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was at a marina near Charleston, SC over the weekend and was asked couple questions about boats which I had no answer.
perhaps you can help....
1. Why are boats used in salt water primarily white in color?
2. what is the advantage of an I/O over an outboard?
Can we guess?
1. Salt and sun tend to fade so white makes sense. Also, algae cleaning products tend to bleach. And, white is probably the cheapest too. At least in auto paints, red is usually the most expensive.
2. Cheaper. The large HP compact power head on an outboard is very expensive to build. But, its advantage is it takes up less space in the boat.
At dive rescue, we use outboards primarily due to weight and ease of use in freezing temperatures. Large outboard engines are actually more expensive than their inboard counterpart. I think the bass boat industry is making that happen. The two stroke outboards have come along ways with programming for break in, very little smoke and lighter than the four strokes.
Forgot about the cold temp thing (long way from here). Yes, don't have to winterize most outboards. Just fog cylinders and let water drain out.
A disadvantage to I/O's in a salt water environment is that there are more parts left submerged at all times, this means more maintenance to prevent corrosion. An OB can be entirely removed from the water when not in use and a direct drive only has the prop/shaft in the water.