[willy]

That is your best bet, not many guys want to buy a boat they know has a major ( in their mind ) repair job to be done unless they have a lot of knowledge about it. In our size boats the minority is I/O by a big margin so right off the bat you eliminate a big chunk of your possible bidders. Add to that the fact the engine needs to be pulled to replace a part and even those that would consider an I/O back away. Fix it, add the cost to your price and either fish this fall and sell early spring or try again over winter on the repaired boat.