Drives vs Inboards

LaRea

Yup, that's the one I was thinking of.  Compare the Venture 370 to a 342 sterndrive.  Same LOA, beam, weight, draft, top speed, cruise speed and fuel consumption.  But the 342 is much roomier in the cockpit and cabin.  The 370 cabin is like a 342 with no shower or mid-berth.  

04FV270riverrat

342 is my dream boat, but I'm stuck trailering at the moment....hoping the wife will grow out of that....or we'll have to get a 300 or 310 and trailer that lol. I want more cockpit room than the 270 has, but it'll do for a few more years.

Ian

My 310 can't be trailered without permit -over width.

reneechris14

The 270 is 9'1" that is also permit required.

04FV270riverrat

reneechris14 said:

The 270 is 9'1" that is also permit required.

My title actually says 8'6" so I'm towing un permitted until I get caught and they measure it! 

reneechris14

Same here did it for 4 years never had a problem.

04FV270riverrat

icoultha said:

My 310 can't be trailered without permit -over width.

and for a 31 ft boat, they are wide at 11'6" ! I'm thinking about something in the 30-32 foot range that's 10'10" would be were I want to be later.

I really like the Monterey 335 SY, but they are only about 5 years old and still over 175k used lol

Liberty44140

The Venture 370 is an interesting boat but I wouldn't want to own one. The enclosed outboards are neat, but they take up a lot of space. As said above I like that my current set up maximizes cabin space and leaves the swim platform open. We have a venture 370 on our dock and the owner hates the outboard configuration due to ongoing problems with the Verado's he has. 

zaverin1

Lol
you guys
342 is a old a$$ boat design and it’s not all that.
aft is a sleepin in area and not a sit down that converts to a sleeper

besides the separate shower it’s not that great 
only thing that puts it on the list is price.
most older 342 are under powered and have a **** build. I am sorry but I work on boats on the side and know few 342 owners. Not to say any other brand is better.
beam is also not impressive once you bird a boat that’s over 13 wide plus.
if you get newer electric shift 342 then it’s easier to maneuver when going in and out of gear

peoole get stuck on the my way or the highway 

get on the inboard and find out how well they behave and maneuver. 
Most mid 30-40 inboards handle and have very reasonable fuel consumption when comoared to sterns 
ye once you get into 40 plus you become water pushers and that’s why at that point you shouldn’t care about gph lol

LaRea

The 342 is what it is.  But the literature on the Venture 370 makes it sound like the Dawn of a New Age of Outboards.  It's slightly different, nothing more.

I still don't see anybody suggesting an inboard boat that performs like my 370 sterndrive boat.  

pistole

if new boat , doesn't matter , you can pick inboard longshaft , inboard Vdrive , sterndrive , outboard , pod , whatever. 

if older boat .... i will choose outboard (by far 1st choice) and a distant second ... inboard longshaft.

212rowboat

I want a by dang v8 I can stand and look into the valley on without turning my head like some absurd parrot.. Stern drives work.  So do straight shafts behind a goofy transmission... I would imagine pods work but they remind me of star wars and robots/droids with erratic behavior I dont approve of (yes, you can quote that)... Outboards have their place and when properly deployed are the proper choice.  Bit their v8 in some offers, and it dont seem right to stand one on its end and tell it to work.  V8's are people too!!! 


Little baby jesus in a tuxedo shirt hiding in a shoe box, why in the hades do y'all think there are choices?  

Maga.. Blue wave.  Rock on.  ~Drew. 

raybo3

zaverin1 said:

Lol
you guys
342 is a old a$$ boat design and it’s not all that.
aft is a sleepin in area and not a sit down that converts to a sleeper

besides the separate shower it’s not that great 
only thing that puts it on the list is price.
most older 342 are under powered and have a **** build. I am sorry but I work on boats on the side and know few 342 owners. Not to say any other brand is better.
beam is also not impressive once you bird a boat that’s over 13 wide plus.
if you get newer electric shift 342 then it’s easier to maneuver when going in and out of gear

peoole get stuck on the my way or the highway 

get on the inboard and find out how well they behave and maneuver. 
Most mid 30-40 inboards handle and have very reasonable fuel consumption when comoared to sterns 
ye once you get into 40 plus you become water pushers and that’s why at that point you shouldn’t care about gph lol

@zaverin1 man you really opened a can of worms with this post. First off a stern drive up on plain handles 10 times better than any inboard and yes I have owned both. Once you learn the little "tricks" docking with outdrives is a breeze also. NO INBOARDS get better fuel economy than stern drives. I was told that Rinker once had 2 342's, 1 had 350's with inboards and the other had 305's with Bravo 3's. The bravo 3's ran much faster and almost 1/2 the fuel burn as the inboards....... Just say'n

zaverin1

Once heard is the key here
wben a given hull is made for ins and stern options it’s already a wash.
only disadvantage is you obviously can’t trim ins 

raybo3

Sorry not buying it. The new "smaller" SeaRay's have sterndrives on them but are retro fitted for inboards. Same hull with either option.  IMO the biggest advantage of inboards is less maint and maint cost..

