BEFORE YOU BUY A BOAT WATCH THIS/Inboard VS. Outboard/Why we Chose an outboard for "Channel Surfing" 

Very good comparisons , I have owned a R-27 diesel and a R 27 outboard . I think the diesel displacement hull , with it's large keel and keel shoe offer much more hull protection than the outboard model . My 2018 R 27 ( first year of production ) seems lighter built than the displacement diesel hull . On the 2018 I have the Luxury Edition which has a factory gas Generator , which my Surveyor has told me , it has ABYC install infractions . This being gas powered , worries me . I would go back to my diesel if i had the chance . I would then have to be content to go slow , and stand on my head to service it . Excellent breakdown of the pros and cons .

Great Info! Alot of people would benefit from this vid.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the outboards add about 4 feet to the LOA with the props out of the water when berthing. That amounts to an extra $40+/month in berthing fees.

Thanks for putting that together. After reviewing your comparisons, the main advantage of an outboard seems to be the speed. I think I would still go with an inboard diesel.

Excellent video with many comparisons that I hadn't considered. Thanks....

Thank you !

Great review as always. Just one little comment. We have the 25 SC inboard and only have one type of fuel on board. Our wallas diesel stove is actually fed directly from the main tank and our dinghy has an electric motor, so it is indeed possible to keep it simple with just one fuel type on board. Thanks for the videos I find them helpful and especially love all of Lazina's tips, it is wonderful to have both the Captain and Admiral points of view :) See you out on the water.

Super helpful.Thanks a lot.

Awesome vedio thank you guys for sharing

Reliability and security is a head scratcher too. Inboards tend to be much more reliable. Volvo marine diesel engines are rock solid and run like tops, which gives peace of mind. But with outboards, you can easily have more than one and have spare props that can be replaced with a dinghy to avoid needing rescued in many circumstances. Noise is another big factor that I think everyone should consider. Inboards tend to be quieter, but in the cabin outboards can be quieter, unless the inboard is aft and under the cockpit. I personally see why I should want outboards if thinking practically, but the boater in me likes the aesthetics of an inboard and being outside while cruising and not hearing screaming outboards. I also like anchoring and going to shore or exploring a bay and/or dropping a few crab pots with the dinghy on a whim. My dad had a 40' CHB with a 40 hp volvo penta (I think it was 40) and it just purred along and was so darn relaxing and charming. But he was retired...

On my Cutwater C-28 (comparable to the Ranger R-27), I comfortably cruise at least 20 knots. The top speed I have seen is 27.5 knots. The outboard is faster, but a bit exaggerated to say double the distance covered. One advantage I think of often with the outboard is in case of needing to clear a fouled prop from running over a line.. easy to do on the outboard but I plan to install a line cutter. Diesel is about 2/3 the price of gasoline, and there are no road taxes included that you need to worry about asking for a refund for (which I'm probably too lazy to do). Aesthetics is a consideration depending on personal preferences, and keeping the swim platform clear for entry or fishing is nice. I think the gas outboard is a good option, but if I were looking at an inboard gas vs inboard diesel, I think the diesel is a clear winner. If we had a generator it would also be diesel though, and I run the Westabo heater off the same 100 gallon tank. Gas for the dingy can be kept if needed in a canister in the swim platform locker.

Thank you.

Look at replacing your dinghy with a Gala Inflatable canoe/kayak. They are very stable and easy to handle. Could be stored on your cabin roof and are light to handle they are designed to take an outboard.

That’s sage advice from an old salt! Cheers! I’m in the midst of a transaction for a 22’ C-dory cruiser (outboard) and for my application, an outboard is perfect. The C-dory is perfect, too, as I’m on fresh water, very large, 120 mile long lakes, in British Columbia’s interior. The flat bottom, dory design allows me to “beach” her on the thousands of isolated, otherwise inaccessible little beaches. And a pilot house is mandatory for Canada! I love the Ranger tugs, and the Cutters! But I’m a retired old man on a budget! And this little C-dory will allow me to trailer her to the Pacific and tow her with my Tacoma! Very good vid, sailor! Peace

I work for a commercial towing service and we regularly take our twin engine Honda’s over 7000 hours. Never flush them out and it’s just about the hardest work you can put on an outboard.

Thanks for this

Excellent.

Great video. Thanks for posting. I was curious on the fuel consumption difference. I might consider a tankless hot water heater on propane now. Thanks again.

I'd say you covered it pretty well. Being able to steer with the outboard in reverse is nice. The steering wheel in my Cutwater 26 basically does nothing in reverse. Thankfully it has fore and aft thrusters. Diesel is definitely safer, but smells compared to gas. I'd say outboards have a large convenience factor, but Diesel wins when it comes to long range and safety.

