good link FT.
my self, i'd sure consider a ob for my next boat. the high maint. of a sterndrive is less than desirable imho. i grew up with ob's, 3.6, 5.5, 6, 50, 75 and 90hp, elgin, wards(chrysler), merc and johnson's. winterizing was great, grease the moving parts, R&R the drive lub and oil in the cylinders. store them down. i'm also on my second 165io, L6, easy enough, but the drive train is just plain high maint. imho, i've had a couple of jetskis, which are inboards for all practical purpose. and i think i'd go jet before i'd go io again too. my next likely boat will be aluminum with a ob though. mostly based on easier to repair the boat, easier to work on the engine or R&R the engine if need be... only draw back i see is aluminum boat's with ob's on them seem to bring more $'s for a used sale.
i like to boat early and late in the season too. ob's seem more suited to this kind of boating too. mostly in putting them down and the cooling system is self draining. that really appeals to me.
in lew of all that. i got a canoe a couple years ago. i was out last weekend, 2-27-16 (pretty much unheard of in ne. the lakes usually froze solid). and winterizing again was turning it upside down on some blocks. went out again today too, saw 3 muskrats, one close enough i could see his beady little eyes, and 10k seagulls. i'm likely not exaduating about the quantity of seagulls either, the lake was white with them. when they'd fly it was like a bird tornado. i've never seen so many.... 3-3-16. a canoe is great. but if i had an ob, i could have done that too. my io is still winterized.... :grumpy:
