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They actually had been looking into possibly building outboard smaller boats again and asked what I thought. I told them I was for it as long as the price was right, which I don't think is possible. The last year they produced outboards was in 2005 with the 180 Horizon LE. That boat with an Evinrude 150 DI was $3,600 more than the same boat with the 4.3 V6 190hp Volvo Penta. Customers did not want to pay that much more for the outboard, would you? Let me know what you think about the Four Winns outboard, how much more would you pay for it over a stern drive? Maintenance costs are less, and they have a better power to weight ratio, and they use less gas but would you pay for that upfront? Most people found that the extra $4,000 cost would pay for the extra mainteinace and gas for at least as long as they were going to own the boat which made it so we had to sell our last few outboard Four Winns for less than what they cost us. I liked the outboards very much, but I think the cost of the outboard has made it a very hard to sell for Four Winns.[/quote]
Well I'll tell you what I think, if the OB is 3600 more, yes that is a lot of money. But, here in salt water areas, in about 4 years, you will have saved close to that much in reduced maintenance costs. If you keep the boat longer, you will save money every year. When you sell the boat, it will sell a LOT faster and for MORE money. So for anyone in a coastal region, or who boats in brackish water or moors the boat in salt like I do, it's short sighted to think that an IO is going to be cheaper over time. The ONLY time it's cheaper is when you need to do an engine replacment. If I couldn't do nearly all the maintenance on my IO myself, it'd be hard to justify what it costs to keep it going vs an OB. I'd consider another IO if that was all I could get on the boat I wanted ONLY because I can do the winterizing, tune ups and drive R&R myself. Here your average cost of winterizing a single IO is at least $300, then to get it ready for the season (tune up, drive re-install, etc) can be close to $500. This doesn't even touch on other OB advantages, such as more room in the boat (important in a boat the size of a 180), at least 400 lbs lighter for the same HP, and no worry of fumes in the bilge. And for people who like to use their boat late in the seaons, you just put the engine down to drain, no running out to pull drain plugs the first cold night in October!
I have had pretty good luck with my IO and I know in freshwater areas they are very popular and last a long time, but I still think that they are losing market share in coastal regions by being I/O only. What they need to do is offer them also on the medium size boats, like the 200/210 Horizons, they used to until the late 80s. Then the increased price of the engine will be less of a percentage of the total cost of the boat, and not seen as such a liability. And I'd like to see them re-configure the rear of these boats, there is a LOT of wasted space on the current designs, do people really want and use the sunpad and seats back there? My old 88 200 just seems so much more spacious in side, with a deeper hull and seats that are mounted higher up, so you can see much better while driving
In reference to engine costs, just wait till people get the bill for the increased price of I/O engines with cat converters, I hear it's in the range of 2700-3000 more, if OBs don't need them (maybe the DI ones won't?) that levels the playing field.
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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II
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