CONTINUOUSWAVE

Mercury has a new VERADO 600-HP V12.

[New link that works:]
https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/verado/verado-600hp/

[To see a very complex webpage with all sort of animation visit the link below. Warning: you may need a 600-HP browser to be able to see all the complex animations that are presented:]

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/v12/

[Added working links--Moderator]

Two interesting things:

• two speed [automatic] transmission, and
• the steering mechanism keeps the upper engine stationary.

Getting two or three 600-HP outboards can free up interior space that would have been occupied by a diesel [inboard engine] on larger boats. To see how boat builders like Boston Whaler will apply the new engines will be interesting.

These engines weight 1,260-lbs.
[Broken link removed]

These engines cost $77,000.00 MSRP. A quad setup costs $308,000 MSRP. If the engine were to run 15 to 25-percent of a new boat's cost, that means you have about $1.2 million to $2 million into a new boat purchase. I guess that sounds about right.

Mercury did a great job keeping this under wraps and since 7 Marine halted production in November 2020, Merc is now the one to beat. The motor is impressive and lots of thought and designed went into this. Some of my observations:

• runs on 87 octane gas - that's great as marine gas isn't always the premium stuff
• 200 hour service interval and all service can be done from the car-like hood on the cowl top.
• 1000 hour interval before the large cowl must be removed, yet it's only 40-lbs
• $77,000 MSRP, but guessing another $5,000 to $10,000 in mounting and rigging
• two speed transmission solves the dilemma between propeller choice for acceleration or top speed
• counter-rotating and more blade surface area to help grip the water on heavy boats. Interesting they use a four-blade and three=blade for this.
• pod-like steering- is interesting, but allows for closer mounting to other engines also simplifies the transom bracket and improves handling with an extra 15-degrees of turning at low speeds.
• a V12 is just crazy, but draws on the design of their V8 allowing they to share some tooling and keeps costs down.

Things that I am disappointed about or curious to see how they stand up:

• No fresh water cooling. In the ocean I would cringe at having seawater flowing through an aluminum engine costing $80,000. Salt is the cancer of outboards.
• Pod-drive-like steering

[The new term "pod-drive-like" steering refers to the design of this new engine in which the powerhead does not rotate for steering, only the gear case below the midsection rotates for steering--Moderator]

Inboard-engine-powered pod drives were initially sold as problem solvers. All the manufacturers scrambled to redesign their boats to install pod drives. Now years later, pod-drive equipped boats are shunned and the used market for them is well under a typical inboard shaft model. Pod drives and pod-steering have many problems with seals, impact resistance and other reasons to dislike them. I'm hoping that Mercury has solved those problem on this outboard, but maybe since it can be tilted out of the water after use, this is less of a concern. Time will tell.

My hat is off to Mercury and it's becoming clear that the $1.5-billion in research and development they've invested over the years is paying off. With Evinrude and 7 Marine now defunct, it comes down to Yamaha and Mercury in the U.S. market with Suzuki and Honda following.

D-

Strange--all the links posted above are now broken links. Maybe Mercury's website crashed.

Here are some links that are working at this moment:

Print
https://boatingindustry.com/news/2021/02/11/mercury-marine-unveils-v12-600hp-outboard/

https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/mercury-600-testing-the-v12-monster-of-lake-x

Motion Picture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8B718Wt7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkgDssEacYQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN42mq5eSUc

This press release describes the new engine:

February 11, 2021

Mercury Marine introduces the all new V12 600hp Verado engine — redefining
outboard performance

FOND DU LAC, Wisc., Feb. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), today introduced the new 7.6‑liter V12 600hp Verado® outboard engine. With this launch, Mercury continues to transform the high-horsepower outboard market, providing its most powerful and capable outboard, which includes several industry‑first features for a wide variety of applications.

“With boats continuing to grow bigger and performance expectations continuing to rise, boaters have been asking for a better, more capable high‑horsepower solution to meet their needs. The V12 Verado outboard is Mercury’s answer,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. “Using our advanced engineering and design capabilities, we completely redefined outboard performance. The V12 Verado outboard delivers boaters unrivaled freedom, luxury and power to pursue their passions on the water. This is a remarkable engine that will change the future of boating.”

