Have to admit, I've started looking at a couple of boats with outboards. Is the "gas and go" convenience worth giving up the rumble of big blocks?

And Sound Like A Bumble Bee At Wot??????????

I've got no bones about eggbeaters. They run like scalded dogs and are pretty darn maintenance free (2 strokes, that is).

The 220-260 horse carbed 2.5's were anvils.

The sound? Have you heard an 8000 rpm 2.5 thru velocity stacks? Or thru a Brucato guillotine? They SHRIEK. You can keep em quiet or make em as nasty sounding as you like.

Hard to beat when you look at bang for the buck.

come my son, come to the dark side

Just don't bring any strippers with you.........

You Can Do It ! :d

The best thing is setting on the transom to work on them instead of hanging upside down in the bilge.

You mean being a bildge rat can be uncomfortable?

I personally would miss the rumble of the big blocks too much, BUT there are certainly advantages to the week whackers.

With two young'ns (one will be 3 and one 8 months when boating season hits) we're trying to balance "family" with "performance". Formula SS series are nice, but a little too cruiser, and the only ones in our price range are the 28' - I'd like something bigger. So... I'm thinking about a Concept or similar. Run 60+, big cockpit for the kids to run around in, enough cabin for them to take a nap (we *never* overnight), gas-and-go convenience (2 kids means *no* time to mess with the boat). One of my big concerns is wind protection up here in the land of 65 degree boating days, but maybe Leopajm will chime in with some first hand experiences...

Still just kicking the idea around, all the input is appreciated!