Engines & Drives
Inboard IO, also called sterndrive, puts the engine inside the boat and the gearcase outside it. For two decades it was the default bowrider layout, and millions of boats still use it.
How inboard-outboard bowriders work, what MerCruiser and Volvo Penta packages cost to run, and the downsides every buyer should know.
The bowriders that come up most often when readers ask us where to start.
The world's best-selling bowrider size, in its most accessible form: light, simple and easy to tow.
US$38,000 - US$52,000 new
The refined mainstream benchmark: quiet, dry, and beautifully finished for the money.
US$72,000 - US$95,000 new
The previous-generation classic. Millions of families learned to boat in one of these.
US$8,000 - US$22,000 used
A marinised petrol engine, typically a MerCruiser 4.5L V6 or Volvo Penta V6/V8, bolts to the inside of the transom. Power passes through the transom assembly to a drive leg carrying the propeller, which steers and trims like an outboard.
The result is a clean transom, a large sun pad over the engine box and a low, planted feel on the water.
Torque is the big one. A V6 or V8 pulls skiers out of the hole effortlessly and cruises at low revs, which is quiet and relaxed. The low centre of gravity gives the boat a stable, confident feel through turns.
Automotive-derived engines are also cheap to rebuild compared with a large outboard replacement.
Bellows and gimbal bearings need periodic replacement, and if they fail the boat can take water. Raw-water cooling means salt inside the engine unless a closed cooling system is fitted. Winterising is mandatory in cold climates.
The engine box also eats cockpit volume, and a corroded transom assembly is an expensive repair that scares off used buyers.
