Your at your local outboard dealer shopping for a new motor and the salesman hits you with the question, "short or long shaft?". For most boaters this is a no brainer, but for the novice or inexperienced boater it may be a tougher question. As a dealer I run into this situation from time to time, which is fine but getting the right length outboard for your boat is crucial. I mean, who wants to purchase something as expensive as an outboard to only realize you bought the wrong one. So in hopes that this will help out some new boaters this spring, here's a little rundown on outboard shaft sizes and how to figure out which one you actually need.