[jongolds]

My last boat was an I/O and we switched back to an outboard primarily for the easier maintenance and greater interior space. It's not that the maintenance on the I/O is difficult. It's probably the most common engine in the world and consequently there's no shortage of people to give you advice or to work on them.

The problem is that when shoehorned in to the boat everything is hard to get to. You need to be a contortionist to change the spark plugs. Changing the oil filter with out spilling in to the bilge was enough of a problem that we installed a remote filter. I was also never comfortable sucking the oil up through the dip stick. Changing the starter called for a saw and a lot of bloody knuckles. With the outboard, everything is right in front of you at eye level.

All that said, I do still miss the performance. You had a better weight distribution and as much hp as you could ever want and all with the quiet operation of 4 stroke and a fraction of the cost of an OB.

Bottom line, I wouldn't shy away from the I/O, especially for a trailer boat. If its going to be professionally maintained I might even prefer it. If you're worried about getting in to the shallow water, sure an OB is better but a trolling motor is even better still.

If you do get it, heed the advice given here and keep an eye on the bellows.