning before jumping in and this helps a lot!

[@anthonyvickers5346]

stick with the tire inner tube. kick your feet for propulsion.

[@crack_of_dawn]

We are buying a lake house in SC with a dock and a boat lift and were really intent on buying an I/O motored bowrider but as we've been researching boats for the last couple months we've flipped and now we only want to buy an outboard boat, for the sole reason that we would like to be able to get a lot of use out of the boat over the winter when the weather gets nice occasionally and having the outboard makes that significantly easier as we can just leave the boat at the dock on the lift and tilt the motor a few times to get the water out then come back and use it whenever we want.

[@JVRottweil]

I had and have both. Most sterndrives are jam packed in the hull making many a real pain to work on for both the DIY and Pro. Raising costs of repair for a pro to do it and enough of a pain to make some people ignore some maintenance. Even mine that is super easy to get to. You still have to pull the out drive and replace the bellows, realign the engine, grease or replace the gimbal bearing. Pulling the outdrive off is something may DIYers wont want to do. My outboards maintenance is so much easier to work on than even my roomy engine compartmented Sterndrive, its not even comparable. Ease and cost of maintenance for an outboard is light years better than even the most friendly stern drive set ups

[@dell5816]

I really hate it when people that obviously are not boat mechanics lead people in the wrong direction. Truth is outboards will corrode from the salt water just as bad as a stern drive. Truth of the matter is if the owner of a stern drive is maintaining things as he should it will last just as long as the outboard. This guy is failing to let you know All the issues with outboards. Trim seals and trim units fail All the time. Steering swivel / mid sections fail all the time due to owner not maintaining. Major services on a outboard are almost double in cost compared to a stern drive ( if the outboard service is being done correctly and according to factory specifications) . I own a boat repair shop been in the business for over 30yrs I too lean more towards the Newer 4stroke outboards especially Suzuki from 2016 to now. But I can tell you that they both have there issues and both have there pluses..... If you're the type person that doesn't maintain your stuff as it should be done Yes you will have a 4stroke outboard give you less trouble But when they fail it's not a thousand dollar fix it's several thousand if not a new one for tens of thousands......

[@TheDoug9901]

outboards are better you can trim them up out of the water and flush. IO you cant. Gimbal bearings, bellows, risers, exhaust hose is just a few parts that are not in outboards. And winterizing is a breeze with outboards

[@whiteSharkRSV]

Well on yamahas you better keep an eye on your mounting bolts gimble

[@brinkee7674]

@@TheDoug9901 Well I got over 25 years from my I/O and the only issue was an exhaust bellow. Everything you mention is covered with PROPER maintenance. Do it right and install fresh water cooling which will cover most of your issues and still way cheaper than an outboard. Actually it is now standard on many Mercruiser engines

[@nickkiely8128]

I think it's laughable saying a Stern drive is easier to work on and maintain that an outboard... You literally have to yank the entire motor if you want to actually get anything done on most Stern drive units... Not to mention anyone who thinks being up out of salt water and setting a piece of metal inside of salt water is going to cause the same erosion may not have a firm grasp on how erosion works. Not to mention one of the most obvious things to me is the fact that in a Stern drive the entire engine is buried in the boat in order to access it all it's almost always a pain whereas an outboard the eclip the lid off and have access to the engineering... Lot easier taking outboard off the transom then trying to lift a big block of V8.

[@dzmarinemechanics3238]

Thank you man

[@davidfrank2824]

