Steve Lacatena
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To winterize my i\o on my cruiser I just put in a thermostatic controlled heater , comes on at 40 degrees goes off at 50. Just bought a Bennington i\o with a heater already in it .
Would You Buy an I/O Again?
- Thread starter Yianni
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Yianni
Well-Known Member
Ah Steve, you're a month too late lol. We ordered our Bennington last month with a Yamaha 350.
I've had both I/O and outboard and loved them both.
I've had both I/O and outboard and loved them both.
Rick from Rocky Mount
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We are very happy with our IO. I've not heard of having a heater in an IO. Interested in cost benefits. Is it an electric heater? If so, what if the electricity goes out either on the dock or just due to a bad winter storm? It sounds intriguing but I would be worried. On the other hand, our IO has the Volvo Penta "easy drain" system where we can drain the engine's water with a pull of a lever. Nonetheless, we still winterize it for our hard winter months of Dec, Jan, and Feb.
1trotter
Well-Known Member
I love my big block 502 I/O and have owned 14 boats prior to this one in my lifetime. Tons of torque, thru hull exhaust, and counter rotating props.... Ever look under the cowling of an outboard (scary)
My I/O is Pure heaven.
My I/O is Pure heaven.
Tin Diesel
Well-Known Member
I'm new to motor boating, so I can only relate my very limited experience with the Mercruiser 5.0 that came with my 2007 2575RL when I bought it from my brother.
Before I bought it, I called my mechanic of 30 years and asked him if he could work on the engine. Being the kind of guy who loves to do research, he called me back and said that it was the same motor that I have in my 2012 F150 and he could do anything needed - except work on the outdrive. He even said with the ability to remove the cowling, it would be easier to pull than most car engines. Haven't had to test this yet, fortunately!
Regarding oil changes, I have done the first one myself. Yes, I had to buy a suction pump, but it really made it easy. As with everything, I was glad I did this myself because the last guy who did it (my brother's Bennington dealer) put the filter on so tight it collapsed on removal. Other than that, it was easy as heck to change the oil and now I know its done right.
According to the manual, there's a way to drain the oil through the bottom hull drain plug. But that plug hasn't been removed in forever and seems fused, so I'm not going to worry about it. That's why I bought the pump. Would have been even easier tho'.
I posted a photo of the motor below. I like having everything available.
It also is fun to impress guests... every guy who has ever gotten on my boat says "WOW!" when I open up that cowling with the engine running!
Regarding noise, its not very loud, but I haven't really had the chance to compare it to any similar HP outboard tritoons... maybe someday I'll get that chance. In any event, I wonder if adding some sound insulation under the cowling would make a difference?
A thought on balance. I do like that my boat sits a little more level in the water, but I guess that means I'm using trim differently than an outboard when at speed.
But what I really like about the I/O is the balance on the trailer. The front of the engine is almost over the last axle on my triple-axel trailer. We trailer everywhere, and to me, there is no changing the laws of physics -- a force vector is a force vector, and if you hang 1000 pounds off the back, 5 to 8 feet behind the last axle, I don't see how it doesn't change the stability of the trailer, AND put a huge weight on the back of the transom.
One last comment regarding durability - and I'll restate that I have no real experience here. My engine only has 137 hours on it, but its 12 years old and never had a problem. I was at the International Workboat Show in New Orleans and talked to an exhibitor guy about I/O vs Outboard, asking how do they fit 350 HP outboard in a space 1/4 the size of my 250 HP I/O??? He said they compact and lighten everything to the smallest tolerances, and push the compression etc to the max. He commented that with good maintenance, my Mercruiser would go 10,000 hours and then could be easily rebuilt. A 350HP outboard is a throw-away after 5000 hours because its too expensive to rebuild. Here's some photos I posted from that show: http://club.benningtonmarine.com/threads/outboard-eye-candy.8135/
Winterizing? What's that? (we live in south-TX)
Before I bought it, I called my mechanic of 30 years and asked him if he could work on the engine. Being the kind of guy who loves to do research, he called me back and said that it was the same motor that I have in my 2012 F150 and he could do anything needed - except work on the outdrive. He even said with the ability to remove the cowling, it would be easier to pull than most car engines. Haven't had to test this yet, fortunately!
Regarding oil changes, I have done the first one myself. Yes, I had to buy a suction pump, but it really made it easy. As with everything, I was glad I did this myself because the last guy who did it (my brother's Bennington dealer) put the filter on so tight it collapsed on removal. Other than that, it was easy as heck to change the oil and now I know its done right.
According to the manual, there's a way to drain the oil through the bottom hull drain plug. But that plug hasn't been removed in forever and seems fused, so I'm not going to worry about it. That's why I bought the pump. Would have been even easier tho'.
I posted a photo of the motor below. I like having everything available.
It also is fun to impress guests... every guy who has ever gotten on my boat says "WOW!" when I open up that cowling with the engine running!
Regarding noise, its not very loud, but I haven't really had the chance to compare it to any similar HP outboard tritoons... maybe someday I'll get that chance. In any event, I wonder if adding some sound insulation under the cowling would make a difference?
A thought on balance. I do like that my boat sits a little more level in the water, but I guess that means I'm using trim differently than an outboard when at speed.
But what I really like about the I/O is the balance on the trailer. The front of the engine is almost over the last axle on my triple-axel trailer. We trailer everywhere, and to me, there is no changing the laws of physics -- a force vector is a force vector, and if you hang 1000 pounds off the back, 5 to 8 feet behind the last axle, I don't see how it doesn't change the stability of the trailer, AND put a huge weight on the back of the transom.
One last comment regarding durability - and I'll restate that I have no real experience here. My engine only has 137 hours on it, but its 12 years old and never had a problem. I was at the International Workboat Show in New Orleans and talked to an exhibitor guy about I/O vs Outboard, asking how do they fit 350 HP outboard in a space 1/4 the size of my 250 HP I/O??? He said they compact and lighten everything to the smallest tolerances, and push the compression etc to the max. He commented that with good maintenance, my Mercruiser would go 10,000 hours and then could be easily rebuilt. A 350HP outboard is a throw-away after 5000 hours because its too expensive to rebuild. Here's some photos I posted from that show: http://club.benningtonmarine.com/threads/outboard-eye-candy.8135/
Winterizing? What's that? (we live in south-TX)
Last edited:
Yianni
Well-Known Member
Our choice was made for us by Bennington as they don't offer an I/O in the QX Fastback, only on the Swing Back model.
Nautical
Well-Known Member
One of the things I like about a pontoon is that they only have outboards . . . or so I thought. Seeing an inboard pontoon reminded me of that scene in Godfather III when Al Pacino says "Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."
Michiman
Well-Known Member
For me at least, 5000 hours is the equivalent of 50 years of boating. I think I'll be just fine with that.
1trotter
Well-Known Member