reneechris14

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.powerandmotoryacht.com/.amp/boat-tests/rinker-fiesta-vee-342-0
This is the test al did years ago

LaRea

The lifetime cost of sterndrives is probably 4x higher than inboards.  Inboards:  good for the life of the boat.  Sterndrives: higher annual cost AND need to replace the drives at 800 hours.  It's real money ... maybe like an extra $800/year.  

Now, why would people tolerate that cost?  Why do the vast majority of express cruisers use sterndrives?  Performance.  Go faster, use less fuel, trim up in shallow water.  If the performance wasn't there, people wouldn't do it.

Liberty44140

When we move up to a 36-40 footer next it will be inboards for one simple reason: smoother ride. That said I dont think that my reason impacts most of you. If I were in a much deeper great lake or in the ocean with rolling waves, drives may be just fine, but the lake erie chop, particularly where I am at the shallowest and more populated part of the lake, is like a washing machine. Overall I'll take my 342 over a Sea Ray 340 any day of the week. 342 is a larger boat with a separate shower and a fantastic layout, way more cockpit and more cabin, plus 30+% lower in price, but when we run in 3-4 footers he is way more comfortable than me. Again this is based on Lake Erie chop. I've got to get a ride on a 342 in a deep body of water some day to see the difference (hint hint  )

Stodge

My next boat will be a trawler with a single inboard and a bow thruster.  I have seen several trawlers with outboards but none meet my requirements.

LaRea

Does the 340 ride smoother in chop because he's going slower, or because his hull has a finer entry angle?  The 342's bluff bow is great for cabin space, but you pay for it in rough water.  

Liberty44140

LaRea said:

Does the 340 ride smoother in chop because he's going slower, or because his hull has a finer entry angle?  The 342's bluff bow is great for cabin space, but you pay for it in rough water.  

He rides smoother because his a$$ is deep in the water and he plows through the waves wheras I am on top of the waves. I burn a lot less fuel on top of the waves as I have a lot less boat in the water. I cruise at 29 and he cruises at 25 BUT he likes to push it and usually just goes 29 with me. I dont think its speed or hull, he just has a lot more boat in the water in the teeth shattering Lake Erie chop

zaverin1

Let’s cut to the chase lol one buddy has a 400 Rinker and other sea ray 440 sedan bridge. Fyi
i hate fly bridges
we took both to put in bay over the last few years 
420 Rinker is probably one of the best 400 class boats out there.

ray is nice because of the room down below but main deck space sucks 

anyway cat ray gets better gph and yes it goes 9 mph slower at cruise.

what makes the difference is how wide beam inboards handle in the big water vs stern drives
plus like a said before anything over 35ft should have diesel anyway

LaRea

Gph is irrelevant unless you spend a lot of time idling for locks.  Which boat can get me out of my marina at low tide and make it to Annapolis in 5 hours?  Not the inboard.  Gas sterndrives, and my boat is well over 35 feet.  

Oh crap.  Now somebody said the d-word.  

raybo3

We have 5 320 Searay's at my club and 1 is owned by a close friend. When we go any where he lags behind and runs at a higher RPM. Because he "pushes" his boat hard it is much louder and he burns more fuel. While up on plain and running there is no way an inboard handles better than a stern drive boat......

zaverin1

Raybo
where do get that sterndrives handle better then inboards lol
maybe by handling you mean all
the handling we do when we have to remove them every year for maitanance or broken parts 

zaverin1

Once again 320 ray is made in both stern and in
320 is a small boat.
like I said first time you step a foot on a 13 plus beam boat that 40ft you will realize while they have dieslels abs push either zf or velvet trans 

zaverin1

Why do they stop offering sterndrives in 40 plus boats?
i am not talking about overall length 
I mean real deal
tbats because them poor suckers would blow
up from all the stress 

LaRea

Okay, Master of the Obvious!  Agreed, sterndrives max out at about 12 tons.  How does that have any relevance to Rinker express cruisers?  

zaverin1

We are not taking about rinkers
we are talking about boats in general
I was trying to state obvious like handling and overall characteristics are far better.

raybo3

zaverin1 said:

Raybo
where do get that sterndrives handle better then inboards lol
maybe by handling you mean all
the handling we do when we have to remove them every year for maitanance or broken parts 

I owned both and hands down stern drives handle better. Not even an argument.