Groundbreaking product innovations include the following:

• 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 of the hole and on plane quickly, and to accelerate up to rated speed rapidly.
• The industry’s first two‑speed automatic transmission for an outboard optimizes engine RPM according to workload, facilitating powerful acceleration and highly efficient performance at cruise.
• 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 multi‑engine 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 close‑quarters maneuvering.

Several enhanced Mercury technologies work in conjunction to enable the V12 Verado outboard to deliver exceptional fuel economy and range.

“The V12 Verado outboard delivers everything boaters want and more in a high-horsepower outboard. This engine makes boats easy to maneuver near the dock and provides superior handling at all speeds. It’s incredibly fuel efficient, so boaters can go farther and stay out longer. It’s so smooth and quiet that you can have a conversation while the engines are running. It’s durable, reliable and easy to maintain. There’s nothing else like the V12 Verado in the marketplace today,” Drees said.

The development of the V12 Verado outboard is a product of Mercury’s continued commitment to investing in R&D and manufacturing expansion, which includes more than $1.5 billion of investment since 2008.

“We’ve dedicated substantial investments and years of effort toward enhancing our ability to turn highly creative ideas into practical, functional and dependable solutions,” said Tim Reid, Mercury Marine vice president of development and engineering. “That work has positioned us well to anticipate and respond to shifts in the marketplace. We listened carefully to boaters’ needs and wishes, and we created new product capabilities aimed at exceeding their highest expectations.”

The Mercury Marine V12 Verado outboard will be available this spring. For more information, visit mercurymarine.com.

The completely new steering arrangement for the new Mercury VERADO 600-HP V12 engine is perhaps the most novel element. The power head does not rotate on the transom; only the gear case rotates. The rotating joint has to be under tremendous stress with 600-HP passing through it. It is not clear if the joint also has to be water tight. I would assume that to rotate, the drive shaft, exhaust ports, the water inlet path, and any gear case linkage must be on centerline or in some very crafty arrangement to create a rotating joint.



Also unusual is the combination of three-blade and four-blade propellers. Based on the blade orientation seen above, the two propellers are in opposing rotation.

Another thought: if the engine drive shaft is input to a transmission, then perhaps the forward-neutral-reverse gear shift occurs in the transmission, and the gear case is just a 90-degree geared connection of the drive shaft to the propeller shaft with no clutch or gear shift.

Some basic specifications:

• Engine block is 7.6-liters or 461-cubic inches in a V12 configuration, four valves per cylinder, four overhead camshafts
• Engine speed range at full-throttle: 5,600 to 6,400-RPM
• Gear case ratio: 2.5:1
• Dry weight: 1,260-lbs for 20-inch shaft model

The V12 configuration, like the in-line-6 of the original VERADO, is an inherently balanced configuration with the sum of moments of the piston motions, and being able to run at 6,400-RPM should not be a problem. The engine should also be vibration-free due to any inherent imbalance in the piston movements, just as the in-line-6 VERADO was.

According to performance test data, Boston Whaler has installed three new 600-HP VERADO V12 on a 420 OUTRAGE.
See: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/208

With 1,800-HP the 420 OUTRAGE can reach almost 64-MPH, but it burns 156-gallons of fuel per hour. That is more fuel in one hour than my boat used all last season.

There are five more performance test results from other boat builders available already:

Formula: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/209
Scout: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/210
SeaRay: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/211
Tiara: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/212
Valhalla: https://performancedata.mercurymarine.com/performance-test/213

That last test with a Valhalla model V-46 has four engines. At full-throttle the fuel consumption is 210-GPH, and the boat speed is almost 74-MPH.

To me another most-surprising element of the Mercury VERADO 600-HP V12 is the price. Yes, it is $77,000, but the reason I am surprised is that the price is that low. You are getting 600-HP, which if you bought two 300-HP engines would probably cost you about $60,000. The performance may be better with a single due to reduced drag from only one gear case instead of two in the water. The rigging may be simpler. If you compare two 600-HP engines to three 400-HP engines, I bet the twin set up is less expensive.

Of course, the problem with these monster outboard engines there is almost no classic Boston Whaler boat that could use one. The only classic-era Boston Whaler boats that are even rated for 600-HP are the 27-foot hulls. And for that application, I think twin 300-HP engines would probably be better than a single 600-HP engine.