Thank you for sharing Martin. I had recently attended the Boats Afloat show seminar (it is now available on RU-vid) and Brian from Inside Passage Yacht shared that for longevity, the Yamaha outboards have a 600-800 hour max whereas inboard diesels are 5,000-10,000+. I’ll email the link of the video for reference. That really surprised me because with it being that low in comparison, one would have to repower the outboard a lot more often. I see you are at 200 hours on the boat now and you’ve owned it for a year. Brian also shared Yamaha has the most service locations in the PNW. I’m surprised the fuel economy is the same between the two engine types, but recall Ranger Tugs sharing that with me as well a couple of years ago.

The outboard oil can be changed by lifting it out the water, drain the oil in the water, replace

@ Let's go channel Surfing: I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video and share some of the considerations you had between the two. Sounds nieve. But any type of long funnell/hose you could use to xfer the 4 gallons of diesel to the other side of the boat?

This is a good evaluation of the two considering your use of a boat; good job. People buying diesel boats have time and want to do extended trip that would cost too much with gasoline engines. Your boat was sold with a 180hp Yanmar that was doing 3 nautical mile per gallon at 8,57 knots (9,9 mph). This is a comfortable cruising speed for the big loop or other long voyage. Your boat: 1,53 nmpg at 10 mph vs 3; almost two times more fuel. You would have to run under 7 knots to obtain the same efficiency and the diesel would have even better numbers at that speed. This is not a viable speed for anybody and even though it's not that bad anymore, your outboard is not really made to run all day long at 1500-1600 RPM.

One of the considerations you didn’t mention is weight and where that weight is placed in the boat, center of gravity, etc. My 31 foot Skagit has two 6 cylinder turbo diesels. The engines, reverse gears, fuel tanks ( half full ) weigh around one and a half tons. All that weight is very low in the hull. The boat is very soft riding in big seas. Water is heavy. I like a heavier boat because it can operate in rough water without getting pounded. 2:1 reduction ratio reverse gears and big four bladed propellers makes the boat very easy to handle in tight quarters. No thrusters needed. Speed? I cruise between 17 and 20 knots. Plenty fast in my opinion.

Nice video! Helpful for inexperienced boaters. Just a minor clarification you may have just used the the wrong word- inboards circulating water to a water heater are circulating closed system coolant, not raw water. Raw water goes out with the exhaust and never gets very hot. I would emphasize the point that, unless you get the optional generator, those crew members who like a daily shower will have a tough time with the outboard, and even the inboard unless you run your engine for an hour each day.

Thanks for the video. I'm just starting to look at boats for our family of four and I'm really liking the Ranger Tugs. Your breakdown of the outboard vs inboard is one of the better ones I've seen, so thank you. I'm not sure with four of us if the 27 ob will be an option. Might be looking at a 29 or 31. I'm coming to Seattle in a couple weeks for work, so hoping to find a couple to finally see the RT in person. Great videos and glad I found your channel. Very imformative. Safe Travels!

I know this is an old video, but I have to mention a couple of things. 1. I have never seen an installed gas generator on a diesel inboard boat. The installed genset is always diesel. Also, I do not carry gas on board my inboard diesel boat because I have an electric outboard. That is increasingly common. As fas as handling goes, there are lots of diesel inboard boats around here (Maine coast) that have integrated bow thrusters with joy stick steering. Those boats can easily be driven sideways or turned 360 degrees in place. It all depends n how the steering is et up and if the thruster and main engine steering are integrated. One thing you didn't mention is that with an outboard boat it is much easier to lift the prop out of the water than on an inboard diesel boat. That makes an inboard diesel boat operate more safely than an outboard in rough conditions. Also I think y0u misstated fuel efficiency. diesel has about 15% more energy per gallon than gas so a diesel engine uses less fuel to produce the same amount of power. If you were comparing diesel Rangers with gas rangers, there is a significant difference in hull design that is a BIG factor in fuel efficiency. With the same hull diesel is always more efficient. Also diesel boats with planing hulls can go just as fast as a gas boat with the same hull and amount of horsepower. Hull form makes a huge difference. Last winter I sold my 1936 pure displacement hull boat. That boat was 32'8" with a 9.5' beam and displaced about 10,000 lbs. At 7 knots I burned about 1 gallon per hour of diesel. My wife preferred me to run at 5.5 knots where I burned a quart an hour (22 nautical mpg = 2.86 statute mpg.. Maintenance is also easy on a properly set up diesel inboard. My current boat for example has an oil change pump and a remote mounted filter. An oil change takes about 15 minutes tops and doesn't require any contortions. The raw water side of my volvo-penta diesel has a bronze raw water pump and a monel heat exchanger, so I have no engine zincs to change. Winterizing the engine literally takes about 3 minutes. The only job that takes any contortions is changing the impeller for the raw water. I think it comes down to what you are familiar with. I have never run a gas main engine and would not consider one. If I had never run a diesel I would likely stick with a gas outboard.

