V Drive vs IO

I have and had both, and prefer the inboards... Because the engines are farther toward the bow (better weight distribution) The inboards bow rise is less and the inboards porpoise less. Also, inboards handle better at the dock and require less maintenance, especially in salt water. The IOs are faster, use less fuel, and usually cost less initially. IMHO, the best set up is straight inboards with diesels...
 
Oh no, you must be new here. This issue has been beat to death numerous times with owners of each praising the advantages of theirs verses the other.

But since you asked here are some points to consider.

The “V” drive or inboard is going to give you the advantage of lower maintenance cost, there are less parts in the water to corrode, especially in salt water. It will also give you better maneuverability at slow speeds, docking as an example. But it will also take up much more room in the engine room making working down there more difficult.

The outdrive will give you better high speed performance, more room to work in the engine room and slightly better fuel economy.

I think it comes down to boating preference and the size of the boat. My 320 comes with inboards or IO’s. I wanted the inboards because of the slow speed maneuverability; I don’t need the high speed stuff.

Now…. Let the debate begin.
 
I guess I should have done a search on this topic. I am looking at a lot of 29'+ boats and have steered away from the V drives for no real reason, other than all I have ever owned were Outboards and IO boats. I may have to leave the next boat in the saltwater, and just wanted to get opinions of the V drives.
 
Now offering an opposite point of view. Sterndrives allow access to shallower areas. In my case I couldn't keep our boat at our house because the water is too shallow at low tide.

Sterndrive corrosion is also a strong function of location. If you boat in fresh water, or in the north where water temperatures are lower and seasons shorter, it is almost a non-issue. At seven years our BIII has no corrosion. It is ugly though with seven years of bottom paint! IN the southeast the results probably would not be the same.

Henry
 
Henry Boyd said:
Now offering an opposite point of view. Sterndrives allow access to shallower areas. In my case I couldn't keep our boat at our house because the water is too shallow at low tide.

Sterndrive corrosion is also a strong function of location. If you boat in fresh water, or in the north where water temperatures are lower and seasons shorter, it is almost a non-issue. At seven years our BIII has no corrosion. It is ugly though with seven years of bottom paint! IN the southeast the results probably would not be the same.

Henry
Click to expand...

Henry, check out the OP’s location, boat in salt water. Strong selling point for inboards...
 
JeffK,

The short answer is:
Salt water=V-drives
Fresh water=Sterndrive

The long answer is, it depends on a lot of variables. I'm guessing you're in salt water in FL, so the immidiate thought is you need V-drives. However, many factors depends on how the boat is used. If you have a boat lift that will accomodate 29'+ boat and the boat will be flushed and stored on the lift after each use, you might be just fine with sterndrives while taking advantage of better perfromance and saving money on fuel. As people upgrade from mid 20s' to upper 20's or mid 30's cruisers the attitide on using the boat is changing (or if I may, "upgrading as well"). You learn to appreciate the boat more and getting there bocomes major enjoyment, it's no longer about getting from point A to point B. This is why you'll hear many falks with larger cruisers not care about top speed (while cruising). Your question was discussed many times, b/c it's a huge factor when people upgrade (I've been there myself and debated this while upgrading from 240DA). I'm sure FL folks will chime in with more details on local usage, but from what I know if your boat will be stored in a wet slip you may have big PITA maintaining sterndrives. It's not worth the hassle and majority choose V-Drives for this reason. You also need to consider resale value of your boat. If you were to purchase 320DA with sterndrive, you would have very hard time finding a buyer in your region.

From my personal experience, despite the fact that 320DA was our dream boat for many years, we had to move up to this size to get V-drives. Having to sqeeze more money than we planned it still made more sense to us.

BTW, use search function and you'll get tons of info on this topic.

Good luck,
Alex.
 
I also have had both. However, you DO NOT need to remove the outdrive every year as some believe. I have run several years (or 300 hrs) before checking any alignment (which was Ok in my case). The bellows needs to be checked at the same time. I also only run in fresh water so salt may be different. I do not find much difference in low speed docking with V vs Dual prop BIII but everyone feels different I'm sure.
 
I would say if you have a choice and the boating area that you use allows it then by all means go with the inboard. I have only had one boat with a dog-legg and it seemed to always be like I was maintaining two engines rather than one.
George
 
Scott, I believe we are both partially correct on the sterndrive maintenance, Page 61 of service manual indicates to check alignment and bellows every 3 years or 200 hours. My three years was correct but too many hours.
 
All good views, I also like to inch closer to the beach, which makes sence for stern drives, And do they ever have low tides, especially during full moon. But 250 hrs on this IO drive I curently have makes me nervous. I'm contemplating the V drives on my next boat. What is the average draft of say a 300 Sundancer?
 