You are not kidding about the intake manifolds on a inboard outboard. When we bought our first boat it was at the end of the summer at the Annapolis boat show. We wanted to buy a brand new boat but the salesman talked us out of it and told us about a used one that they had that was a fantastic deal. We looked at it it took perfectly fine went out test road for about an hour came back and signed the papers. Since winter was coming we only got to take it out a few times before needing to winterize it. The following year that March was extremely nice weather so we were excited to take our boat out again. After about 45 minutes our boat started feeling with smoke and I could see it was coming from the engine compartment. Even before I could stop the engine they shut off by theirselves. I had my wife and our kids run to the bow of the boat as I grabbed the fire extinguisher and was slowly opening the hatch. All I could see was black smoke and no flames. I still at that time wasn't sure what was wrong and I was not going to try to mess with it as we were sitting in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay with no engines. Fortunately another boat saw us and towed us back to our boat dock. That's when I saw it was the rubber boots holding the exhaust system together that had heated up and started smoking. Made sure to get the boat out of the water I did some reading and just ordered the rubber parts. The next time we went out it was my wife and myself and the same exact thing happened again. That's when I talked to a professional boat mechanic at the marina. He explained to me about the exhaust manifolds. He wanted over $4,000 to fix the boat and there was no way I was spending that kind of money on something that I've only used three times. The dealership wouldn't do nothing with us as far as cutting a break on labor or parts told us straight up that you bought it it's yours Good luck. Side note two years later that dealership went out of business across Maryland. After ordering all the parts and going ahead and replacing a lot of other things I was lucky and did not even break $800 by shopping around on the internet. By a following weekend our boat was running normal. In researching the problems with the exhaust manifolds That's when I discovered there is no way to tell how far gone they are unless you take them apart and physically look inside. I know today it's a little easier since we have cameras that can go into those areas. Back then if you wanted a camera like that it was going to cost you a couple thousand dollars. After that bad experience we never bought another used boat again and we never bought inboard outboard motors again. Everything we own after that has all been in boards and never had any big issue whatsoever. Great video I'm glad to see someone putting out good information so someone looking to buy their first boat does not have to go through what we did. One other side note. After the first time we had the problem my wife could not stop bragging to anyone who would listen to her about how I handled the emergency on the boat. The one thing we always did was our kids had to keep their life preservered on when we were traveling unless they went down into the cabin. And the adults had to keep their life jackets somewhere where they could grab them quickly if needed. If this would have been a more major issue at least my family would have been safe. I hope no one ever has to go through something like that it really changed the way we did things.

[@factrefute4427]

THAT IS THE WRONG ARGUMENT BRO.

[@wherethewaterflows6162]

I just had to re power my Bayliner 2455 Since its a project boat I looked at maybe an outboard. New Yamaha 300hp $28,000. I bought a re-manufactured long block from Michigan Motors with new risers and a brand new SEI sterndrive and it ran me about $6500 that is a huge difference.

[@bourquebuiltful]

I love my stern drive with extended swim platform. I keep it in a fresh water river, only 24 miles to long Island sound.

[@joesilverbliss1721]

Good video. I have a 2005 5.0L bravo 3. In fresh water now. I was wondering about the trade off between I/O and outboards. You crystalized my thoughts and got it exactly right. Major repairs on an IO are a pain. I had to take the heads off. Lots of cursing and dropping things. The only plus is the engine is familiar basically a 1999 GM vortec. The back deck access is definitely the good thing, I have a Searay Sundeck 220. If I get another boat I am leaning towards an outboard even so. Thanks again for the video. Joe

[@MissionaryForMexico]

You did a fantastic job on the explanation of the two boat engine types. I am looking for a good used stern drive for a lake only.

[@markst.germain9286]

My first boating season. Loved it. Lake Erie 1989 Baja sport 190 5.0

[@jonm9538]

I got an old stern drive19' Bayliner for free. The outdrive was shot but the boat had little rot. I converted it into an outboard and put a used Honda 115 on it. I absolutely love it. The Honda is so quiet that the other day my buddy told me my motor had died when it was still idling. Gas mileage is unbelievable and the old girl never got up on plane so fast or had as high of a top speed. Honda outboards are way heavier than Yamahas, but they are super reliable and a lot cheaper on the used market.

[@shaneeubank5393]

Great presentation, thanks for sharing

[@jeremyrainman]

Those cooling maintenance issues in saltwater are solvable with materials and design changes. I'm not trying to resurrect the stern drive, I think outboards have legitimately killed it (and it was a more complicated solution)... but most of those corrosion issues could have been solved with titanium parts, and/or designing dedicated flush ports that work with gravity to keep saltwater out of your stern-drive engine. Titanium is admittedly more expensive than steel, but consider that extra cost would be entirely recaptured in 5-10 years through the replacement of the cooling system parts and labor. I find no excuse for not designing in a high-port to fully flush the entire system with freshwater, or even keep a constant low-flow of freshwater through your engine while it sits in saltwater at the dock.

[@marior2946]

Thanks for the video I learned allot about stern drives in the last couple years and this video is so well explained

[@dirttdude]

OMC put an amazing amount of time, money, R&D and manpower in to the new Cobra I/O and the looper, the gear housings had some commonalities and that's where Yamaha screwed the pooch . OMC almost made it, they won the big bayliner contract and sold close to a hundred thousand units in two years but it was too little too late... Volvo / Penta came in, "made an offer they couldn't refuse" (hostile takeover) and it was over. Volvo came in and put an absolute bucket full of Swedish in to it and now they're pretty hard to work on.

