I know where you boat, I boat in the same skinny waters, and therefore my vote is IO. I had a 2003 Amberjack and agree with rduhon "That is one fine boat. Makes me drool every time I see one." V drives have an advantage of not having all that expensive equipment hanging out in the water, but my concern would be the room underneath to service the motors, transmission and V drives. My Amberjack had IOs, and I can tell you it was not so bad to service the motors, since I never saw one with Vdrives I can only say I think that engine room will be a lot tighter on a service aspect.
Don' get your panties in a wad about B3 out drives, there manageable in salt water, that cathode thingy (prevents corrosion) needs to be set right and kept an eye on.
So in short, here is my opinion:
1. If the engine room is workable with the Vdrives and it doesn’t bother you about the skinny water, then Vdrives are the way to go.
2. If you want to get close to the beach with your boat (trim up) and if you touch bottom you will do less damage and you want better performance, then go IO.
Also IO will require more maintenance than Vdrives.
As stated I had IO, liked the accessibility in the engine room, and loved the fact that when I ran aground, I walked away with no problems. I am really surprised that there would be many Amberjacks in this neck of the woods that have Vdrives.
Walter
