Just read a comparison outboard, sterndive, jet drive.

[tuffr2]

I have owed stern drive and outboard powered boats. I prefer they way the outboard boat goes thru the water. Being lighter it rides more on top of the water. A stern drive rides deeper in the water.

The reason I owned stern powerd boats is I could not find a outboard powered boat. There were years that a manufacturer like SeaRay only built stern drive boats or built a dozen stern power boats and 1 outboard model.

I find it intetesting that Glastron is building all three power options.[emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by waterman46

We try to keep our boats in the water as much as possible!
Suggest you find a more appropriate forum.

Look up, this is a Powered Boat forum

[waterman46]

4 stroke has more torque at idle, that's only point I wanted to make earlier. It is true, but may not matter much to most folks. Too much torque mattered to me because I disliked the way the dink would nearly throw us off our seats when I shifted to forward gear. I have the Honda 15 set to low idle per the manual.

Yes 2 stroke generally can give better acceleration due to points mentioned by others.

[tuffr2]

I don't want to think how long ago it was but I saw a E-Tec video where it pulled a Yamaha 4 stroke of equal advertised power backward until the it was flooded.
This was probably 10 - 12 years ago.

I think over the last decade the focus was adding more torque to the 4 cycle outboard motors. I do not know how close the 2 cycle and 4 cycle motors are in 2017/18. Just a guess that the 2 cycle motors still have more torque but I really do not know for sure.

[jsc7]

Sure, for a little runabout an outboard will be a more efficient.

In boats over 30 feet, however, stern drives make more sense.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by jsc7

Sure, for a little runabout an outboard will be a more efficient.

In boats over 30 feet, however, stern drives make more sense.

At the St Pete Boat Show we didn't see any stern drives. We did see quite a few boats in the 30' - 40' range with multiple outboards and prices that are hard to believe. Over $500,000 was common & we saw a Scout center console boat at close to $800,000. Wow!

https://www.scoutboats.com/boat-models/420-lxf/

[Scout 30]

Here's the new outboard powered MJM 35 that we saw at the show. Really nice boat. Every center console fishing boat we saw at this size had 3 to 4 outboards. With 2 outboards the MJM gets 1.2 mpg at 35 mph (29 gallons per hour) with a top speed of 50 mph. At over 13,000 lbs these are pretty respectable numbers.

https://www.mjmyachts.com/35z

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Here's the new outboard powered MJM 35 that we saw at the show. Really nice boat. Every center console fishing boat we saw at this size had 3 to 4 outboards. With 2 outboards the MJM gets 1.2 mpg at 35 mph (29 gallons per hour) with a top speed of 50 mph. At over 13,000 lbs these are pretty respectable numbers.

https://www.mjmyachts.com/35z

Those boats seem to be for serious tournament fisherman.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Those boats seem to be for serious tournament fisherman.

The Scouts are for sure. The MJMs are meant to be cruisers.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by jsc7

Sure, for a little runabout an outboard will be a more efficient.

In boats over 30 feet, however, stern drives make more sense.

Over 30', stern drives are about the worst option.

At that size, many aren't trailerable and it's hard to keep the drive out of the water, so corrosion is a major issue.

With 250-300hp outboards, power isn't a problem though most widebody cruisers go with inboards.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Over 30', stern drives are about the worst option.

At that size, many aren't trailerable and it's hard to keep the drive out of the water, so corrosion is a major issue.

With 250-300hp outboards, power isn't a problem though most widebody cruisers go with inboards.

In the last 10-20 years I think all bigger boats have gone to outboards or inboards except race boats. To get the massive horsepower in the size boats they're racing you need the cu in of a big block V8 plus turbo or supercharger. Just can't get 500-600 HP from an outboard.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by skipmac

. Just can't get 500-600 HP from an outboard.

But you can!

http://www.seven-marine.com/technology/specs/

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by skipmac

In the last 10-20 years I think all bigger boats have gone to outboards or inboards except race boats. To get the massive horsepower in the size boats they're racing you need the cu in of a big block V8 plus turbo or supercharger. Just can't get 500-600 HP from an outboard.

4 x 350 = 1,400 hp

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

But you can!

Seven Marine | Specs

Well that's amazing. A 6.2L GM small block powered outboard with claimed 557 HP at the prop! However still haven't seen any unlimited racers using outboards.

I hesitated to make this claim earlier but checked and confirmed the racers are running 1000-1500 HP per engine with big block V8s. Now I'm pretty sure there isn't a 1000 HP outboard.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

4 x 350 = 1,400 hp

Except the big race boats are running 3000 HP or more. Haven't seen one with room for 8-10 outboards.

There's also the issue of weight distribution and handling. With all the engines on the transom the front end of the boat would tend to be light and make liftoff a bigger problem than it already is.