I currently own a DCB F26 with Twin 300 XS and I am currently considering moving up to an M28-29 with Twin 400's or single large inboard.

I do all of my boating on a relatively small lake (5 miles long x2) and am wondering about the pro and cons of going Twin four stroke 400's or single inboard vs the 2 stroke twin 300 XS that I currently own.

I am particularly interested in comments on maintenance, noise level, depreciation and fuel consumption.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

I just converted my 308 Skater from 300XS's to 400R's last month. Noise is dramatically reduced at idle and WOT. Top end speed improved 8-10 MPH conservatively. Fuel consumption up. The DTS and power steering are very nice.

I have no idea on depreciation but do feel the days of the opti production are limited and Verados are our future like it or not.


So far I'm very happy with the change.

If you blink on that lake, you might hit the shore!

Noise has been an issue for me. On a quiet day, one can hear the boat anywhere on the lake. But I do miss that V8 engine note!

Call Tony at DCB, I assume you know him.
951-757-4159

I was actually expecting a fuel consumption reduction from the 4 stroke, even with the increase in HP.

I am wondering how the twin 400's would compare on the fuel consumption to a single Merc 1350?

Shoot a PM to "drejustice" here on OSO. He just had his DCB converted to them.

Legit questions!! I too am caught up in the whacker vs big block debate. Seems the outboards are truly the flavour of the week but I have not really seen any hard numbers as to fuel economy, cost of ownership etc vs inboards.

I haven't been able to run my boat to much as we are working on a steering pump issue. 1 change from the 300xs to 400r that I do know and love is the DTS. Docking is so much easier. If you get a 2017 400r motor you can get up to 5 yrs of warranty protection

I know with the 300xs..5 yrs of ownership. 1 issue with each motor within the first 3 weeks of ownership(false neutral switch) and once fixed no issues. We held them open WOT for extended periods of time(45min to over an HR) 90+miles with NO issues multiple times.

Hoping for the same reliability with the 400's. Picked up 8-10 mph and that's without spending 10K on the Merc CNC props If they come down in price then maybe we'll pick up a pair and I think gain another 5-6 mph.

Old verados bring $5-8k each in the high hour range. How many hours would you put on it?