Outboard VS. I/O Lund

[rdj]

I have a friend who is pricing lund Tyee's and found a decent deal on an I/O Tyee. Need some feed back on the good and bad points of this boat VS an outboard. thanks for your help..

[Ben]

Let's say that it is the 1850 Tyee outboard vs. the I/O. I/O are supposed to be more fuel efficent and run quieter. Other than those two points I can't think of any more atvantages of an I/O. Outboards will out-perform I/O in overall speed and handling. The interior space of an 1850 Tyee will be cut in half if you decide to go with the I/O. Trolling is made especially difficult with the poor acess to the back of the boat. If you through cranks at all, having the I/O will only allow two anglers to fish out of the boat comfortably, in the outboard three guys can cast all day long and run into few problems. How many I/O do you see fishing the professional circuits?

Hope this helps -
Ben

[mk]

If fishing is the only anticipated use, the outboard is likely the best choice. If, like many of us, the use will be a combination of family use and fishing, the I/O is a great compromise between pure fishing and family runabout. I disagree with previous post that I/O will cut interior space in half. It is reduced some but you can see for yourself on the LUND website. The catalog shows floor plans of all boats. Mine is a 1950 with 4.3 V-6 and kicker motor. I would go for the V-8 if possible for a little more power for skiing, etc. If this is only for fishing, others can offer better advise on outboard motor. Either way, the boat handles well and is rock solid.

[Scott]

If you like low maint. and long season service without hassle....the outboard is the way to go. IO's are a pain in the butt if you want to fish at ice up or ice out. There is always the concern of frozen blocks. I've used outboards in 6 degree outside temps on the Ohio river. No problem at all. Outboards wind up much faster, and they are much quicker. Two strokes...every other stroke is power...not so in a four stroke. Others will try to talk you out of the two stroker for gas considerations, but unless you guide, drive your boat for work, or live on the water and travel by water....you'll have a hard time justifying anything on paper except a two stroke. My .02

[Shellback]

I bought an outboard boat to replace my I/O last winter and to make a long story short, I sold the outboard and kept my I/O boat. I find I have more fishing room with the I/O, with the motor box in the middle I can get right to the transom while working the downriggers or fighting a fish. With the O/B it had almost 2 feet of motor well and the O/B behind it. Big pain working a fish around the motor! The inboard motor is quiet, fuel efficent, no smell and easy to work on. Yes, you get more bang for the HP with an outboard, no worry about freezing the block in cold weather, but I'll take my I/O any day. PS. My I/O boat is a 1968 Penn Yan ( yep, 33 years old! ) with a 120 Mercruiser. The freezing issue isn't a real bid deal anyhow. I've got a plug on the block and one on the manifold that I pull when I get the boat on the trailer. I think the new Mercruisers have a nylon thumb screw that you remove by hand. Shellback

[Phil T.]

The great advantage to an I/O is price. Typically, at 150hp, the difference is around $3000. Automobile engines are made in mass quantities, so the price of each one is low.
The great disadvantage of an I/O is cold weather use. If you don't use the boat when the weather is freezing, it's not a problem. A second disadvantage is found in some makers interiors. I work with a guy who has an I/O Crestliner, but won't trade for a new one because the new models have sundecks instead of access to the rear of the boat, as he needs for salmon trolling. The Lund interior provides access to the transom.
Both designs have their particular service needs, it's all in the owner's manual. At least the automobile engine is designed to burn modern gasoline cleanly, without a bunch of additives.

[WestCoaster]

I second Phil's sentiments. I own a Crestliner I/O and have no problems with it. The question of access to the rear for fighting a fish is moot since the livewell acts as a step to get up on top of the rear deck and fight the fish all the way around the outdrive without any difficulty. With a 205 HP V-6, the boat is plenty fast (55+ GPS) for running down boiling stripers, and has the guts to pull a skier all day long. I don't live in a super cold climate region,...we see an occasional streak of sub-freezing weather once in a while. Typical winter temps are 40-50 degs. I do fully drain the coolant jackets, but do not place antifreeze in the engine. The boat was about three to four thousand dollars cheaper than the outboard version, and runs very quietly compared to an outboard.

[bluelund]

RDJ,

I own two Lund boats, both of which have I/O's. They have both been excellent boats and I traded a Lund Tyee outboard in on one of them. I prefer the I/O because of the initial price and the quietness of operation and the absence of two-stroke smoke. While the I/O cannot be used in 6 degree weather as was mentioned in a previous post, this has not been a problem for me because where I live, when it is 6 degrees outside we are ice fishing. Tell your friend that the I/O is a great motor and should give him many years of enjoyment.

Good Fishing,
Bob M.

[rdj]

Thanks for all your input. this site makes for a great sounding board. I've printed the replies for him and he really appreciated it. I bet T-Mac will too if he buy's the boat!!

[Al]

I've had this arguement with my buddy for years. He was(at one time I was too) a diehard IO man. He is now buying an outboard. Yes, it is a car engine, and it costs less initially, but every year while he is winterizing his boat, I was using mine. Mine was the first boat we put in the water for spring fishing too. Being a car engine with the IO, he's had valve problems, distributor problems, block problems, points, and exhaust boot problems, trim hoses break off and pretty much luke warm performance. His IO (and the one I ran) required more water to run the motor too. Fuel economy compared to my opti is a wash. And even though I've owned both Opti (EFI and FIcht too) and IO, I'd buy a carburated OB (with poor economy and lots of smoke) before I'd have another IO. Yes, I hated mine(and his) that much.

Each case is different, but if IO's were such a good idea, why are they the lowest volume sellers in the lines of Ranger, Lund , Crestliner etc? I'll tell you why, they are a contiual pain in the rear (in our experience). The only way I'd ever buy another IO boat is if I could afford to knock it out, glass up the hole, and put an OB bracket on it and new OB. I'm not trying to offend anyone, just getting my point across that my experience with IO's (several between me and my buddies) has not been good.