Costs....
for me...
Mooring rental 400, beach assn dues for boat owners, 300, bottom paint (boat yard, I won't do that) 400, outdrive paint (that I do because I don't have to lie under the damn thing and get toxic paint dust on me) $40 or so averaged out. So that's about $1140 plus about 4 hrs of my labor, for the season.
Deaf there outboard boats with swim platforms that will address your concern.
Think of what you don't have with an OB...
no driveshaft bellows to leak
no periodic replacement of exhaust manifolds
no concerns about explosive fumes in the bilge
cooling system hose failure does not flood the bilge with seawater
engine is self draining very easy to winterize
OK parts cost a fortune (think modern Japanese car engine parts) and they are fussier about fuel than old school carbed inboards.
But winterizing is not crawling around in the bilge for 3 hrs.
You don't have to pull the drive off every season (but should change the impeller about every 3 seasons, lest the bolts seize in place).
In a salt water area, an OB will sell much faster. Esp a 4 stroke Yamaha.
http://www.starcraftmarine.com/showroom ... 250-ob-scx