I’m an OB guy but WTF?

If you notice in their marketing material, there is never anything to show scale of how big these bastards are!

Went to the Cleveland Boat Show and This was the first I’d seen them in perzeon.

Yikes.
Have fun w/these boys.

Clearly a paradigm shift has taken place.

Cleve is a large show and don’t think I saw a single IO!

Other than pontoons and fish boats, Is also say everything there was what I’d call a open, day boat.

There was a 42’ Pursuit w/quad 425 Yammis there for $1.3!

And sadly, not a single performance boat!
Used to be many.

Id add, I’d say the V-12 Mercs were every bit of 8’ tall!

It's no real surprise.

How many manufacturers are still actually willing to produce an I/O boat? Much less one that's performance oriented? Other than wake/surf type boats?

The V12 is like a refrigerator with a prop at the bottom.

The new V10 400 is like 10” taller than my DF300s.

I don’t think that would flow very well with the lines of my boat. Would need to be on a higher freeboard boat.

Funny you mention that - I was getting some firewood from a guy yesterday and he had a boat parked right beside it with a new 300 Yamaha on it and I mentioned how big, dimensionally, it was. Crazy!

Sad to hear there weren't at least SOME big blocks. I realize the shift is strong, but NO big blocks is sad...

Yep.

Back in the day there’d be 20 - 30 go fasts from 25’ - 40’.
Always made the 2 hr road trip in Ohio winter worthwhile.

Not a single one this yr and doubt I’ll be back accordingly.

W/the shift in market focus causing lack of production of what we all love, makes me wonder if it doesn’t solidify value on good,clean used go fast rigs as supply dwindles??

I just sold my ‘09 one ton van/tow pig for 3 times what I paid for it one yr prior, due to same, lack of supply!

Mine was caused by the chip shortage which means a 1 yr wait on new full size vans.

But, would that not be similar dynamics for the Hi Perf Offshore crowd in a couple yrs??

Local Yamaha dealer has a 425 in the showroom, it’ll be there forever at about 60,000 USD. When I first saw it, I was shocked how massive it was, I thought my old. Verados were big….HaHa!

Couple of pics (from Google, not mine) those 600’s are monsters. How well built is the transom that can take the weight and forces…..?

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RR

I'm no economist... But if the demand isn't there for boats that fit into the classic offshore performance definition, nobody will make them. That's where we're at. If the demand isn't there now, at the highest peak the boating market has ever seen as a whole, when will demand occur?

These boats are relics of a bygone era. Sure, there will always be some demand, like with less popular models of vintage cars, but I don't think the buying pool will ever be so large as to cause appreciation in values over time.

We saw the classic car market explode as boomers reached the age they could afford to buy them. The next generation of car buyers doesn't give a chit about Chevelles.

Don't you wonder how few sterndrive packages are produced ?

I/O is still popular on say...18' - 25' inland lake boats...manufacturers like Cobalt, Chapparal, SeaRay, Formula, Crownline, Four Winns, and Glastron to name a few. The bowrider market for boats like these is in fact growing. But for sure, the days of the hairy-chested, twin/triple/quad engines bellowing out their wrath are getting relegated to History.
I have some friends who boat with us frequently, last year they invited a couple to come along on a day trip who I took pretty much an instant dislike to (she refused to get into the water because of the fish and it was 'dirty') and at one point the guy asked, "If you have the...what did you call it...the Captain's Call?...to quiet the noise, why don't you use it? That exhaust racket is giving me a headache...".

I am pretty sure he drives a Prius..