Thank you for a good analysis. For me, there is no right answer as everyone has a different set of criteria based on lots of factors which makes the whole comparison very subjective. My late wife and I owned a large Asian built trawler that did 8-9 knots. After she passed on I decided to downsize and bought a new R-31 CB with the D4 Volvo-Penta diesel (320 HP). Being able to cruise all day long at 16 knots is tremendously different to doing the 8-9 knots of my previous boat. If I want to push it, I can get her up to 20 knots. However, my reality is that I boat in Long Island Sound which encompasses the New York and Connecticut shorelines, boarded by land on both sides. On any given weekend this body of water is literally a massive traffic jam of thousands of boats going in all directions. Running very fast is often not an option as far as safety is concerned especially in light of the Covid induced influx of many new and totally inexperienced boaters. Thus, I am more than satisfied with the speed capabilities of my diesel tug. Perhaps if I was operating out of a much less populated body of water I might feel differently and be desirous of more speed. Additionally, when I get out on the water I do not want to be in a hurry. I am there to relax, 'smell the flowers' so to speak, and generally just chill-out enjoying the ride and scenery. Most of the times I run my tug at around 12 knots which gives me excellent fuel economy and a relaxed ride. Finally, my tug dealer, Winter Island Yacht Yard in Salem MA, outfitted my tug with a deflector by the prop to ward away lobster pots and other debris that may be floating just under the surface. So far, so good. I'm happy with my choice!

Interesting, so having outboard engines gives you the space that would normally be used for the inboard as storage below?

I have had both..When my 300hp outboard gave me trouble in seas, I tried to get to it..Even ir you did manage to get the cover off all you will see is electronics..With my biesel working on it was much easier..You are not going to work on a OB underway

Lets add a bit of complexity to your assessment, Oxe-Diesels Diesel outboards 125 hp to 350 hp. ( perfect for the Ranger 21-27 outboard if you want to stay away from gasoline ) Yanmar ( I think ) also makes a diesel outboard, in the 50 hp range. ( not really a great option for most boats, it's either to big or to small. to big for your dingy, to small for your Ranger Tug. ) So now there are options for fuel for the outboards as well. Up here in BC, going diesel is a lower cost, since diesel has a lower cost than gasoline / petroleum.

Appreciate the detail in your comparison, but I was hoping to hear a bit of comparison of the ride, stability, and maneuverability differences. I’m switching from sailing, and sailboats that have outboards attached to the transom often have cavitation issues in waves and weather. I think an inboard lowers and centralizes the center of gravity also, so the vessel would retail greater stability in all sea conditions? The outboard appears to steer better at slow speeds where tight turns are needed? Any thoughts here? Thank you again-beautiful Ranger!

In board all the way

Great video - thank you. So if you wanted speed - and hence your choice of outboard - why then did you pick a "tug"? There are so many other "fast" boats with similar interior volumes. For example, why not a Cutwater? I totally get this is a subjective question - just curious about your thinking? Also - do you do much "slow" cruising? I would assume the outboard doesn't have a keel and likely doesn't track well at 6-9kts? Thank you for the videos!

I have the 2016 R-27 with a 220 HP inboard diesel. The inboard shifts the center of gravity forward and lower and I think it provides a more stable ride. I do lose the storage where the diesel sits.

Keep in mind draft. For those boaters wanting to fish/crab in coves/inlets an outboard gives you the advantage of tilting the motor up slightly to navigate shallow water. Same applies to tidal swings in shallow water. A tilted up motor is much more practical than a fixed inboard draft.

I just passed 1000hours on my 40hp suzuki 2stroke outboards

I am not sure this has been mentioned but the Cutwater C28 LE genset is diesel as well. Swim platform storage locker has dedicated space for a small gas tank. Gensets are great as I had a NextGen 3.5 Kw diesel genset in my gas MerCruiser powered Doral 270 SC (previous owner or boat show special I guess). What I need to ask is can the Cutwater 28 LE with genset be ordered with a diesel heater. This would allow for heat without running the genset (except for blower power as necessary). Kind of a cross between the NW model and LE model.

arrange yourself and 2.2 kW genset, and u have 120V AC on board for hot water and battery charge with outboard

in many cases, its more personal preference. Outboards - easy to remove from the boat, allowing for winter storage, easier shop maintenance (you can just bring the engine in rather then the entire boat), and a level of security in that if you are leaving a boat for a while, you can remove the engine as well. One downside, in some places outboards get stolen... A LOT. Inboards tend to be good for longer running, less maintenance meaning if you are doing a "live-aboard" situation or very long trips theres a certain "safety" about having an inboard. While generally slower, in many cases where you chose to use them, that may not be an issue, for example if you are canal running, Traveling up and down through locks, small lakes, rivers, most of these places have speed limits. You get around some areas and they have enforced 5 knot speed limits... Always worth a laugh watching the people with these small speed boats grumbling about having to crawl along at trawling speeds, through these narrow canals.

