A REVOLUTION IN OUTBOARD INNOVATION

By Erwin Bursik

AT the opening of the 2004 Miami Boat Show, Mercury launched their “Project X” —The Mercury Verado 200-, 250-, and 275hp 6-cyclinder inline supercharged 4-stroke outboard motors. I stood amongst the hoard of eager observers at this world-renowned boat show as the veil was lifted, exposing these new outboard engines to the world.

Seventeen years later, in the midst of the international pandemic lockdown, Mercury Marine surprised the international boating fraternity with another innovation that has taken the industry by storm. On Tuesday 9 February 2021 Chris Drew – President of Mercury Marine – hosted a virtual media event announcing to the world the advent of their latest and most advanced outboard engine, the 7.6 litre V12 600hp Verado.

Whilst nothing can compare to actually standing alongside such an engine, seeing this amazing machine virtually during its introduction was for me an honour and a mind-blowing experience.

Growing up in an era that heralded a 40hp outboard 2-stroke motor as the be-all of boating, it’s hard for me to comprehend seeing the absolute “beast” of all outboards, this huge V12 600hp Mercury Verado. With comprehension maxing out comes the string of innovations to bolster if not over overshadow the first visual impact. An outboard bolted to a transom where the upper section does not move is a huge paradigm shift requiring a change in mind set for all of us who have clamped on, then bolted outboards onto boats since their earliest innovation in the early 1940s.

This incredible engine, which has taken over a decade to produce, from conception through innovation, design and manufacture, all under a cloud of secrecy, was now a reality to the boating world. Viewed on YouTube and other platforms, its overall impression is formidable, but one quickly realises nothing surpasses a visual hands-on experience like the one I had with the initial Verado launch. The first V12 600hp Verado to reach South Africa will enable many of us to fulfil the dream of seeing it launching and hopefully feel its power when it is mounted on an offshore boat.

Overall size and styling was the first impression I got, but as awesome as it looks, the eye is immediately drawn to the impressive contrarotating propellers. When you view the videos the full implications of having a fixed motor mounting and its steerable gear case become obvious. So many queries came to mind that I had to get Paul van der Westhuizen, Brunswick (Mercury) Sales manager Africa, and long-time friend and technical guru to talk me through the major innovations of these new outboard engines.

In layman’s terms, the following are the basic innovations of this mighty machine. For the more technically minded, I suggest you go onto the Internet to read up on all the nitty gritty aspects.

• The world’s first V12 outboard, the 600hp Verado engine features a naturally aspirated, large-displacement, quad-cam powerhead that generates impressive torque to get heavy boats out the hole and onto the plane quickly, and to rapidly accelerate up to rated speed.

• The industry’s first two-speed automatic transmission for an outboard optimises engine rpm according to workload, facilitating powerful acceleration and highly efficient performance at cruise speeds.

• The industry’s first steerable gearcase on an outboard pivots independently underwater while the engine’s powerhead remains in a space-saving fixed position. This provides more room for multiengine configurations and a wider steering angle for agile handling. With help from contra-rotating propellers, it also has better “bite” in the water for docking and other closequarters manoeuvring.

• Several enhanced Mercury technologies work in conjunction to enable the V12 Verado outboard to deliver exceptional fuel economy and range. Paul answered the number of personal queries I had relating to these aspects and delved a bit deeper, which readers may find helpful too...

• Is there really a need for such an enormous motor? The move within the boating OMEs is to have craft up to 40ft designed for outboard power.The designs will be for twin-, triple- or quadruple outboard installations in a basic move away from closed shaft-drive inboard motors. Further to this, many manufacturers are reengineering existing craft up to 50ft.The use of outboard engines on this style of craft releases a lot of space presently occupied by big diesel motors situated midship to shaft drive propellers. Of course the power- and speed-hungry among us will be delighted with the speeds up to 80 miles per hour that are offered by these big motors.

• How does it help to have a “fixed position of the power head”? This design feature means the size of the transom motor well of the craft is greatly reduced, especially when two or more engines are required. In essence, the motors are then placed closer together on the transom.

• What do they mean by “steerable gear case”? In essence, this lower unit pivots individually and is controlled by “fly by wire” steering as well as a joystick control up to 2000rpm. This enables easier dockside handling. There is also a “skyhook” electronics positioning holding system, so in practical terms one can use the joystick for slow speed manoeuvring and backing up on a fish. Thereafter, when powering up, the conventional steering is used.

• How does this affect trimming? Whilst it is understood that the upper unit is fixed, it can be trimmed vertically to adjust the craft’s ride. When you’re on moorings this also enables the lower unit to be raised out of the water.

• How does the two–speed automatic transmission work? When you’re powering out the hole, the low or first gear provides the initial thrust out the hole and onto the plane. Once the craft is on the plane it will automatically change gear to reduce rpm and effectively provide smoother running at reduced fuel consumption. This transmission system completely removes the feel and noise associated with gear selection.

• How practical is the motor housing? Access to the Verado 600 engine is via a removable top cover that gives a technician access to undertake all the service-related aspects right up to the 1 000hr service. In practise, as the boat owner, one removes the top pommel only to check oil etc.

• How do the dual counter-rotating propellers help? This concept effectively increases propeller “bite” by 15%, thus providing better out-thehole performance and top end speed.

• Where is the cooling water intake situated? On these motors the water intake is on the two sides above the gear box as well as the leading edge of the gearbox housing when high speed running.

• What’s the engine weight and shaft length? The V12 600hp Verado engine weighs 572kg (1 261 lb) and is available in four different shaft lengths – 20-, 25-, 30- and 35 inches.

• Does this motor have a commercial application? This basic V12 engine is used in the Verado Sea Pro 500 for commercial application and is down rated power-wise to provide more durability. One can’t help but be astounded by the incredible R&D, design and manufacture of the V12 600hp outboard motors — and the immense financial investment Mercury has made to effectively take this product to the next level of outboard innovation and performance.

Now it’s with much interest that we wait for the first of these outboard engines to reach South Africa.