[@TheStephenspann27]

Ok last comment. Safety is another thing to consider, with jet boats being the safest. It's not terribly uncommon for an outboard to flip up into an boat after striking an underwater object and severely injure passengers with the propeller, or just the fact that they are being struck with a huge outboard. It seems to be most common in bass boats, but I'm sure it happens in center consoles as well. If you were to hit something hard enough with a stern drive, it might rip out of the back of the transom and sink the boat... which is not great either.

[@davidhall1779]

been running a BIIIX behind a yanmar 6LPA 315hp turbo diesel. new in 2004, replaced the drive in 2015 with B3XR due to catastrophic failure caused by my lack of proper maintenence for 11yrs and being 24/7 in salt water. (I did replace zincs every 3 months. ) did not keep up with regular gear oil changes. new drive has been on now for 6yrs and I do keep up with all maintenence and even had my merc dealer go through it just to clean and keep an eye on things. he found a bad upper unit bearing that needed replacement. and a mass of muscles growing in the cooling towers. truthfully I wish I had a V drive instead of a sterndrive, but I love the boat and learned to live with the constant maintenence program.

[@ChrisG9978]

I'd say the biggest hassle with a Stern Drive is the winterization...if you're looking to drain/flush all the water out, there are several plugs to pull, and many of those plugs are difficult to reach. Generally I use the muffs and pump 5 gallons of antifreeze in through the lower unit when it's time to call it a season. That's the least amount of hassle but arguably not a perfect method and entails some risk of cracked engine blocks if you don't allow the engine to warm up before flushing with antifreeze. Outboards have a huge advantage of being easy to drain, and ready to run in mid-Winter as long as the weather is cooperative.

[@richardluce775]

As a dealer for 25 years,sold both. The biggest complaint was you love boat but hate the power or love the power but hate the boat. Stern drive your stuck. Boat builders did a big disservice to stern drives putting the minimal amount of power to keep cost down.

[@jefferythornton4137]

What do you recommend for manifolds and risers if you primarily are fresh water but possibly once a year take the boat to saltwater? Boat is in the water for a week, flushed with de-salt and ran again numerous times in freshwater.

[@mrkattm]

Tampa, stern drive, they are a pain, but I dry stack so I can get away with new manifolds and risers about every 6 years, I do it myself so cost is about $1000.00 and 4 hours of work max. Volvo Penta 305 on a 22ft open bow ski boat.

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

Thanks for sharing your first hand experience

[@jimjimmyjam8242]

We choose stern drives for the swim platforms, easier getting in and out of the water and they are easier to work on for the novice diy boat owners. Plus I think they look better. 620 hours on a 2014 volvo v6 efi and still going strong.

[@terywoodsr.8690]

Okay, watched it. I agree, depending on where... like in freshwater, sterndrive can be a good thing as long as it is properly maintained for the average weekender. I'm not surprised they've gone out of favor... working on them sucks. In salt... need to look at direct drive or the new aspods (enclosed jet drives) that are coming out. Granted you need at least a 30 to 60+ footer to operate but, you can say goodbye to cavitation, slipstream power drop off, and add awesome maneuverability. Think, four different aspods all independently operating to keep you on course, with one main giving you propulsion. You can spin the boat in a circle with mid-ship never drifting. I hope one day to see more of those because you loose less deck space, and the boat has a more even weight distribution, because the drive motor is mid-ship instead of all the main weight aft. You also can say goodbye to a lot of your money, because those puppies don't come cheap. But, they can be run on bio-diesel. For the average I'm Not a billionaire, who owns a super-yacht; the new higher powered outboards are the best bet in salt. The only issue that can be problematic is weight displacement and reinforcing the transom to hold the heavier 4stroke engine. I've been seeing a lot of retrofits from sterndrive to outboard motors. Not a task for the faint of heart and don't forget to add flotation in the old aft engine compartment. P.S. I would love to show you the two I'm working on right now, but this medium is not photo friendly and I don't have the time or gentleness to do videos. Also a helpful hint. Boat restoration is never as easy as it looks on KZbin!

[@taniatait1791]

Hi the article on how unsafe bowriders are is “wave to wave the death of safe boat design” it’s well researched and sourced from credible references thanks!

[@taniatait1791]

Boat Buyer's Secret Weapon I also found an article which deals with those lawsuits search - litigation pushes ski boat manufacturers to safer designs - after 49 days of testimony which went deep into the design of bowriders 80% of blame was attributed to design flaw. One of those accidents was a death due to boat going through its own wake and swamping. That design flaw is 1.Inverted Bow ie bow goes down when it should go up 2, Weight of passengers up front when design does not compensate for this 3 a gaping hole in the bow to let the water in and 4.Passengers in the bow which is the worst place to be in the event of an accident. As you know accidents are a result of a compound of factors and bowriders have a compound of factors as soon as you leave the dock. You can make a case that bowriders in the hands of an experienced boater and who know it’s shortcoming are reasonably safe not that worked in my accident but inexperienced boaters who buy or rent one they are just an accident waiting to happen.