Gas onboard for generators, not at all true! Only a rookie has a gas generator because they’re super dangerous. Both of my outboard boats have diesel generators. Volvo D4’s ( and most others) are closed loop cooled, not a drop of raw water is running through that engine to cool it except for the exhaust which is always raw water cooled unless you have dry exhaust. Most gas inboards are also closed loop cooled too, these days. Outboards are always raw water cooled and thus the reason you get a lot less hours of service from them and especially if you run them in any % of saltwater. 7000 hours from an outboard is absolutely possible and even in saltwater but the repair bills to do that would be so high that you could’ve replaced them twice. Rule of thumb; outboards for freshwater, any closed loop cooled engines for brackish/saltwater makes for a happier boat owner. Outboards are better in saltwater now but they’re still a far cry from closed loop because those anodes only do so much, they’re not a fix for the problem. I’ve been a boat owner since 1973 and have had them all, gas, diesel, I/O, V-drives, outboards and jet-drives and ranging in power from 15 hp to 3100 hp You’ll like that Yamaha 300, I had them on my 30’ Grady White and they were super reliable work horse engines. I currently have the Grady White 330 Express with twin Yamaha 425’s and you can change all fluids while in the water as well as the anodes so I only have to haul out once a year. I like outboards for two reasons 1. They’re much faster. I’m a boat racer so slow boats to nowhere isn’t me. 2. I have far more below deck room for a bigger generator, gyro stabilizer and auxiliary fuel tank which you can rarely do all of that with inboard boats at under 35 ft.. All that said my next boat will probably be a diesel.

Thank you Martin. Very useful. I planning to repower now my Carver 28. May I ask you few questions on the email regarding your outboards? Thank you. Subscribed Vic

Nice video ... I'd be curious as to your perception of the overall noise differences between an inboard diesel vs outboard - both at idle and at different cruising speeds. Thanks.

Had a outboard for 20 years with almost no maintenance. Spark plugs and lower oil change. Ran like new and sold it for what I payed for it.

I think you forgot two things . 1. The initial cost of each type of engine, I would think an inboard with all of the mechanical work involved would be a lot higher. 2. If for some reason you have to replace the engine, an outboard would be much cheaper. Any thoughts?

Engine lubrication configuration is better for an inboard.

IMO, you will get 1000's of more operating out of a diesel, over the outboard.

question, How good would this boat do traveling single handed from Fairhope, Alabama to Florida Keys? part B, would you go on outside or travel through GICW?

300hp outboard burns 27.2 gallons per hour at full throttle. A 300hp Diesel will burn about 16 gallons per hour. BIG difference plus BIG safety differences.

Good video. Why is an inboard so much slower than an outboard?

That was a really good comparison between the two. I have come to the conclusion that on our next boat (27-32ft range) will be outboards. I am curious about the original purchase price between a single diesel vs twin outboards? We live in Alaska and there are some very remote spots that you just dont want to be stranded at. (single diesel) If one outboard should fail, you can at least get home. We purchased a diesel vehicle in 2016 and I paid almost $8000 more over the price of a gas motor. Sure we get better fuel mileage, (4-5mpg) but I could have purchased almost 2500 gallons of gas just from the saving of buying the gas motor. That equates to approx 30,000 miles of driving. The saving would be way more then that if you figure in that I still have to purchase diesel to drive that same 30,000 miles. I think this is the exact thing you were talking about how you can go twice as far in half the time with outboards.

What do boaters use the dingy for? I'm green and still learning.

What is the mileage range difference between inboard vs. outboard?

What do you thank about the out board that the foot is the only thing that turns when steer

When is ranger tugs going to come out with a pilothouse door?

I think you’re wrong regarding fuel efficiency. Diesels will burn half the fuel a gas engine, inboard or outboard. Also, the longevity of a diesel is twice that of a gasoline engine. I agree with you that the outboard may be better for the infrequent user. For people who use their boats for cruising or more frequent use diesels are the way to go.

Did I miss a comment about 12V power generation off each engine? How do the inboard & outboard alternator outputs compare? And of course, it's quite easy to put a higher capacity alternator on an inboard. Our last 25,000 miles, we relied on a high-cap alternator as our primary charging source for a large bank.

Whats the boat on the left side on your thumbnail

did he mention which one is cheaper on fuel ,,,oh well suppose I must be the only one who wanted to know.

When is ranger boats going to make a real boat?

Just get a diesel outboard!

You keep using the word speed... I wouldn't buy a Ranger tug or any other tug for that matter if I was looking for Speed... LOL just sayin'