An incident last weekend has me looking at new-to-me-boats. Running across OMC and VP's, but I am only familiar with Mercruisers. How are these others concerning reliability and availability of parts and people to service them? Thanks.

availability of omc parts vary by model. i had an omc king cobra (as opposed to the regular cobra) engine / outdrive and they were only made for 3 years. getting risers was not that difficult but getting manifolds was a pain. i had to have them flown in from sweden (read expensive). finding someone to work on omc varies depending on location. when my outdrive needed to be rebuilt, there was someone local to do it, but i would check your area first.

I wouldn't even look at a boat with an OMC. Why bother with a defunct company that you may or may not be able to get parts or service for? Walk away from any OMC if you actually want to go boating, not sit around to wait for parts.

Many feel VP is superior to Mercruiser in every way. I don't, but there isn't anything wrong with them either.

This has a lot to do with the relatively inexpensive OMC powered boats. IMO the owners know it's a potential liabilty.

Merc or VP half of the people will prefer one or the other. My old boat was a Merc new boat has twin VPs. Never had any issues with either.

[quote=Chicago4Winns
This has a lot to do with the relatively inexpensive OMC powered boats. IMO the owners know it's a potential liabilty.


Actually it's a 4Winns!

The poor guy just redid the floor and transom which makes it very attractive because you know he isn't going to get squat back on that expense. But I agree, even a good running OMC is a liability.

5.7 cobra is a very decent set up. Make sure it has the updated shift assist module, and that the shift linkage is adjusted properly.

An issue with older, SMALLER boats with OMC drives is that, these are the boats first time boaters buy. They don't care whats back there as long as it'll push the boat.

Larger, '2-foot-itis' boats with OMC's are like rat poison. Most people who'd consider buying one are no longer newbies and have learned about OMC's. My inlaws who bought the 31' Celebrity, are trying to sell their previous boat, an '84 Sea Ray 24'er, which is a solid '9' boat. But it has a dam OMC stringer drive on it, and their broker can't get anyone to look at it...

The sad thing is, you can still get nearly every part needed to fix or rebuild one from aftermarket suppliers (like Sierra), and every boat shop worth a hoot will have all the repair manuals and a mechanic who can fix the things. One of our harbor friends bought an '80's Hydroswift last year with an OMC that sounded like a blender stirring up steel balls. He got it completely rebuilt for $2100 in less than a week...

I own a stringer drive. It's not all that bad... One thing you must do with the stringer drive is know it's limitations and how to operate it properly. OMC made the Stringer drive for 30 years...so parts are available...and they are capable of giving many years of service IF you use your drive properly.

ALWAYS run the drive fully DOWN. NEVER run it even partially up (you will kill the ball gears).

Pre 1978 electric shift precautions:

NEVER run the drive in gear out of the water for more than a minute or two). Neutral is fine...just keep her out of gear for your driveway test runs.
NEVER leave ingition in the "ON" position with the drive in gear out of the water...

Water cools the electric shift coils in the bottom of the drive...you don't want these to overheat.

Electric shift is extremly reliable IF you take these precautions.


IF the drive leaks water in the gear oil...don't bother having it resealed....just change the gear oil every three times you go out (not hard). Use cheap 80/90 GL5 for the top and (pre '78 electric shift)Johnson Eveinrude Electric shift oil for the bottom (I heard John Deer markets and equivelent electric shift oil that is less expensive...going to check into this one of these days).

Tilt gear box...

Buy a new seal kit...rinse clutch pack in Brakleen, pack cavity with grease, reasemble gearbox and top off with 30 weight motor oil.

Replacement tilt motors are available for about $100 and are easy to replace in a few hours.

Always bump the switch when you tilt the drive up or down. This is easier on the drive system...

If your drive becomes stuck up or down for some reason...simply take a 9/16" socket wrench, and remove the external moon gear. Tilt drive up...replace moon gear,ad replace bolts. You can do this with the boat in the water if you have to...not that hard.

Should you avoid a Stringer, probably....but if you buy one...don't be afraid of the damned thing...they are capable of providing years of very good service.