[@taniatait1791]

Boat Buyer's Secret Weapon yeah well I’ve been in a earthquake too caused half a million dollars of damage on my house and then there were another 20000 or so aftershock earthquakes that followed. I think bowriders were developed because I/O’s took up so much room in the back of the boat and with 18ft or less boats this meant the only option was to create space in the bow. It’s less of an issue with outboards but the popularity of bowriders meant they have continued to be built and bought and also allowed even more people to be on the boat with seating where the engine once was. Anyway it’s a useful discussion so maybe you could title that video “bowriders are ok but have weaknesses that you should be aware of” thanks!

[@mdm5784]

If you have a nice, expensive boat today under 30 feet you probably keep it on a boat lift (or you should be) and then the drives are always out of the water regardless of the engine type...added benefit is you also never have to paint your boat bottom and not only your engine stays clean so does your hull...

[@mdm5784]

Best investment I ever made was a hydraulic boat lift.

[@bigartfan]

What is the source for your Primary Stearn Drive Catagory by Propulsion Type graph?

[@mikolajrychlicki4866]

Idk I like my alpha one, it doesn’t stick out and Isn’t as loud as a outboard but I still get the ability to lift the drive up, I have it on my 2007 azure 188 with the extended swim deck and a 4.3 mpi, yes I know they are problematic boats but I have had no problems with mine and I love it, great boat for water sports

[@mikolajrychlicki4866]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon yeah, I’m in northern IL and I stay around the Illinois river, Wisconsin river and lake koshkonong

[@jonoagustin870]

For outdrives (sterndrives) ONLY buy ones with FRESH water cooling - mainly Diesels. Thus avoiding the costly regular replacement of exhaust manifolds which often involves removing the engines. We've just spent ~€11,000 on 4 Mercruiser exhaust manifolds & sundry parts AND 80 hours of labour removing both engines, rear seats etc etc.......AND the whole job will need doing AGAIN in about 5 years.......Captain John in Spain.

[@djteako]

a couple of other points you didn't touch on that make an outboard much better than a stern drive. 1. Up here in Canada, where we get get freezing temps 9 months of the year, stern drives can't go in the lake til much later in the season, where as an outboard can go in as soon as the ice is clear, then come fall, we have to pull our stern drive out about a month before boating season is done, just because of overnight cold temps. 2. an outboard can load in/out and run in much shallower water. Other than idling, if you don't have at least 4' of water you better not hit the throttle on the stern drive, 3. fuel economy - most outboards use way less fuel than a big inboard. our 4.8l mercruiser can easily burn a full tank of fuel in a day of fun on the lake, where as an equivalent outboard will burn less than half of that amount!

[@Steve_MFr]

So... let's assume the following: - an enclosed cooling system (antifreeze/heat exchanger) - easily removable, inexpensive exhaust risers (there is SOOO much manufacturers could do) - laws that put outboards and inboards on equal footing - either cats for all or no cats for all. Would this lead to a revival of stern drives? I am not a fan of big outboards on big boats. I love a V8 burble. And the aesthetics of 4 outboards (looks like a sales rack for an outboard dealer imo). I guess I'm just old school. But I am not into the maintenance and costs either.

[@alex_rogan]

Was born and raised in salt water use only and yes stem drives can be a pain as can manifolds etc. however if you are mechanical and know how to do the maintenance yourself (not super hard) and also trailer your boat and wash and maintain it diligently there’s really is nothing to worry about. I know people who would never put their boat in salt water. Boring! 😂 missing out on sooo much good boating in my opinion. But it is a good thing to be more cautious and diligent in checking these things on a second hand boat purchase.

[@lovejetfuel4071]

I was first educated about the downfall of I/Os back in the mid 90s from an owner of a local marina, he didn't give any specifics, just, stay away from I/Os. I have also always been under the impression that I/Os can contribute to the sinking of your vessel. I mean, there is a big hole in the back of your boat, do you have any information about this?

[@michaelmays8201]

I love the my 350 magnum Mercruiser with a bravo 3 drive, best bang for the buck for sure. I run on the great lakes so fresh water not salt water. But...almost everyone I know has a hydraulic boat lift so no staining on the hull and yes the outdrive is always dry when on the lift. Hydraulic boat lifts are cheap and they also give you peace of mind when you are away from your boat .

