The boat is a beauty. Clippercraft boats used to be made of marine grade mahogany plywood. Don't know about this one though.
From my experience working on outboards and I/Os, an I/O is a mechanics retirement plan! They take more maintenance and the parts cost more. They have many parts that OB's don't have and those parts are expensive. Volvo parts are the most expensive of the stern drive brands.
Sterndrives have to be removed every year and the splines lubed, and aligned. The boots (bellows) need periodic replacement, and the two u-joints have to be lubed and replaced from time to time. The rubber boots and hoses are the only thing keeping the ocean out of the boat. There are two water systems, raw and coolant. Some have the raw water pump inside the sterndrive, like an outboard. To split the drive, the oil has to be drained. The drive is heavy, and needs a special hoist, like a floor jack with a bracket, the entire drive is held in a bracket on the bench, and the upper section is removed and reinstalled with a hoist.
The engines have cast iron manifolds and elbows. The elbows need replacement, more often if used in salt water. The raw water pumps on some I/O's including Volvo's, are on the engine, and are very expensive. Alternators, starter motors, v-belts, coolant circulating pumps, and more spark plugs that are difficult to reach.
Add to that, on a deep vee boat, the drive is underwater all the time. The drive cannot be tipped up to be out of the water. I/O boats are best kept on a trailer between uses. In salt water, copper bottom paint will corrode the aluminum stern drive housing.
After my shop time making money on I/O's, I would never own an I/O boat.
Larry H
Retired O/B mechanic. Who also worked on I/O's.
