[bigeasy1]

My last two boats,and the current one,(1974 23 Seacraft Tsunami) have been stern drives.I always ran outboards and was skeptical of I/O's when I switched over.After running stern drives now for the last 12 years,I can say that I prefer them for my type of use.I like the fact that I can actually do most of the engine repairs myself,as it's basically a car engine.Even the drive doesn't take a degree in rocket science to maintain or repair.I like the big high flat transom that it offers,it feels a lot safer to me when trolling with waves coming at the stern,and even with the engine box,It's easy to net fish.

Now,I must admit that I run it in fresh water only(great lakes)so That is a big advantage over the ones used in salt water.No doubt,there are some disadvantages to stern drives used in the salt.
They can't be tilted completly out of the water like an outboard,so any fasteners can be difficult to remove from the corrosive effects of saltwater when service is needed.Exhaust manifolds and elbows corrode much faster and need more frequent replacement.A fresh water cooled heat exchanger system is best in I/O's used in salt.Things like the intake bellows,gimball bearings,U-Joints,impellers,manifolds need to be checked and serviced regularly.Other things like the engine to drive coupler can fail regardless of fresh or salt.

I think a lot of the bad rap you hear about stern drives is way way over hyped.Yes in salt water they require more maintenence than an outboard,and like any other piece of mechanical marine equipment,they can be costly to repair.But I wouldn't want to see the repair bill on any modern four stroke outboard either,and most backyard mechanics can't fix one.
I/O engines will also last for many many hours,I know of several that have over 2500 hours on them and run like new.Another advantage is it's a whole lot less costly to replace a complete 5.7 liter 260-300 hp I/O engine,than a comparable outboard.

I guess if I was buying,or repowering a project from scratch,and was going to use it in the salt I'd probably go with twin outboards,and that's only because there is a little less maintenance required and I like the safety factor of a second motor.Stern drives are like anything else if you take care of it properly,and do your maintenance regularly.it should service you very well.

On the great lakes,almost every boat over 21' is either powered by stern drives or true inboards.Not to say outboards are uncommon,but they are outnumbered by a large degree.I love the I/O and would never go with outboards for what I do.If I was to go up in boat size to something over 25' then I would go with twin inboard power.

Maybe member Abl1111 will chime in,he runs a Mercruiser Bravo I/O in Long Island sound.He can probably be a big help .