[@johndillon300]

Just about to get a stern drive Monterey m6 on lake st Clair. Love the style over a tritoon because it will be more stable in rough water.

[@brinkee7674]

Stern drive also has an exhaust bellow from the manifold/riser to allow for movement. If you get overheating in manifold/riser due to rust(corrosion) then that bellow can catch fire from the inside. Ask me how I know

[@mustang8619]

I have had a OMC Cobra bought new in 1991. We ran it in FRESH water. I have not had any mechanical problems for 31 years. Volvo bought the rights to the Cobra and they still make it . It is called Volvo Penta SX. Parts are still available for the OMC Cobra.

[@chaibims]

Same here, Cobra was an amazingly reliable drive. Kept in water for 20 years, serviced once a year and never failed. 14 or 17 layers of paint...

[@monkey62313]

I live in the Albemarle Sound. I will spend most of my time in fresh water . I will go out in the ocean but will always drive back in the fresh. Do you think coming home in the fresh will water will completely solve the saltwater problem. It is 30 miles of fresh water to get home. Thanks.

[@Fibs4Tibs]

This should be a good one. I have twin Bravo 3 drives and people act like it’s the worst thing in the world. There is certainly more maintenance and I’d prefer outboards, but it’s what I could afford. The main outboard advantage is that they trim completely out of the water at the end of the day. I personally think the boat rides better with the lower center of gravity from the I/O setup and the Mercruisers are simple to work on.

[@Fibs4Tibs]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon saltwater

[@Fibs4Tibs]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon Great video! Another thing to consider for I/O applications is that in addition to the bellows for the gimbal, there are shift cable bellows and lower shift cables that need to be replaced. Gimbal bearings are recommended every 2-3 years I believe in my setup, which requires the drives to be removed. You also have trim pump hoses that run through the transom. Transom assemblies corrode over time as well, and if the seal goes bad, then your transom will rot. You must also make sure to keep growth off the intakes if you leave your boat in the water.

[@Fibs4Tibs]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon haha I think you covered the important stuff! Great content 👍

[@johnhalm4812]

I've been in the business for 35 years not all outboards can lift all the way out of the water.depends on the boat brand and model. I've seen Stern drives from the '80s that are still on the water running just fine with original exhaust manifolds and elbows freshwater use

[@valkyrieweaver9004]

Ok, so what a bout a I/O mercruiser with a whole antifreeze heat exchange system on it? What is the process for winterizing that? I like in FL where we get some days in Jan and where it gets in the 20s etc?

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

You need to get all the water out of the heat exchange, shouldhave values that open and drain at a minimum and add the bio-degradable marine anti freeze per manufacturer instructions

[@edwardcarbonaro1492]

I think the best out drive made was the older omc gear to gear couponing also if you rod out your risers if in saltwater and use pencil sinks in your block and manifold I had them last at least 10 years

[@dcasandman]

Maybe you mentioned but another huge game changer is the switch to 4 Stroke in outboard. We went from 600hp I/O 80 mph boat and got a toon with 300 merc. First time we put toon on the water I kept turning it on and off cause it was so quite and smooth I didn’t know it started at all.

[@mdslax0172]

How do you enjoy only going half the speed of your old boat? I’m considering the switch to a Tritoon as well but my boat goes 50 mph and I would need a massive outboard to obtain that

[@dcasandman]

@@mdslax0172 our Tritoon does 45 hard loaded down 4 ice chest 7-8 people full gas. We don’t really miss the go fast at all. Even in the go fast we drove around at 45-55 most the time. Now we cruise 30-35, the engine is silent and it rides like caddi. Depending in size of toon, ours is a 25QX I’d start with a 200-250. We love the 300 though. Seems to be perfectly mated to the toon. We also have a surf boat we have out most weekends. It’s maxed out at 40. So we drive 25-28 in it most the time.

[@mdslax0172]

@@dcasandman glad to see you’re still enjoying it, seems like most people that switch to a pontoon do not regret it

[@user-rc2pc7vp2n]

Since 2011 it’s been basically flat for outboards and mercruiser builds both. No doubt outboards are taking over but they take up rear space

[@danielholland8255]

I have high performance IO’s (Mercury 525 blue motors) and a center console with twin 250 OBs. There is no question the outboards are quieter and more reliable as well as less work. There is a rumble in thru hull exhaust that is irreplaceable not to mention torque with big blocks which can not be duplicated with outboards. This gentleman really is clearly prejudice against the IO tho his points are well taken and not inaccurate but there are still some of us who enjoy the American Muscle culture of the big block IO although we are a dying breed :-)

[@debrad5783]

Can you provide any information on the 2019 Regal 1900 ES Surf boat? It has a forward drive. Thank you. Hope to hear from you soon as we are going to look at it tomorrow.

