[abl1111]

If you're trailering it and not leaving her in the water - then the I/O is a nice choice. Think about whether you're in shallow water a lot. An O/B is nice to have in that case...

At this point, most people can't work on these 4 stroke O/B's much anyway - they're pretty technical in terms of Fuel Injection etc ( I've heard this from some of my very mechanically inclined friends )- as are the i/o's w/ regard to Fuel Injection and sensors. The I/O, if taken care of - think PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE! should be pretty straight-up. And, I feel they perform better than an O/B in terms of response.

I do all my own winterization and summerization and anything I can. It's fairly simple. One thing I would like to get my hands on is a Mercruiser Maintenance schedule. The Mercruiser service manuals are pricey - $150 for engine and $150 for drive manuals.

I have a MAG 350 Mercruiser 5.7 w/ a Bravo 3 on my 23 Tsunami. It is an awesome setup. I get about 8-10 gallons per hour at 3100 rpm's. WOT is 4400 rpm's. I would have no complaints if I trailered her. The fact that I keep her in the water comes with (1) concern, (1) design flaw and (1) maintenance PITA:

In order:

- electrolysis / galvanic corrosion - is a real fear/ concern. So far so good, but I am on it. As the song says, "Rust Never Sleeps "

- distributor cap contacts ( inside the cap ) constantly gets fouled from moisture. Mercruiser recently switched back to copper/brass ( I forget which ) contacts from aluminum <--- alum was atrocious !

- and by far the worst - the marine growth ! I have to clean my drive, underwater, while in the water, 2-3 times a year - 2 hours each time. The growth is insane.

For me, when I did my resto 5 years ago, I thought about the O/B's, but the add'l price and benefits were not enough to make me do the extra work.


Hope this helps a bit.