The boat on the left has an inboard or sterndrive motor and the boat on the right has an outboard motor. An inboard is hidden within the boat and an outboard is 100% visible. The main difference between an inboard and an outboard engine is their placement in the boat. What is the Difference Between Inboard and Outboard Motors? One downside to an outboard engine is that they are loud and create larger wakes, which can be problematic if you use your boat for watersports like skiing. Outboard motors are more common in boating because they are slightly less expensive, allow more flexibility, more seating capacity, and are easier to maintain. This means the entire engine unit moves and acts as a rudder. The outboard engine steers the boat itself by moving left or right. It can also help with winterizing a boat. This is a nice feature if you want to remove the engine from saltwater to decrease erosion or if you need to avoid obstacles in shallow waters. Outboard engines can be fully removed from the boat for storage or lifted up so they do not touch the water. They can be operated by hand in smaller boats or connected to a steering and power system (similar to the look and feel of a car) in larger boats. This type of engine is advantageous because the propeller actually steers the boat itself and you can lift it up to avoid shallow water or obstacles.Īn outboard engine is a boat propulsion system that delivers power to a boat via an engine mounted on the outside hull of a boat. An I/O engine is considered a mix of an inboard and an outboard because the engine is inside, but the propeller/rudder is outside. In a true inboard, the propeller is in a fixed position and cannot go up or down.įor a boat with an I/O engine, the engine will be placed towards the back of the boat (still fully concealed), but the propeller part of the engine will stick out. Instead, there is a separate rudder, which controls the steering. When a boat has a true inboard engine, the engine will be placed in the center of the boat (inside the boat) and have a driveshaft connected to a propeller, which will give the boat power.

I/O engines are more practical for families or boats that want more flexibility. True inboard motors will be found on boats designed for skiing as they produce less wake and drive much smoother. A true inboard is fully inside a boat and an I/O has components within and outside of the boat. There is a distinction between a true inboard engine and an inboard/outboard engine we need to discuss. The inboard engine is connected to a driveshaft, which controls the direction of the propeller, steering the boat. Īn inboard engine, sometimes referred to as an inboard motor or as sterndrive, is a boat propulsion mechanism that sits inside the hull of the boat permanently. If you are not quite ready to talk about engines but are interested in learning more about boating and what types of boats are out there, take a look at our Guide to Buying a Boat and when you’re ready to buy a boat, check out our guide to how much a boat costs. In this article, we are going to discuss more about what inboard and outboard engines are, the pros and cons of each type of engine, and how much they cost on average. When selecting an engine, there is one important choice you need to make first: inboard or outboard? The difference is actually within the words an inboard engine sits within the structure of the boat and is not visible whereas the outboard engine sits outside the structure of the boat and is clearly visible at all times. It also means you have some room for customization and can choose exactly which engine you want. It means you need to budget above the MSRP of the boat and plan to pay more for an engine (or two). Boats are almost always sold without the engine. If buying a boat is on your radar, one question you will need to answer is the type of engine you want. What Boats Usually Have an Outboard Engine?.What Boats Usually Have an Inboard Engine?.What is the Difference Between Inboard and Outboard Motors?.

Mercury inboard motors