[@debrad5783]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon Thanks for the reply. We passed on the boat. The previous owners put a ballast bag in the ski locker below which meant they had to drill a hole for filling or emptying or something. Also it smelled moldy.

[@GiGasDK]

Can you please make the comparison with the IPS drive.

[@brianunderwood3109]

Where do IPS drives fall? I'm assuming they are more like stern drives as far as maintenance?

[@ponyboyc]

I dont know something about putting a motor pointing down while hanging off the back of my boat doesn't seem right.

[@Doug-tc2px]

A couple points. * Inboards are derived from the auto sector which is good ( high production volume brings down cost) and bad ( not designed for the marine market) * My local saltwater is choppy most of the time, I prefer heavier boats - inboard * Like to have a small tender, outboards make this difficult on most smaller boats - my #1 reason for preferring inboards. * Inboards are easier to work on for most handy guys, outboards need less working on? * Outboards are better in terms of design, they were designed from the ground up as marine engines. * in most cases you have the option of diesel over gas with inboards

[@gregorytimmons4777]

Well, now there are a couple of diesel outboards but they are really heavy and expensive.

[@Doug-tc2px]

@@gregorytimmons4777 Ask a guy who ran Yamaha's outboards on his high mileage commercial boat, he replied " He knew a good Yamaha mechanic" For him, that was more important than brand.

[@martinmcquaide4807]

Repowered my 1985 volvo-penta with a new 5.7 sbc to my old volvo-penta 280. That's 230 hp for 5k! How much is a 225 yamaha go for? 20k plus? Also (because it's about money) boat manufacturers don't have to engineer a i/o propulsion system. Yes raw vs close cooling is a rot issue. I have a cooling system "T" which I close from sea, and open to garden hose. Start up AT THE DOCK, and flush the raw side and headers with fresh, back of the headers have drains. After flushing I can drain the whole raw side of all water. For long storage I can fill it with cheap antifreeze (rust prevention) I forgot to mention I DON'T have any power or boat payments. I don't care what your talking about, you'll never convince me that having money in my account is a bad thing.

[@THEODINOFFICIAL]

I have a Bayliner capris 1989 I/O if you take care of her and cover…. Change the outboard gear oil once a year.. and basic maintenance… I see nothing wrong with them

[@f.w.1318]

Stern Drives are just horrible if you do saltwater boating, inboard all the way with a closed water system, however outboards offer the best performance when it comes to power to weight ratio. When I had my Silverton convertible the marine shop offered a service where they added fitting to attach a water hose, all you did was take them your riser, they would drill it and weld the fitting, what this allowed us to was to flush out the riser of any sea water, however we did have to add a T fitting on the line from the raw water pump to the heat exchanger to make it truly flushable, like you mentioned, having this only added 3 more years to riser, we were swapping them out every 4 to 5 years, the last once it had with this setup was going on 7, before I sold it. Also a sign to look for when your riser starts to crack internally is massive amount of steam coming from your exhaust more than norm.

[@sailingsportsandetc.2081]

There are easy access mods for stern drives that split the cooling hose where you can plug in a hose.

[@sailingsportsandetc.2081]

@Thomas Wayne yeah, thanks for the info, I haven’t had much experience with newer engines, I do have a friend with older Volvos he put aftermarket ones on.

[@LarryButler-kp3se]

In a stern drive you are one rubber diaphram away from flooding/sinking the boat. Rubber flexes every time you steer. Outboards are OK, of course unless something breaks 150 miles offshore in rolling seas AND you trust the boat manufacturer's beancounters made the stern of the boat as heavy as a gunboat to handle 1500# of weight PLUS the pounding torque of 1500HP slammimh it in those waves...

[@scottr6394]

I had a Merc 4.3L Stern drive in saltwater, what a pain.

[@hildablanco1591]

The trs drives in 1971 came with 351 Windsor and the 460 Ford engine

[@terryfloyd8251]

I still have a TRS drive on a well-craft it performs great

[@BigDaddy-fq5mu]

Boat Manufacture's switched to Outboards because they are less labor when building a boat. Just slap it on the back and ship it out the door resulting in cheaper labor costs and higher profits. Alot more prep and setup time for a stern drive.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

Did anybody think this guy knows what he’s ever owned a boat !

