330DA - I/O vs. Inboards

H

Hal

New Member
Oct 18, 2006
31
White Lake, MI
My wife and I are considering a "previously enjoyed" 330DA. It will be freshwater use. I know they are rare but there are a few out there with 7.4L I/O's.

I believe the I/O's should be more efficient, but how much? We're curious if there are any I/O owners out there that can share their impressions? Basically we are wondering about the pro's and con's of one drive system vs. the other. :huh:


THANKS,
Hal
 
I will alert Capn Ron to this post as that is the boat he has (and is for sale:)

It is a fast boat and has tons of room to work around the engines. I have sat beside him and watch him work on it with room to spare.
 
which generation of 330DA are you considering...the 1990-1994 or 1995-1999....????
 
Hal

I can't help you with fuel burn rates or top speed but everything I have read in past postings on the boating boards gives the nod to the I/O as being more efficient on both counts. Rinker in fact offers I/O's as standard on all their cruisers for that very same reason (and probably some other reasons as well). Generally speaking though, the only other advantage may be the ease of working in the engine compartment.

The disadvantage is you really need to be hauled out annually and have the drives pulled and serviced and have the engine alignment checked. And most outdrives on larger cruisers are going to be worked a lot harder pushing a big boat than a smaller one like mine. Plus, any problem at any time with an outdrive (such as leaking bellows) means a haul out for repair whereas the inboard won't have that issue. Most hard core boaters who have had I/O's and now have V-Drives will tell you to opt for the latter on the bigger boats. Then there is the issue of resale. I would think that most boaters given their choice between the two would pick the V-Drive over the I/O so an I/O may be a lot more difficult to sell and may be worth less too on the resale market.
 
I did some research on I/0 vs V-drive, before I bought my boat. I was looking at late model used 320's. I ended up buying a new 300 so there wasn't a choice.

V-drive Pro's
Corrosion resistance, maintenance costs, resale value
I/O Pro's
Fuel efficiency, speed, engine room space, shallow water trim

I boat on a seasonal freshwater lake with shallow areas. So corrosion is not as much an issue. The boat is stored on land during the winter, so a yearly haul-out is already required. I've anchored in knee deep water, I don't think you can do that with v-drives.

Finally your question :grin: fuel costs. At normal crusing speeds an I/O boat will travel at least 30% further on a gallon of gas. People try to hide it by quoting gallons per hour instead of miles per gallon. But unless your just driving in circles GPH isn't as important as MPG. V-drives have decent GPH because they're going slower. I like to go to the far end of the lake for Chinese food :thumbsup: with v-drives it would cost me $60 in fuel, with the I/O, more like $40. That's a lot of eggrolls.

Before boattest started charging for reviews of older boats you could directly compare a 320 with I/O vs V-drives. That's where my economy numbers came from.
 
osd9 said:
which generation of 330DA are you considering...the 1990-1994 or 1995-1999....????
Click to expand...

We've actually thought about both. I prefer the cockpit layout on the 95-99 model. But the price of the 90-94 is attractive :wink:
 
I/Os

Hal I have a 310 with I/Os. Well first of all it is very very fuel friendly. I dont have specific numbers to back it up but I dont feel its a problem to take a trip down the lake and back. (Lake Cumberland). Its incredible how much room is in the engine room for working down there. Its very very roomy. The drawback is Like someone else has stated you will have to pull the boat and have the drives serviced from time to time. We are currently wanting to sell ours because we are wanting to look for a bigger boat. I wouldnt hesitate to buy outdrives. I have no problem with putting it in the slip. I use them like they are inboards. Just my .02$ worth.
 
A concern in the years that you are looking at, is that the I/O version were RWC where as FWC was an option that most V-D versions will have.

You will get better performance and fuel economy from I/Os along with a TON of extra room in the bilge......but that comes at the price of added maintenance and lower resale...however, on that flip side, if I/Os are your preference, you should be able to get a great deal.....
 
This is an interesting topic. While resale value is a pro for the seller, it is a con for the buyer. Really, there are two questions involved. First, how much will either one depreciate during the time owned? Second, might this change over time?

