Pros/cons to I/O motor

[Mike J]

I will soon be in the market for my first boat and I saw a good deal on Crestliner with an I/O motor. Other than the space the motor takes up, any other cons to this type of motor? Are there any benefits? Just wondering if I should consider this type of boat or completely rule it out. I will mostly be fishing bass and walleye and occasionally muskie and panfish, and will also be cruising and tubing with the family. Thanks.

Mike J

[cold one sd]

One con is that you can't fish as late in the fall or as early in the spring as with an outboard because you could freeze the engine block unless you have a sealed system. Changing oil is easy, but sometimes the filter is hard to reach for an old guy like me. I don't know what size or year you are talking about either. Some are easier to winterize than others also. I think the fuel economy can be as good or better than a 4 stroke outboard. I have owned four I/Os and they have been trouble free. I almost bought anothre this spring, but I decided to try an outboard.

[Walleye Guy]

A buddy of mine has a Crestliner Sportfish with a Volvo Penta I/O. A couple quick observations on his rig. The lower unit does not trim up as far as an outboard which has cause some problems in shallow water. We had prop problems (ok it fell of because a certain Twin Cities dealer forgot to put the locking pin on..another story) anyways we had a very difficult time finding replacement parts in the Lake Vermilion area. More of a Volvo/Penta issue than pure I/O issue though.

Two pet peeves I have are the inability to see what direction the motor is pointed like you can with an outboard and the amount of space they take up on a boat like a Sportfish.

My buddy's next boat will definitely be outboard propelled.

[Polar Bear]

I've owned both and a couple things come to mind.

The biggest advantage is just how quiet an IO is. You can take a spin around the lake and actually hear at normal conversation levels. I've also noticed that you can usually buy more boat for the same money with an IO on the used boat market. I can't really say why they're cheaper but they usually are.

The outboards have the edge on acceleration from a dead stop, which is really nice to pop water skiers up quickly. Also, you can replace an outboard easier if you shell out an engine. I know 2 guys who actually junked out their boats when their IO engine died. Good luck.