[@richardbanks6025]

Love outboards, low maintenance, easy winterization, I have owned stern drives, never again, far too much maintenance and terribly expensive to repair

[@BrianStDenis-pj1tq]

I seem to have missed (if you said) why you compared 425hp sterndrives to 200hp outboards. Your video said that a 425hp sterndrive from Merc is $32.7k. The Verado 400hp outboard appears to cost about $33k but the 450hp costs almost twice as much. With 425hp Merc sterndrive comes with the bravo 3 outdrive with dual prop. The torque and thrust at low speeds is amazing. Big (heavy) boats won't cut it with a pair of single prop outboards but work great with big sterndrives. On the other hand, if you want 1600hp on your boat, 4 outboards will work. Getting there with big blocks is more expensive and getting into non-warranty situations. Seems like the sweet spot for outboards (on heavy/larger boats) is going over the 1000hp total power level (3 or more 400hp+ out boards). While modern outboards are amazingly quiet, a big block with captains call open is amazingly loud (when desired) and no outboard can do that.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

But when you hit the big water that bbc sitting forward instead of hanging off the back only boat I know that sinks from the stern.

[@researchcapt]

As far as costs go, sterndrives are like owning two engines, especially if you do not remove the I/O from the water.

[@koyaanisqatsi316]

In Europe things are a bit different. As you all know, fuel over here is too expensive. A lot of people here replace their engine in their sterndrives with marinized car turbo diesel engines. These engines are often much lighter and put out massive horsepower and torque. A 3 liter common rail engine easily outperforms a standard small block V8 and is only sipping fuel. Apart from that there is no explosion hazard anymore because there is no chance of gasoline fumes in the engine compartment. Converting an outboard to turbo diesel isn't that easy.

[@rondellschuyler7074]

I have a 1977 mark twain open bow with a 120hp mercruiser. This video is changing my views. I am thinking pontoon with a Yamaha outboard engine. Many dealers will not service a mercruiser boat older than 8 to 10 years old. Even though mercury still makes parts. Seems owners are getting a bum deal. Imo

[@dannysrigid]

My first boat was outboard, I left it at the dock with the motor tilted fully out of the water first time out. Next day I went to my boat and found the stainless prop no longer resides on the outdrive. Curious again what benefit there is in leaving expensive props out of the water with easy access for thieves ;)

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

growth on the drive

[@cortinaman1671]

Are inboard engines really available with raw water cooling? Lake boats maybe, but salt water boats? I’ve never even heard of it, but shaft drives are more common in my country. Outboards are used on smaller boats below 25 ft.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

That’s why I winterize with antifreeze no rus or corrosion !

[@nygardenguru]

Wow flushing a tilted engine I never thought of that!

[@williamcrowell595]

The Volvo Penta V8 stern drive shown when discussing the problems with manifold corrosion, was not a great choice to display, because it has closed cooling (antifreeze cooling the engine, which is in turn cooled by sea water via a heat exchanger), and that closed cooling includes the manifold. On these engines the manifold should last the life of the engine because they are antifreeze cooled. That is not the case with most closed cooling systems from Mercury, and prior generations of Volvo Penta stern drives, as they’re manifolds are not antifreeze cooled. I bought one of these engines V8-430 in 2014 and it’s been 100% reliable. The accessories like shift control and VCS display, not so much. Buttons literally popped off and fell on the floor. But the engine, as been sold and has over 400 hrs on it. Hope this is helpful for your viewers. Also, the improvements in outboards has been really impressive.

[@williamcrowell595]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon keep up the great content. If people new to boating view your channel they’ll make much better decisions and be happier with boating overall 👍

[@collin9085]

It appears that volvo has made closed cooling standard since 2015 (from their website). Seems like there is no problem with buying any of these boats for coastal conditions, correct? I live in Florida and need a boat that is flexible for wakeboarding. An outboard is just out the window.

[@collin9085]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon I will trailer. And I would flush after every use regardless of engine type (jet, ob, or stern)

[@scottpetrie8707]

And fast forward to today. Most of what is inboard is cigar boats anymore. But dig the note they give. Lol

[@brentmcmahon8188]

Aluminum is the softest metal you could use , you can hear them corrode on a quite nite.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

You don’t have gravity but io’s have water pressure.

[@dougmyers6013]

My son's Robalo with 50 hrs on the Yamaha 4 stroke, 200HP with on time dealership maintenance blew the power head coming off the trailer day before yesterday. He went straight to the Dealership, he's bought several boats for these folks, they immediately took a look, all necessary fluids were good, proper level except for the oil blown over the head, no coolant passage obstructions. I have a 96 Regal that has been modified to 300hp & have zero problems "ever" with this 21 foot hot rod, cruises al day @ 62 mph, uses no oil. There is no way I would own an outboard regardless of the power output they are problematic by their very nature.