I would think that in the age of boat mentioned, the depreciation for either boat would be about the same. And if fuel costs go back up again, then the value of the I/O becomes more apparent. For someone wanting more boat and lower fuel costs for the $, the I/O will be better considering those costs only.

Then you have to throw in the maintenance costs issues; pulling the boat and having the outdrives serviced annually. That does add an annual fee. But if the boat you find has Bravo II drives like mine, I am not convinced that you need experience all the problems many talk about if you properly maintain the boat. Bravo III's are a known headache due to corrosion issues.

The V drives may have an advantage in getting on plane, and holding plane at lower speed. I don't know this is true, but suspect it is from posts I have read over time. My boat is a 270. When I get enough people and fuel on board that I am at about 9,000 lb, then it is not quick to get on plane with my single 7.4L engine and Bravo II drive with aluminum prop. Looking at a 1995 brochure for the 330 DA, it appears the boat is not twice the weight mine is, so with twice the engines the performance should be better.

From the brochure, here are the drafts listed for the 330 DA:
Stern drive down 36"
Stern drive up 25"
Inboard 25"
 
it's not a matter of value at resale as it is more a matter of finding the right buyer at resale......More folks looking at 330DAs want V-Drives rather than I/O....IMHO....

As an aside, I owned a 93 330DA and a 98 330DA both with V-Drives.... both boats were great in thier own ways....if you can swing the extra $$$ go for a 97-99 330DA with 7.4 MPI V-Drives
 
I think Dominic hit the nail on the head........it comes down to a question of quality of investment with i/o's. When it comes time to sell or trade up, there are a lot more buyers for a 30+ ft inboard than for an i/o, so be prepared to take a lot less money for or have it on the market for a long time when you are ready to move up.

And, here are a couple of other points to consider:

With i/o's you have 2 gear cases per drive running under water, you have universal joints, bellows, couplers, trim cylinders under water, gimble housings and gimble bearings.......with v-drives or inboards, all the mechanical stuff in inside the boat running in a dry enviornment in a closed drive system, so the mechanical risk of ownership with i/o's is a lot greater.

The need for speed on larger boats is way over rated and, you will discover, not that important. As boat size increases, so does the liability for wake damage, so with a 30'+ boat you will be much more likely to run slow in crowded areas and around other boats. Besides, the larger the boat, the more you become aware that there is as much fun in the trip as there is in the destination.

The bottom line is that this is your choice........and they key to picking the right boat, irrespective of the drive system, is finding a clean one in the right mechanical condition so it does not become a major money pit.
 
I'll add my .02. I have a 330 DA with Vdrives. I live in So Fl and boat year round. The boat is stored in the water in saltwater. There is no way I would consider O/D's for my situation. If you are planning on dry-storage for the boat, that's a different matter <but that cost would greatly out pace your fuel savings>

I have owned an OD boat. If you are in a fresh water lake and pull it out for storage anyway, that makes OD's more of an option. But even with a substantial fuel savings, I'm not sure the numbers add up. Maintaining an OD <especially 2> is 2-3 times what it takes to maintain a Vdrive transmission. Especially as the boat gets older, this difference rises <twin props, a gazzilon seals, U-joints, cables, wiring, etc.>

My boat is 11 years old. I've owned it for 4 1/2 years. I have put 730 hours on her in that time and have spent a grand total of $400 to maintain both transmissions. And I can do it without hauling the boat. For me, it's V-drives, but each circumstance is different.

Larry
 
The boat I've heard about has Bravo I drives. It will be used almost exclusively in fresh water. It will be pulled every year for "W" storage. So it sounds like the only real down side would be having the drives pulled for an alignment check every 100 hours or so????
 
What surprised me a little is that nobody talks about control at low speed and especially when you are manoeuvring in a harbour or docking.

This gives you a huge advantage on v-drives.

Because you have rudders you boat still reacts on steering even when you are not in gear.

Also your props are under your boat and not after, this is much more effective when you are using your engines to turn or manoeuvring.

Peter.
 
PMvdb395DA said:
<snip>Because you have rudders you boat still reacts on steering even when you are not in gear.<snip>
Peter.
Click to expand...

