A few years ago, a 40-foot express cruiser on Lake Erie almost always meant inboards and an engine room. Today many of the newest boats that size, including the 2024 Cruisers Yachts 42 GLS we have listed, run twin or triple outboards instead. For a Great Lakes buyer the short version is this: outboards on a big boat mean simpler service, more usable interior space, and easy engine access, at the cost of a different look and a hull built specifically for outboard power. Here is how that trade-off plays out on Lake Erie.
What changed: outboards got big
For decades outboards topped out around 300 to 350 horsepower, which capped how large a boat they could reasonably push. That ceiling moved. Mercury's Verado V12 600 is a 7.6-liter, 600-horsepower outboard, and other builders have pushed into the 500-plus range. Put two or three of those on a transom and you have enough power to run a 40-plus-foot boat at cruising speed. That is why boats like the 42 GLS exist at all: the engines finally caught up to the hulls.
The case for outboards on a big boat
Service and winterization get simpler. Outboards hang off the transom where a technician can reach every side of them, with no engine room, shaft seals, or running gear under the boat to haul out and service. In a climate where every boat comes out of the water for winter, that saves real time and money each fall and spring.
Interior space opens up. Moving the engines outside the hull frees the room an engine room would take. On the 42 GLS that shows up as a full-beam mid-cabin and a large social cockpit. You get more boat inside the same length.
Access and resale are cleaner. A buyer can see the engines, read the hours off the display, and understand exactly what is there. Modern outboards run quiet, and a low-hour set on a late-model boat is straightforward to value at survey.
The case for inboards is still real
We still list and sell plenty of inboard boats, and they win real arguments. Diesel inboards carry a boat through a heavy Lake Erie chop with a low, planted feel and long range on a tank of fuel. They sit lower and quieter at cruise, and a boat built around inboards often has a deeper, more protected cockpit. For someone who runs long distances or cruises and sleeps aboard for a week at a time, an inboard diesel cruiser still makes sense.
What this means if you are buying on Lake Erie
If you spend most of your time day-cruising, entertaining, and running to anchorages and lakefront restaurants, an outboard boat like the 42 GLS fits that pattern and keeps ownership simple. If you run long distances, cross to Canada regularly, or want to live aboard for stretches, a diesel inboard cruiser is worth a serious look. One thing holds either way: freshwater history matters more than power choice. A boat that has never seen salt, kept on Lake Erie, will survey cleaner regardless of what is on the transom.
See the boats
We list both on Lake Erie. The 2024 Cruisers Yachts 42 GLS is the outboard flagship, freshwater with twin Mercury V12 600s, and we go through it in detail in the 42 GLS spotlight. You can see the full current inventory for inboard and outboard options across Cleveland and the rest of the lake.
Not sure which setup fits how you boat? Call Northern Boat Brokerage at 216-780-5988.
