Mercury Verado. Disaster in the making?

[Briguy]

Wow, you would think Merc was paying all those boating magazines for the glowing articles about it's new supercharged outboard. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Every article has had nothing but praise for the new 200-275hp 2.6L outboards. I must admit, they are ballsee going with a small displacement inline 6, fly by wire shift system and a supercharger. Don't even want to guess how much a 275 hp will bump up the price over a standard 225 opti on a new 23 SC. It'll be nice till it breaks. Fuel mileage on the 32 Whaler was pretty miserable. The boat doesn't even PLANE till 3500 rpm's. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, MERCURY IS PAYING FOR ALL THOSE GLOWING ARTICLES. ADVERTISING $$$. Bet merc dosen't win the Imtec award.... Lets see what happens with a 250 Suzuki, Merc Verado and Yamaha on the back of a 23 ft CC. The only place testing counts is when you are 35 miles from shore and you punch it, not in a lab. Sorry Merc, DOA. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Bigshrimpin]

Bri - I agree. I read the boating mag write up. Twin 250's on a 27 outrage the fuel economy and performance look worse than carb two stroke 200 outboards. Apparently Merc missed the whole point of buying a four stroke. Some really neat technology, but why bother if the engine can't compete with what's on the market. Just my opinion . . . but they might want to consider slapping the force label on these engines and badge engineering the suzuki's. Then reinvest the advertising/propaganda budget on rnd, until they can get the verado peformance numbers on par with the competition.

[Fr. Frank]

For what its worth, you can still get the 200 & 225 V6 four-strokes at least through 2005. That's how long Merc's license for design & mfg. from yamaha lasts, according to a Pro-Line V.P. Oh, yeah, the new Verado 275 is $22k rigged out. They have built in the rigging price into the price of the motor.
I still like my carburetted '92 Merc 200 smoker on my '73 Seafari 20'. I can cruise at 32 kts (36 mph)& 8.7 gph, max out at 43 kts (49 mph)& 14.8 gph. Who needs faster? Besides, I've only got a 43 gal. tank.

[gbf03]

Fr. Frank,
How long does that tank last with the 200 and only 43 gallons of fuel?

[RAHIM NAHIM]

Fr. Frank,

What size prop are you running on you're boat.I have a 73 20SC Classic with a 200hp carb that does the same speed. But I think I might have wrong prop. with slight trim I start going over 5800rpm.

Now in reference to the Verados has anyone riden on a boat with the Verados. Cause I did at the Miami boat show. They are impressive.You feel the super charger kick in and the throttle is so smooth. But one of the main advantages the engine has, is in that slow speed power troll. It doesn't loose power when facing 4 to 6ft waves.Plus top speed is awesome fellas. They deserve the benefit of the doubt.If I could afford a 28 plus foot Fountain etc. I would definetely slap some Verados back there.

[Mark]

WHAT???! boating magazines are taking money in return for favorable product reviews?! Say it isn't so! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

sadly, they are like every other magazine: complete slaves to their advertisers. walk the docks about 18 months from now and ask people who have been using the product, that is a far more accurate review of how it is performing.

[rtrosset]

Let's cram lots of salty air into the combustion chamber and expect it to last a long time. Haha to anyone who buys one.

[Fr. Frank]

With full fuel tank I can run at 30 kt cruise for about 4 hours, which has gotten me all the way to Siesta Key from Crystal River in the Gulf of Mexico, about 104 statute miles in 1-3 foot seas. When fueling at Siesta Key, I took on 38.8 gallons of fuel. (Yes, I carry a 12 gal. portable fuel tank)
My Merc 200 has a Bob's nose cone, without the lower water inlet, and I am swinging a custom designed PropTech SS prop, overall pitch is 16.75 inches with a 14.85 inch diameter, and a 12.5 degree progressive rake change from leading to trailing edge, and max blade surface width of 5.5 inches . It is heavily cupped from hub to outer edge, and angle of attack decreases sharply in outer 2.5 inches of radiusing to lessen ventilation/cavitation. The prop design is by a friend who once worked at Second Effort Marine engineering o/b props for a living. (But it's not much different than a Mercury Mirage II)
My max RPM, trimmed out, light on fuel, and just me in the boat is 6100 rpm @ 43.2 Kts. (Very little slippage there.) Max RPM with normal loading - 4 people, rods, coolers, full fuel + extra tank, etc., is 5750 rpm @38.4 kts.
And no, it doesn't plane real fast when loaded.
I do wonder how fast it will be when I put the four stroke 225 on and paint the bottom again.