I/O boats

how many people use I/O boats? cuz up here in canada, there is either the rich who buy V-Drives, or the people who get outboards, or I/O's. no direct drives. so i was just wondering if anyone uses I/O's.

I do only b/c we can't afford an new vdrive. And when we were looking i didn't know jack about boats. Boy have i learned alot. well $2 g's later and 1200 pounds of ballast we have a pretty decent wake.

okay cool. what we're using now is an old 84 Stingray with a 90 hp Johnson Outboard motor. the wake is fine, i can get enough air on it, lol even though its a hardcore ski boat, but my dad needs more room for taking more ppl on the lake

WTF?

I am not rich, I live in Canada and I own a v-drive.

I think he is referring to the over cost is higher. I got into my first boat for less then 5 grand. It is all what you make of it and how big you are into wakeboarding. If you are really serious then go get a v-drive and don't waste your time with a I/O or outboard. Wish I would have done this but i had never wakeboarded b/f I got this boat.

same here, until you are on the water it's hard to figure out what you like, skiing, wakeboarding, fishing...whatever. I bought an I/O and now I wish I got a mastercraft. Live and learn. At least I know what I want for next time. At least I can say im still on the water which is better then most people.

I have a i/o and a pretty decent one for under 15K and is a lot newer then a cheap 1989 v drive "wakeboard" boat. I also do more then just wakeboarding in my boat so I actually am glad I bought my i/o instead of an old v drive. I have about 1200lbs of ballast and still perfecting the PP and the prop. The wake isnt perfect but I can get some good air and all my friends have a blast so for the price there are no complaints. If you dont have the money for a nice v drive (like a good # of peeps) then get a nice i/o. When I win the lottery I might go down and pick me up a MC but until then ill be out on the lake in my i/o having a kick@ss time.

I will post a pic of my boat tomorrow!

well i guess that i shouldn't say rich, but people that want to make payments on a toy. so i guess thats what i meant. cuz if we bought a new boat, it would be cash. sorry for any misinterpretation

Hey Linden not sure if you live in Western Canada or not but here in the Okanagan there are tons of V drives. By the state of real estate prices around here I would guess that most are not financed.

There is a lot of Alberta money here. So I would not assume that many Canadian don't have the cash to spend on a $70K to $110K boat.

In fact it is probably more likely that the $30K I/O is financed to the hilt and the $100K Mastercraft is paid by cash.

Whistler real estate is like that. It is the $200K to $500K condos that usually have a financing subject whereas the multi million dollar houses will not be financed.

I had an I/O for years. Some of the best times of my life on that boat.

My first boat was an $8k SeaRay. We installed a Waylon extended pylon & a few sand bags in it. Learned how to wakeboard & AirChair behind that boat. Also did a little fishing & just goofin around with it, plus learned how to drive it, back up a trailer, dock it, beach it, trailer it, maintain it, etc. Sold the boat after about 4 yrs for $5k. That $3k investment probably saved me 2 or 3 times that when I bought my next boat because I knew exactly what I wanted & how to drive it.

i have 2007 maxum 1800sr3 fully loaded every extra maxum offer on this modle.sports seating,transom remote+drivers factory tower and perfect pass gps.with p/pass, high 5 prop makes the boat perfect for our skills.600lb fat sacs and i love it is new new turn the and go i would have to by a older mastercraft with no warrenty

I have an old I/O, its my first boat and i can say that it is much better to learn and make mistakes with an I/O because repairs are so much cheaper. I would suggest goin with an I/O for a season or two. Thats just me though.

These people with "wake specific v-drives" are nuts. Just kidding. But seriously check out my profile pic. We always have a great time and have no complaints of the old girl.

Paying cash, nice concept! Enjoy what you have, and plan for the next purchase if you're able.

bstephn24's boat has a cuddy cabin, offering additional recreational activities that vdrives can not. Nice !

I love my IO (pic in profile)... Does everything I need it to do "wakewise" plus gets me to the bar fast and smooth in the "big" water, which is really the most important thing anyway...

The only thing I didnt like about an IO (beside the prop hanging off the back) is lack of power. We had a Chaparal with 4.3 v6 and loaded with people pulling a boarder up the thing was a pig.

aaron, thats a sweet ride!! A Cobalt is definately not your run of the mill IO.

What's the saying... "there is no replacement for displacement" Having the 7.4 helps a lot.

After years behind the 18' four winns, we got our selves a direct drive and what a difference. You dont need to have an inboard to learn to wakeboard, but if you have the choice, definitely go with the inboard. Dont get me wrong, we had some great times behind teh I/O, but its just not in teh same league.

We "upgraded" to a ten year older boat with almost three times as many hours, and I couldnt be happier. Plus dad gets his boat back now.

WTF? I'm not rich, I own a V-Drive, and I live in Canada.

I love my i/o,it's got a decent wake so you can ride behind it,it's not like a v drive but i also use it for scuba diving,deep sea fishing,trolling witch would be impossible from a wakeboard specific boat.You need to know what you'll use the boat mainly before you decide what boat to buy.

I have a DD and I live in BC

Our I/O does the job for us, I'd probably rather ride behind it where we ride than a new V drive.

Running it into the bottom is not nearly as expensive. I've only done it once when we stayed out a wee bit too long on a dropping tide (as you do) and were in a tight spot due to where the rider fell. The only damage was a small ding in the prop, which is a lot better than bent prop, rudder, shaft etc.

The other thing I prefer over most inboard boats is that our boat has closed cooling, not essential but we ride in salt so it should help the motor to last a lot longer. It's definitely high on the list of things a boat should have since the closest river is at least an hour away.