Good point Peter.
- Several people have mentioned top speed. That is not a concern at all. I don't really care about WOT.
- My main hope in raising this question was to quantify the improvements in efficiency at cruise.
- My other question is the ability to stay on plane at slower speeds. Which is better, Vdrive or IO?

The maintainence concerns are partially mitigated since I'm in the Great Lakes Area which is freshwater and requires I pull the boat every "W" anyway. :huh:

THANKS,
.Hal
 
Hal,

I would not discount the advice of Frank and others regarding possible maintenance costs with the I/Os, not suggesting you are. I have not had them, but it is a gamble.

I can't speak for how the V drives do vs I/O's, but my guess is they are better. My 270 with Bravo II is not good at being able to hold a slow speed plane. This is an issue as the water gets rough. I can't reasonably slow down below around 20 or 22 MPH without backing off plane. Then progress is slow.
 
Hal said:
PMvdb395DA said:
<snip>Because you have rudders you boat still reacts on steering even when you are not in gear.<snip>
Peter.
Click to expand...

Good point Peter.
- Several people have mentioned top speed. That is not a concern at all. I don't really care about WOT.
- My main hope in raising this question was to quantify the improvements in efficiency at cruise.
- My other question is the ability to stay on plane at slower speeds. Which is better, Vdrive or IO?

The maintainence concerns are partially mitigated since I'm in the Great Lakes Area which is freshwater and requires I pull the boat every "W" anyway. :huh:

THANKS,
.Hal
Click to expand...

Hello Hal,

I had a 330DA '90 model with v-drives for almost 5 years.
She had the 5.7 merc bluewaters inside and was very fast in plane, very nice to drive at 22 - 26MPH almost like a BMW car!
So I don't know how the 330 handle on lower speed with the more heavier 7,4 engines but I think almost the same.

I think that when you read all the above reactions that you know v-drives are the best choice.

For me definitely!!

Success Peter
 
I have a 320DA with V-drives. I previously owned several non-searays with stern drives. Here are my observations.

V-Drives:
+ Easier to dock at slow speeds
+ Cheaper to maintain
+ No corrosion issues
+ Easier to sell when the time comes
- Less fuel efficient
- Less responsive steering at speed
- Less engine room
- Slower top speed

Stern Drives:
+ More fuel efficient (as much as 30-50%)
+ Ability to raise outdrive in shallow areas
+ Faster top speed
+ Better manueverability at speed
- Corrosion problems, especially in salt
- Maintenance Expense
- Harder to dock with the pivot point behind the boat
- Harder to sell

Given the above, I would not consider a stern drive boat in saltwater at all. The only exception is a volvo ocean series (composite, so no corrosion issues) drive which is new and not available on a SR.

If I were on fresh water, planned to keep the boat a long time, and put a lot of miles on it, I would consider stern drives if it was a really good deal. The initial purchase and fuel savings will more than offset the cost of maintenance. It doesn't take many trips at 1.5mpg (stern drives) to save a lot of money vs. 1.0mpg (v-drives).

I had originally planned to get stern drives until I found a great deal on my 320 with V-drives. I almost bought a Four Winns 318 with the volvo ocean drives and neutrasalt, which even in salt water would have been a good setup.

I will say that the biggest advantage to inboards is that in docking the boat pivots leave the wheel alone and only use the shifters. I can slide my 11'6" beam boat perfectly in my 13' wide slip and not touch a thing using only the shifters. Has the stern drive folks at the marina baffled how I can do it....

-Dave
'04 320 Sundancer
 
This subject comes up a lot. 1995 330DA with V-Drives here and we love her. You lose engine compartment room but you gain less maintenance and, you can do the maintenance without a haul out. I think the V-Drives are a bit noisier than the outdrives, having owned both. Makes sense, transmission\drive is under your feet vs. under the water. She handles like a dream though. Plus I love having seperate controls for the throttle and the transmission.

Alll of the 30+ crusiers we boat with have outdrives and they brag about them. "I am faster, burn less fuel...."

Funny thing, both had to be pulled this year. One for a leak and the other hit a rock with his outdrive, $7k+ in damage, needed a new outdrive. Now that can happen with a strut\prop\shaft too but the cost well be much less IMHO.

Bottom line, it's really your choice and in fresh water with an annual haul out you are OK with either.
 
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