re: How many boat owners up in here?

quote:

---

I keep mine at bahia blue. I think they charge like 11$/foot per month.

---

If you have a I/O and a trailer I wouldn't keep it in the water for more than a week or so at a time. I definitely wouldn't keep it in a marina for months on end without putting eyes on it at least 4 times a week.....especially in fresh water. Muskrats and almost everything that lives in and around fresh water LOVE the rubber boot between the outdrive and the transom....the thing that prevents you from having a hole in the transom of the boat of about 6 square feet.....they don't have to eat the whole thing, just one of those sharp little needle teeth below the water line and the bilge pump runs 'til the battery dies and then your lovely investment is hanging in the slips on taut mooring lines and your looking at a huge bill just to get you new aquarium out of the marina's lake.'

I/O's are great for pleasure boats though...maintenance is much cheaper (they are automobile engines with 4 bolt main bearings for the most part) and the difference in fuel consumption between I/Os and 2 stroke outboards is like night and day...not as much difference with 4 stroke outboards but still significant, and the difference in initial costs (I/O's are also significantly less expensive initially than OB's in the same power rating). Couple the initial cost difference with the savings on maintenance (4 stroke outboards are very maintenance intense) and the fuel efficiency and for a family pleasure boat you can't do better than a IO...just don't leave it unattended in the water for very long because eventually that boot is gonna be a muskrat turd and your boat is gonna be a swimming hole....