Reality check - OB vs Inboard $$$$s
 

I have been gagging a bit on the cost of upgrading my BBC 502s to something more reliable (bad original builder) and then a buddy sent me to a web site that posts outboard motor prices - holy smokes.....$16k per motor plus rigging for 250HP???? - so these midnight expresses cruising around down here have 5x$16k in motors on em. Damn - for $75k I bet one could build some nice gas or diesels.

Hp Is Not The Only Difference. Don't Forget Power To Weight Ratio.

good point - we can add longevity to the equasion as well. I assume for example that outboards dont run for 2-300 hours yet do they?

So what does a verado 250 weigh anyway?

200-300 hours yet? Fishing guides will put a 1000 hours on a motor in a year. The outboards are going to go way farther between rebuilds. My 525EFI needed a rebuild at just past 100 hours after the headers cracked.

somebody correct me but a 275 verado weighs about 595lbs,dpending on which lower unit you buy,the merc 300 weighs alot less and gets pretty good mpg,and 2000 hrs is not a stretch,with gas prices going up and up some applications are going to look pretty good

It ain't exactly like ob's are gas sippers. Compare similar horespower i/o to the ob, and the i/o will win everytime. Also, a thousand hours from a low hp i/o is not unreasonable. Check the hours some of the ski boats get.

I had a pr. of Merc 225-1981 Lasted until 2004 !! 23 yrs. can a C.I. motor last that long in salt water!! Replaced w/ '98 Merc 300 w/50 hrs on them,pd. 15k,460# a motor,300 sbc I/O about 1,100. Great power/weight ratio. 27' MAGNUM Sedan runs 69-71 GPS. Price of gas $3.30 + oil $52 per 2.5 gal. in BOSTON ,Ma...............I'm happy

cuda, i agree with you ,thats why i said some applications,not to steal this thread,but i was in the air force with a guy from deland named jeff kudlack in 84-85 homestead afb,(23 yrs ago that would make me......) wandered if he was still around up there

The name doesn't ring a bell, but we just passed our third year here on June 10th. Debbie's much better with names than I am. I'll ask some long time citizens of Deland if the name rings a bell. If he ever lived in Deland, he's probably back here again. I just drove to St Pete this morning, where I spent 33 years, and an hour there sure made me love Deland more.

As far as longevity of outboards, I bought my fishboat brand new in 1988 with a Johnson 120 looper. I repowered in 2001 with a 175 (the 120 was always a dog). The 120 still ran like a top, the only thing I replaced was a trim cylinder that rusted through. Even though it ran perfectly, they only gave me $150 for a trade in.:(

I still have the boat, and it will be the last boat I'd sell. :)