It is nice to see the engineering and design details, but, really, these are not outboard engines in the same sense you would use on traditional outboard engine boats. They are just too big, too heavy, and too much for any typical outboard boat from 20-years ago. We have seen barely any classic Boston Whaler boats re-powered with the original VERADO L6 supercharged engine, which was half the weight and one-third the cost of this new monster VERADO V12.

I just had a chance to watch the 12-minute-long recorded and highly-produced presentation on the VERADO V12. Here are some things noticed. I am going to talk about two aspects: the major points in the presentation and who presents them, and the composition of the presentation itself.

First, skip the one-minute 20-second introductory section, which is just a montage of other Mercury products. As I watched I began to wonder if I got the wrong presentation. Skip the montage and jump into the real start of the VERADO V12 information at

https://youtu.be/zD8B718Wt7Q?t=79

The first presenter is the president of Mercury marine, Chris Drees. He says the new engine will deliver "the freedom, the luxury, and power to pursue their passions on the water." Each of those keywords is illustrated by a new visual.

Freedom is illustrated by a boat running across shallow blue water into an open horizon.

Luxury is illustrated by a woman in silhouette against a setting sun with her long hair blowing in the wind. (Remember this one.)

Power is illustrated by (what looks like a Boston Whaler) boat powering over a wave as seen from water level. It is well known that a "photograph taken from a low angle helps establish dominance or power." Cf.: https://petapixel.com/2015/09/22/8-camera-angles-from-the-world-of-cinema-that-can-help-improve-your-photos/

Boater's passions are not illustrated.

Next, Mr. Drees gets down to business. He gives a lists of what the VERADO V12 is going to change about outboard engines:

• "It's incredibly reliable."
• "...with less maintenance required."
• "It delivers remarkable fuel efficiency and range."
• "It's the quietest high-horsepower outboard..."
• "It's remarkably smooth."
• "It truly elevates the standards of premium design and engineering to make your time on the water more enjoyable."

This list made me recall a very similar list that was reported by Evinrude as the result of a survey of outboard engine customers most import features for a new outboard engine to have, taken in c.2000:

1. Quality, Dependability, Reliability
2. Ease of Maintenance
3. Easy starting
4. Performance
5. Economy
6. Style and appearance

I also found the "time on the water" phrase to be very familiar; it was also a theme of many Evinrude promotions. The strong correlation between these two lists is no accident. What people want in an outboard engine--an outboard propulsion system--has not changed that much in 20-years, other than easy starting is now considered inherent.

After these preliminaries, Mr Drees gets to the really major innovation of the VERADIO V12: "the twin-propeller steerable gear case."

Then after a recital of the engine's basic dimensions, such as "an incredible V12 naturally-aspirated power plant, six-hundred horsepower," Dr. Drees gets to a second innovation, "the outboard segment's first two-speed transmission." Then he wraps us with a long name for the new engine, "the new Mercury 7.6-liter V12 600-HP VERADO," and suggests that "the future of outboard performance begins today."

As an aside, this segment and other segments with on-camera presenters is set in an anechoic chamber, with dim lighting and two backdrop cloths set behind the presenter, all visible in wide shots. The medium shot of Mr. Drees on camera has the backdrop cloth edge being very much in the frame and positioned over the presenter's left shoulder. This sort of asymmetric scene composition is probably consider "innovative" in modern day presentations, but I found it distracting. The wide screen aspect ratio makes scene composition for an on-camera presenter with a background in black or limbo a bit challenging to design. For variation, the presenter is shown on occasion from a different camera perspective, while he is still facing the other camera. This is another modern technique, but I also find it a bit distracting to see someone on camera who is facing away from the viewer as he speaks.

After this on-camera presentation there is another montage, this time of very modern, computer-generated animations that show the new engine. A music background swells and "tags" (comes to a natural end) and the scene goes black. This could be the end of the presentation, but it continues.

A new voice takes over, and highlights more features of the VERADO V12, giving a list of attributes to accompany another montage:

• "quieter and smoother than any previous VERADO"
• "can run twice as long between schedule service"
• "deliver profound fuel economy"
• "high-horsepower performance"
• "luxury boating experience."