HI Jeff,
I would not disagree with most everything said here, But I might most agree with Alex F...Salt, Inboards; Fresh water, I/O's. But be ready and willing to pay more for maint. on the I/O's. I liked the B III's on my 330, but I did all my own maintennance on them and there were a few things that needed replacement over the 9 seasons we ran it. I pulled those drives every year to keep a close eye on things and to grease and paint. overall, my experience with them was very good. I know it would have been less maintennance with inboards, and less cost but I figure what I put in them I got back in fuel mileage (an honest 1.2 mpg). Personally though, I would not ever consider them in salt when the same boat can be had with inboards, which I think is where you fall there in Florida. Just my 2 cent. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Maintanance aside, (I see more problems in my boat club w/inboards than I/O's) Drive them both in the same size boat and make your own determination. Once you get used to docking i/o's it is not that big a deal. My buddy w/inbds needs to 400rpm more than me to carry the same speed $$. If speed, getting on plane fast, manuverabilty at speed . fuel economy are impt.than go i/o Otherwise for sturdier ride and better docking go inbd. my 2 cents:smt021
 
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jeffk said:
I'm contemplating the V drives on my next boat. What is the average draft of say a 300 Sundancer?
Click to expand...

JeffK,

As far as I remember the smallest boat that comes with V-Drives is 310DA, so 300DA is I/O boat. This was the #1 reason we had it crossed out from our list.

For comparison on the draft:
- 2003 300DA: 40" drives down and 24" drives up
- 2000 310DA: v-drives 36"
- 2002 320DA: v-drives 33"

All other things aside, does a 9" makes a huge difference when anchoring near a shore? I wouldn't think so. In fact, from what I've seen people drive too close to shore with I/Os and stir the bottom to get out. Do you know what happens when they stir the bottom, especially when backing?........that's right.... all the sand or silt or whatever they stir gets sucked in to the engine via intake, thus shortenning the life of impellers, water pump and other engine components. Coming from 240DA, yes I was getting a little closer to shore, but I was always conservative enough to be in safe depths. Now with v-drives I'm always in good depths and a little bit further from shore. But, this is something we just get used to. I've carried a dinghy on my 240 and do the same on 320, so I always have a way to get all the way to the shore regadless on which boat I was.

As for maintenance vs. fuel economy, it's either you pay now or pay later. If you decide to get too detailed and do presice calculation based on how you plan to use the boat, and if you come up with numbers that are close (saving fuel with I/O vs. V-Dr) I would still pick v-drives just not to have to deal with sterndrives. The resale is where you'll take the biggest hit, assuming the drives will never break while you own the boat, otherwise you loose even more.

just my .02c.
 
Let me make it simple for you...I/Os on a large boat are the devil's spawn. I know because I have them on my 320 and have had them on my 270, on my current 175, and on my Century Raven 19'. They have been the bain of my existence, have cost me thousands of dollars and a lot of downtime, and I'll never buy another I/O or Mercruiser, or Sea Ray product because they share the same parent company as Mercruiser and you have no other option.

I'd rather buy a Hyundai knock-off from China, on the black market, from the Russian mob, than another Merc.

All that being said, somehow we still manage to really enjoy our 320 and our 175....but rest assured, we'll never buy another.

Good luck!
 
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mhtimber said:
Let me make it simple for you...I/Os on a large boat are the devil's spawn. I know because I have them on my 320 and have had them on my 270, on my current 175, and on my Century Raven 19'. They have been the bain of my existence, have cost me thousands of dollars and a lot of downtime, and I'll never buy another I/O or Mercruiser, or Sea Ray product because they share the same parent company as Mercruiser and you have no other option.

I'd rather buy a Hyundai knock-off from China, on the black market, from the Russian mob, than another Merc.

All that being said, somehow we still manage to really enjoy our 320 and our 175....but rest assured, we'll never buy another.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Can you enlighten us with what the problems were so some the people that are wanting to purchase will know the headache you are going/have gone through, thanks.
 
Alex F said:
JeffK,

As far as I remember the smallest boat that comes with V-Drives is 310DA, so 300DA is I/O boat. This was the #1 reason we had it crossed out from our list.

For comparison on the draft:
- 2003 300DA: 40" drives down and 24" drives up
- 2000 310DA: v-drives 36"
- 2002 320DA: v-drives 33"

All other things aside, does a 9" makes a huge difference when anchoring near a shore? I wouldn't think so. In fact, from what I've seen people drive too close to shore with I/Os and stir the bottom to get out. Do you know what happens when they stir the bottom, especially when backing?........that's right.... all the sand or silt or whatever they stir gets sucked in to the engine via intake, thus shortenning the life of impellers, water pump and other engine components. Coming from 240DA, yes I was getting a little closer to shore, but I was always conservative enough to be in safe depths. Now with v-drives I'm always in good depths and a little bit further from shore. But, this is something we just get used to. I've carried a dinghy on my 240 and do the same on 320, so I always have a way to get all the way to the shore regadless on which boat I was.

As for maintenance vs. fuel economy, it's either you pay now or pay later. If you decide to get too detailed and do presice calculation based on how you plan to use the boat, and if you come up with numbers that are close (saving fuel with I/O vs. V-Dr) I would still pick v-drives just not to have to deal with sterndrives. The resale is where you'll take the biggest hit, assuming the drives will never break while you own the boat, otherwise you loose even more.

just my .02c.
Click to expand...




Starting in 2000, the 290 AJ has come with V-drives as an option. About 1/4 of the ones I see have them. That is the smallest you can go with V-drives.
 
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