This drive system is made up of the upper and lower units. They use a drive system that goes through the back of the transom of the boat. These inboards have the engine placed most commonly at the back of the boat. What is an Inboard/Outboard (I/O) or Sterndrive? The rudder turns the boat in the direction that you want it to go. These systems then have a rudder that is placed behind the propeller to change the direction of the water flow coming off the propeller from left to right. Which then has a transmission that makes a “V” and heads out the bottom of the boat placing the propeller on the end of that shaft.īoth of these systems use a transmission that is placed on the inside of the boat in order to change the direction that the propeller is spinning. The V-Drive system has the engine in the back of the boat and has the shaft coming out of the front of the engine. Then utilizes a transmission to send a shaft down into the water with the propeller on the end of the shaft. The Direct Drive Inboard has the engine placed in the middle of the boat and has a shaft that comes directly out the back of the engine. These two systems are made up of either a Direct Drive 0r D-Drive for short and a V-Drive. So, when we say engine we are talking about the actual engine and not the drive system which you can think about as the propeller to make it easy. Remember that the engine is different than the drive system of the boat. They can have the engine placed at either the middle of the boat or in the back of the boat. What is a True Inboard?īoats that come with true inboards are boats that utilize one of either two different drive systems. The Inboard category is then broken down into the three classes of drives being the true inboards, I/O’s or sterndrives, and the jet drives. Which sometimes people will call them I/O’s or sterndrives using the terms loosely. These systems are built up of True inboards, Inboard/Outboard or I/O’s for short, but are also called sterndrives, and then we have the jet drives.Īll of these drive systems are referred to under the all-inclusive title of inboards.

They have a couple of different names but are used (incorrectly) interchangeably. Which is referring to the drive system that is changed. There are three general types of inboards. They are all extremely different types of inboards that will make the boat perform differently depending on what you have. The drive system is what changes the different types of engines that a lot of people use as interchangeable words as well. Then by turning the direction of that propeller to the right or left, it will propel the boat in either direction you turn it.įor an inboard engine, that engine is bolted into the boat in either the middle of the boat or at the back of the boat. The drive system gives the operator the ability to move the propeller in either a clockwise motion or a counter-clockwise motion. (And if you have spent enough time on the water you know, that eventually we all hit ground! Here’s some useful information that we posted about talking about Whether or Not You Can Repair a Bent Propeller, or if you have to replace it!)Ī boat uses the propeller to move either forward or backward. The powerhead is attached to a driveshaft, which is part of a drive system that turns the propeller. The engine itself is built up of the powerhead, (click on the link above for an article we wrote on the break down of an outboard powerhead.) Which requires some changing in order to move the propeller. Unlike our cars which have wheels that the engine turns in order to move the car. Whether it be an inboard or an outboard, there are a couple of different components that make up the engine system of a boat. (We’ll talk about that in detail in a little bit.) Whereas an outboard has the engine on the outside of the boat, attached to the transom of the boat. An inboard engine is basically an engine that is inside the boat.

Outboard inboard motor difference