[@Z06ified]

I’ve had the opposite experience with outboards over 40 years of boating, both salt and freshwater. Then again, I never bought a Yamaha. Only Johnson, Evinrude, and Mercury. They’ve all been fantastic and completely reliable- never been towed in with any of them.

[@melrose9252]

Doug Meters < I hate to hear your son had an issue with his Yamaha 200. From my experience with Yamaha 2 and 4 strokes this is a very unusual occurrence. Most Yamaha engines are extremely reliable and give many years of use. I hope your son’s motor is still under warranty. I think the biggest problems with stern drives is improper or lack of maintenance, misuse or no use.

[@robertbabic80]

Graph shows that small boats in US use more outboards while larger boats use inboard engines and in EU those are turbo diesels.

[@johnwehunt4305]

And I build my engines for marine us of 300-450 hp. Save a lot of money.

[@foxmoth5477]

closed cooling is the only way to go with a I/O - better than an OB - no winterization - no corrosion - no flushing - minimal maintenance - raise that stern drive as high as you can too...and keep the thing painted and with new anodes frequently.

[@dentalnovember]

There is still winterization what are you talking about? Do you just replace your heat exchanger every year?

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

As a general rule a counter rotating system is more prone to damage than a single screw. The internals are just more fragile. They are more efficient primarily if you have a single engine but I feel the gains are minimal for multi engine.

[@philipstreechon4523]

YOU ARE CORRECT

[@yoster77]

I was under the impression that runabouts made a HUGE comeback last year. Is that true?

[@garywelker8398]

Why do you need to cool the EXHAUST ?

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

Fire hazard

[@dizzcorn1000]

I'll take an outboard any day. Want to winterize it? Tilt it up. Want to replace the spark plugs? Take the bonnet off. Bad thermostat? Take the bonnet off. No risk of blowing up due to failed bilge blower. I don't know anyone who hangs around on their swim platform unless the boat is over 23 ft and even then one person gets to tan and get stepped over all day as people jump in and out of the water. A few problems not mentioned about outboards: easily stolen, the motor bonnet needs to be polished up from time to time whereas a stern drive would not need that. A few problems not mentioned about stern drives: Boom.

[@dizzcorn1000]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon I look forward to that video. I am in fresh water. I like the wake that inboards and stern drives make, but not enough for the maintenance overhead.

[@brentmcmahon8188]

You just can’t get the sound of a BBC in a motor hanging on back of a boat and look at the price of big out board cost and it’s a 1/2 million in just out boards !

[@Johnsonfan169]

With proper maintenance a stern drive can last years. I had a 1982 Larson that lasted 40 years

[@michaelmarkofski4073]

What about valve maintenance...none fur the mercy the joys of a chevy block

[@Glatzomaniac]

Hello. But on an Vintage Runabout or a wooden boat an Outboard Enine looks like an Abscess at the Butt. Isnt It ?? I got a 1972 OMC Stringer Electric Shift Sterndrive powered by a Mercedes Benz Diesel Engine In our 22 feet Boat from the late 60s . It looks good and work fine.. And its unnecessary to sell your house or your car to buy one.. :-) Greets from Germany...

[@mikeschuler2946]

I like outboards but for the HP I want I just don’t have 80k to spend on the engine

[@billyrayband]

4 cycle , low maintenance and cost of CATs are driving the trend to outboards. IOs have been 4 cycle, but manufactures refused to make maintenance easier over the years. But I like the sound of the thru-hull V8 IOs, but I have to stay with pre 2010 to avoid needing expense of CATs. This is mostly government overreach forcing the market to do stupid things.

[@maxxgraphix]

Stern drives have more torque and swing a larger prop. My SeaRay SunDeck gets 3.4mpg while a similar size boat with outboard might get 2mpg at best with single engine. Twin outdrives and it's shit.

[@randyscott3386]

2007 & 2008 the recession hit and wiped out the stern drive market along with the market for r.v.'s look at what happened to the economy of Elkhart Indiana almost overnight . Thank God we got a change of leadership in there to bring the economy back, give Americans good jobs and the ability to buy their toys again . Stern drive or outboard ? That's why you buy more than one boat .

[@rashodeenyassim]

What problem with gravity, it has a water pump to pump and flush the engine.

[@MichalLempicki]

How about a video about the history and rise of popularity of jet boats?

[@MichalLempicki]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon ohh boy, must have missed it. Going to watch it for sure.