Fish-Hawk.Net

I have a friend that is seriously considering buying his first boat, mostly for cruising/tanning/swimming etc and occasionally fishing. I've been advising a 16 - 18' outboard (70 - 90 HP) bowrider and others are telling him inboard is the way to go. Just wondering what the general consensus out here is?

Outboard for me, plus I like the look. Plus inboards are heavier

I think generally, outboards are most often prefered over stern drives. The engine takes up valuable boat space, as Bassstalker said, they are heavier & maybe harder on gas because of it. Older ones may be noisier and smellier because they're in the boat. My first boat was a stern drive and I found it noisier and smellier but my new one is an outboard 4 stroke so I guess you can't really compare. I used to think that the modified car engine in a stern drive would be easier/cheaper to maintain, but I'm not sure about that now.

I have owned both inboards and outboards. In boats under 20 ft, I would go with outboards. However if you start getting into larger boats, the inboard/outboard is a better and cheaper alternative then having one top of line outboard or multiple outboards. As you get to the top end performance models, it seems the cost per HP is incrementally more.

My current boat is around 19ft and I have a 130 HP Honda 4 stroke. (2000 lb boat without fuel or me ) The boat will top end about 43 miles an hour. The hole shot is fine but obviously a 2-stroke would be better. The setup is more than enough for tubing or sking. If they want faster than that, get I/O.

Inboard outboard are nice but if you plan fishing later in the fall like Nov.,Dec. you got watch you don't freeze and crack your block. Happened to a friend of mine in Quinte. "OUCH"

Good point Fish Farmer, inboard /outboards are a lot harder to winterize,very time comsuming to do the job right...and you realy have to extra carful when cold water fishing....with the price of fuel, I would think out board would be the way to go.

Well I'll toss this out.

We use an inboard Malibu ski boat for wake boarding sking. The old outboard on the last boat was painful to get around when getting skiers in and out of the water. And most inboards produce a better wake for skiing (motor in the center forces the hull more into the water). Also the ropes can easily get tied up on an outboard motor. The onboard in that size range are rather loud as well.

But for the other uses and ease of storage/repairs the outboard is the way to go. If you the will use it for fishing, it really is nice to be able get the main motor out of the water (or trim it up) when going into lower/weedy or rocky waters.

In 1993 ‘we’ were talking about getting a fishing boat (about 16/18 feet) after staying at Bayview Wildwood resort on Sparrow Lake. It slowly went up in length to a bowrider and then to a cuddy (22 feet). And then a tow vehicle was required.

Instead we bought a brand new cruiser at 27’ 10”, LOA. Did not like the idea of having to tow the boat every weekend.

One year later, we bought a longer brand new boat at 32’ 4” and fully loaded.

Wherever the boat will be docked for the year, there will be lots of fishing since most marinas have many and large fish. You can either fish off the docks or you can buy a good quality inflatable and a small motor.

Brackets can be installed so that when one goes off on vacation for a week or two, you can bring the inflatable.

I love fishing but having a larger boat was not a compromise. And there were no towing problems. And everyone else in the family will be pleased.

I personally prefer outboard motors. 4 Stroke definatley. I have a 115hp F/I 4 stroke Mercury on my 20ft Excalibur Legend. The excalibur is the all welded aluminum fish and ski boat by Legend. She'll top out at 42MPH GPS. Plenty for pulling skiers

I debated the i/o boats but as previously pointed out here.. they take up extra space (need 22ft to give same room as 20ft), in older models you have to be very weary of worn outdrives.

The main plus is that it is a 4 stroke and thus fuel efficient with lots of power, especially for larger, heavier (fiberglass) boats.