I/O vs OB vs Jet

[oldjeep]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

If you want to ski, then of your 3 choices the I/O would be the way to go. You can ski off an outboard but you need a pylon. Skiing off a jet is a miserable experience since a good skier will be pulling the rear of the boat side to side.

 

[tom267]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

I'm starting to lean to jet. They are sleek, no prop to mess up, almost zero maintenance, and Yamaha has a nice swim platform. I don't do much skiing, as mentioned, it'll be more tubing. I also like that everything on a Yamaha is made by Yamaha including the hull, motor and trailer. I'm going to a large local boat show tomorrow, so that will give me a good side-by-side comparison.

 

[carey965]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

also what is good about a prop boat is that if you dont like your holeshot or top end, change out the prop
with a jet more or less you get what you get

and honestly i dont get what you mean about more maintenance on a I/O, they are car engines if you know how to work on a car you can work on them, also if you ever need to do any work on the outdrive it takes minutes to pull it off, 6 nuts and a couple c clips and your done, go check out the jet drive sites, like i was saying i was looking at them too and there are some major horror stories

its all what you like in the end, so get what you like just dont kid yourself and think you are getting off easy on maint with a OB or jet cause all types of marine propulsion come with different issues

 

[Toddavid]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

I don't know how far you intend to travel with this new boat, but bear in mind access to service. Mercruiser and to almost the same extent Volvo have easily accessible service centers on most any popular waterway, Yamaha not so much. If you are sticking to one lake, and there is a Yamaha boat service center there, then the point is moot. Buddy of mine lost a 10 day vacation with his SX210 because of a failure no one at the lake, 6 hrs from home, could diagnose, since none of them worked with Yamaha.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

WHOA-- service/parts is regional. Jet boats I only know of one mechanic that dedicates most of his time to jet boats and 95% of that is on jet skis. In this area we see 65% Yamaha, 20% Merc, and 15% everything else. Have owned many boats over the past 40++ years on the water. When I lived near the Great Lakes it was always an I/O but an OB would function as well. Since I'm 100% saltwater now I'll pass I/O as manifolds and risers do not handle salt well and are expensive to replace. Volvo in this area no one prefers to work on them. Although there is a Honda dealer near, his boat sales suffer as no one wants the motor. It would never happen but if I moved to most areas of FL I'd buy Merc, here I'll only have Yamaha as every shop works on them, many factory trained techs around, and parts are easy to find,, the few not stocked.

I don't know how far you intend to travel with this new boat, but bear in mind access to service. Mercruiser and to almost the same extent Volvo have easily accessible service centers on most any popular waterway, Yamaha not so much. If you are sticking to one lake, and there is a Yamaha boat service center there, then the point is moot. Buddy of mine lost a 10 day vacation with his SX210 because of a failure no one at the lake, 6 hrs from home, could diagnose, since none of them worked with Yamaha.

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

You can mount an O B Jet on nearly any hull you want. So pick a hull and mount the appropriate H P outboard jet on it. Have fun!!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

Gee, as far as I know you need to drain and winterize the I/O blocks and Jet engine blocks. They are not self-draining like OBs. Just a data point.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

Gee, as far as I know you need to drain and winterize the I/O blocks and Jet engine blocks. They are not self-draining like OBs. Just a data point.

Outboards are only seen on fishing boats and bowriders that are 80's or older around here, so it depends on your location as far as what you will even find

 

[OrangeTJ]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

On a yamaha jet, there are no bellows, gimbals, hydraulic trim parts, power steering parts, drive belts, raw water impellers, motor alignment to check, etc. There are minimal maintenance chores. Oil needs changing, plugs need changing, a couple of linkages need greasing and that is about it. However, I rode in a buddy's IO Chap last night and have to say it was MUCH quieter and handled lake chop a touch more smoothly than our yam Does - talking slight perceptible difference. His has a 5.0 and it felt a bit slower out of the hole than our Yamaha, even though ours is a bit less powerful than his. I wouldnt be surprised if his boat is faster on top. His Chap was more luxuriously finished/trimmed than our Yamaha. Again, it really comes down to what you value and how you will use the boat.

 

[tom267]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

Went to a boat show today, saw every kind of boat, and put a refundable deposit on a Yamaha SX 190. Taking a test drive soon, great dealer. Thanks for all the advice and opinions!

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

OB all the way!

Jet can't go shallower. If you even get close your gonna suck stuff up bottom and ruin your wear ring etc. An OB on a jackplate is the setup of choice for shallow water. Jets also have their intake farther forward which further limits their ability to go shallow. It's right on the bottom of the boat, instead of up behind the transom.

 

[tom267]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

In the end it wasn't so much about shallow water clearance as the roomy bow space, the two step swim platform and a lot of other little nuances that just made it nice.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

Tom, You had your sights on a Jet Boat from the beginning. I saw no analysis of strenghts and weaknesses of OBs and I/Os. Now that is fine, and is your choice. It was a waste of time for me, however.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

Sounds a bit like us. We didn't buy our Yamaha specifically because it was a jet. We bought it because, for how we intended to use the boat, we like it's overall layout/design and features the best of what we saw on the market. The jets just happened to come attached to the boat we liked the best, although in reality this powertrain layout is what enables the overall boat layout that we wanted. Now that we've owned it a while, I also like the nature of their operation and ease of maintenance.

 

[jkust]

Re: I/O vs OB vs Jet

I've had O/B and I/O bowriders and like them both for different reasons. Have had good luck with both powerplants. I'd like a new jet for their social oriented layout due to their flat engines. I think there is a sexy factor with jets as well. When I see a 22 foot jet out on the water, we all know about their shortcomings but secretly I drool in silence. Like you, I don't care about fuel usage as long as I can get through a whole day of boating.