first V10 outboard
In our extremely biased and tainted perspective, we could make an argument as to why Mercury Marine’s all-new 5.7L 350hp and 400hp Verado outboard engines were specifically designed just for the pontoon industry, but we won’t.
Instead we’ll highlight the Avalon, Barletta, Harris and Princecraft pontoon boats that Mercury had on the water at a recent media event to show off the new engines, plus there was a Sea Ray deck boat at the event as well. Mercury had an impressive lineup of boats of all sizes to run, but our focus was of course on the types of boats we know best.
Consistent with the award-winning Verado brand, we quickly confirmed the new V10 engines are extremely quiet as well as smooth as we glided across the waters of Lake X. This is the engine manufacturer’s secluded testing facility in Florida that dates back to 1957 when Mercury founder Carl Kiekhaefer bought the 1,440-acre body of water for covert testing. The majority of testing for Mercury still takes place at this location, and it’s still in a very remote area, but Mercury has opened its doors up recently to several engine release events on Lake X.
It seems when new engines are released, all anyone wants to know is how fast will it go? There is much more to engines than just a top speed, plus I seldom run with the throttle pinned when I’m out boating with my own family, yet I still found myself asking this question. It’s a gearhead thing; we can’t help it. I ended up running each of the four pontoons wide open just to satisfy my own curiosity and to be able to answer the question I knew I would constantly be asked when talking up these new engines.
“The pop and the torque that you feel out of this new V10 is noticeable and we’ve got some great top speed runs on the boat as well,” said Bernauer. “Certainly the Harris Grand Mariner loves the new Mercury 400.”
“The acceleration is amazing, it’s quiet, torquey and very fuel efficient,” said the Avalon dealer. “I’m very impressed with these new outboards.”
Bill began selling Avalon pontoons in 2013 and since 2014 WMF has been a top 10 dealer for them and is currently its number three dealer in the world. At full throttle (and with a wakeboard tower plus 100 gallons of fuel in the tank) we topped out at blistering speed of 72 mph and at that speed it didn’t take us very long to go from one end of Lake X to the other.
Another reason these new Verados work for the pontoon segment is the engineers were able to keep the weight down on a high horsepower engine like this. Coming in at 695 pounds and with the same 26-inch mount spacing as the V8 outboards, the V10 engines maximize compatibility with current boat designs and that of course includes pontoons. This lightweight, compact design provides the performance boaters are looking for and makes them perfect for multi-engine applications like the Avalon we went out on.
The all-new hydrodynamic gearcase is engineered to improve performance and durability across multiple applications while also maximizing fuel efficiency. Mercury engineers went back to the first principles of engineering and designed the all-new Revolution X propeller to perfectly match the V10 Verado in every way. Larger diameter and wider blades combined with the deep ratio of the new gearcase provide excellent handling, thrilling acceleration and high efficiency from low speed all the way to wide-open throttle.
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