Conference vicki::boats

    Bruce.
    I'd like to ad my two cents worth to this one. I have both an Outboard
    115 Hp and an Inboard 270 Pleasurecraft. The BIG differance that
    you will find is when manouvering in tight quarters. In that challange
    the O.B. has everthing else beat hans down, I have docked boats
    with twin inboards and they are very good but still don't back
    down as well as an outboard.
    
    I can see pros and cons to both. I tried to get my new boat with
    twin brackets for a couple of 200 hps but the factory just did not
    offer it that way, Maybe in the future they will.
    
    The Inboard is nice in respect to not having any interferance on
    the transom for diving and fishing, and it is very easy to work
    on with a large engine room. I have a single but twins would not
    be bad . You don't gain nmuch speed with twins but you do double
    your fuel consumption. I intend to ad a small kicker that will
    double on the rubber raft. Maybe 15 hp? Small enough to carry, but
    large enough to push the big boat with the right prop.
    
    Also my inboard allows me to have HOT potable water for washing
    and I'll hook up a cabin heater of the water jacket.. Yes get Fresh
    Water cooling if you go Inboard. Its worth it!!
    
    Plus side for Outboards is ease of maintiance, Ease of replacement,and
    Quick power.
    
    It all depends what type of boat and what you want to do with it.
    
    
    Yes Next time Desiels woould be nice, But their noisy?
    

    I'v had all three. First an OB, then straight inboard (single screw)
    and now an I/O. I'd NEVER do the single screw inboard again! I think
    my next boat will be twin OB with Bracket Mounts. My game is fishing
    and want lots of cockpit space. My I/O gets in the way. I have a
    buddy with a 22' Grady White with an OB "Grady Drive". Its their
    version of the bracket mount. Another Buddy has a 22' Persuit with
    conventional OB. NO COMPARISON for space OR handeling. That Grady
    runs away and hides from the Persuit in all kinds of water. It handles
    much more like a 24' or 26'.
    The Grady has a 175 Yahama and the Persuit a 185 Evinrude. Its simply
    a night and day situation. My choice would be the "Grady Drive"
    with twin 100s. I like to know I can get home on one at plane.
    
    The only negative for OB, single or twin, is fuel consumption. My
    I/O is great and those OBs gulp it down. However, the fishing here
    (Ontario) gets great when the weather is cold and my I/O is put
    up for the winter. No problems with the OBs. (same thing in early
    spring)
    
    Depends on what you want!!
    
    Don
           

    re .-1
    
    I agree with you, but would like to make one point.  The bracket
    option is nice for the outboards.  But it gets in the way if you
    are working a large pelagic, or any fish that you can't control.
    They extend so far out that on the new stand-up rods, you can't
    walk a fish around the engine very easily.  Of course with the longer
    rods, or with a fish that you can control a little better (one less
    than your own weight for example) it's not really a problem.  Another
    issue is when you bang a prop, and have to over the side to change
    one.  Inboards, no fun and noty something I'ld ever want to do.
    Bracket drives, not fun, definitely going in the water to change
    the prop.  Outboards, at least you can lean over and reach without
    going in.  In the end its a matter of personal choice, and dependent
    on the type of fishing your doing.  

    Agree with .3. I don't get into fish over 35 or 40 lbs and use 8'
    downrigger rods, so working around the bracket mount OB isn't a
    problem. Even then, I'll maneuver around to net a fish on one side
    or the other rather than over the stern. (too much rigging with
    downriggers, rod holders, etc)
    
    Don 

What is a bracket drive/Grady drive?
    
    Nelson

    Its gradys version of an out board bracket. I think they are
    made by armstrong. A bracket is about a three foot extension that
    is bolted to the transome and the engine sits on top of
    it. It was founded by ocean racers and its major claims
    are more speed, fuel economy, quieter and you get a full transome. There
    are minus like hard to work a fish around, harder to reach if you
    need to service it in the water and supposedly does not handle
    as well as a transome mount.
    
    Bruce

    Bruce,
    I'd take issue with you on two counts; hard to work on and handling.
    You can step right out on the grady drive and really have more access
    to engine and prop from that position than inside the hull of a
    conventional OB. I had to do it to untangle a planner board line.
    Handling is, in my opinion, far improved over the conventional OB,
    at least from the aspect of feeling like a longer boat. With a
    "tilt-n-trim" set up, rough choppy water was a piece of cake as
    well as comming up on plane faster. Seems like there is more "Leverage"
    to bring the stern up when you need it. Clearly you would need a
    little more room to make a turn, slow or fast, but thats a "big
    boat" reality. It really did feel 2 ft longer!!
    
    Don

    Thanks for the input but this weekend I took a guy out on my boat
    who also has a 21 Chris but the walkaround with a 200 merc on a
    bracket, I have the 230 i/o. Since the hull of both boats is the
    same I value his comments and they were: The i/o was much more stable
    due to the additional weight of the engine, he says his boat bobs
    around like a cork. In addition he said my boat ran much quieter
    without the "stink" of an outboard.
    
    I guess I have made up my mind to stick with an i/o over outboards
    and last I would chose a bracket outboard. The additional cost of
    a bracket is about $2500-3000 and it is not worth it in
    my opinion. Many boats are being built mid engine mounting for
    stability reasons and when you are out in 3-5 foot seas you want
    all the stability you can get. Right now I am leaning torwards a
    25 foot robalo with a single merc 330 hp I/O (454 gm block).
    
    
    Bruce

   There has been alot of discussion here about the pros and cons of the
brackets.  A lady I know in Ft. Meyers, Fla. has a 23 footer (I don't remember
the make) with twin ob on brackets.  It was great in the water, but in 
trailering the rig around, over potholes, construction areas, speed bumps
etc, the transom cracked from all the weight stuck out so far behind.  The
additional leverage created by the brackets was too much for the transom.  The
boat manufacturer is doing the repairs under warranty, but I was wondering if
anyone else has seen or heard of similar problems with the brackets on boats
which get trailered around a lot????? 

					Al

    	Al,
    
    	I have seen braces that are use to support the weight of lower
    units on outboards while towing. Could these maybe be used to prevent
    such an occurance ?????
    
    	What you said BTW makes sense about the leverage on the transom.

    RAYJ