The speaker is finally revealed and identified: Tim Reid, vice-president of product development at Mercury Marine. While some really wonderful computer-generated graphics are shown, Mr. Reid informs that the new engine has "the outboard industry's first two-speed automatic transmission." Now we get some details: "First gear is twenty percent lower than second gear...and the most impressive part about the transmission is...you won't even know it shifts. It's so smooth that it's nearly imperceptible."

Next Mr. Reid introduces a second big innovation: the steerable gear case. And he explains a big advantage: "While conventional outboards typically steer 30-degrees each way, the V12 VERADO can steer 45-degrees under joystick operation. That gives much more authority to effectively maneuver a large boat."

"Contra-rotating propellers" are also mentioned. And "reliable and durable" are also mentioned. And the engine has "rugged components, superior hardening, and an incredibly high level of validation" which will "insure the V12 VERADO delivers years of reliable performance."

In a closing montage the word "luxury" is again accompanied by an on-screen image of a woman in silhouette against a setting sun with her long hair blowing in the wind.

Mr, Reid appears in the same anechoic chamber set, but now the new engine is seen in the background, where before it was hidden by a backdrop cloth.

The presentation continues as a new voice begins narration, and eventually the narrator is revealed to be Todd Dannenburg, director of industrial design for Mercury Marine. The set remains the same as earlier for Mr. Reid. Thankfully, Mr. Dannenburg's on-camera medium shot is staged with the very dark and dimly lit new engine out of focus in the background on the right, balancing Mr. Dannenburg in focus on the left of frame, and speaking to the camera. Mr. Danneburg explains how the design elements of the engine are to be interpreted, which made me think for a minute I had somehow jumped into an Apple presentation, enhanced by Mr. Reid wearing black slacks and a black top--no, not a turtle next, but very evocative of Steve Jobs with about 25-years age and some weight gain. To demonstrate the attention to detail, we learn that "even the info-graphics [on the service panel] went through months of refinement."

Okay, "Style and appearance" was on the customer wish list back in c.2000, but it wasn't among the top five.

After this we get a montage of very staged indoor work settings intended to show employees at work on the design of the engine. I really don't think all these designers, engineers, technicians, and assemblers have to actually work in the extreme darkness and radical lighting seen in these images. I think these sets are all creations of a presentation producer striving for a certain "look" and are not real work spaces or even real employees. We see two Asian males at computer terminals, a young female pointing a hand scanning device at a propeller, a younger male turning a wrench, and mostly all are dressed in black and working in very dim spaces. If that were how the engineering offices and plant were illuminated, the real workers would be calling OSHA.

Finally president Drees returns to wrap up the presentation, and as he re-lists the engine's attributes, we get a another montage of images. It may be hard to believe, but when "luxury" is mentioned the on-screen image is--you guessed it--a woman in silhouette against a setting sun with her long hair blowing in the wind. Hey, come on. This is only a 11-minute presentation and that woman has more on-camera face time than the faux employees in the montage. I guess "luxury" must really mean have aboard a woman in silhouette against a setting sun with her long hair blowing in the wind.

Teaser question: what is the only Boston Whaler boat shown in the first 90-second montage being powered by a Mercury outboard engine?

Answer: see https://youtu.be/zD8B718Wt7Q?t=33

JimH, one of the test boats on Lake X is a 420 Outrage with triple VERADOV12 .

I won’t post the link since as you point out above some don’t seem to always work when you want them to do so.

Mambo Minnow wrote:I won’t post the link since as you point out above some don’t seem to always work when you want them to do so.

I have no problem with posting URL links to company website information. If the URL link stops working the link can always be fixed. I can't control which links keep working and which stop working. Post away.

hauptjm wrote:...means you have about $1.2 million to $2 million into a new boat purchase. I guess that sounds about right.

Hey--maybe YOU have $2-million into your new boat purchase, but not me. I buy old boats and used boats, and the prices are about $2,000,000 divided by 100. But my engine cost is about $77,000 divided by ten.

I like boating, but I am not "passionate" about boating. "Passionate" means "ruled by intense emotion." I do enjoy time on the water in my old classic Boston Whaler boat, I don't think it is my "passion" that leads me to it. I have my emotions mostly in check when boating. As president Drees noted, my boating time on the water is "enjoyable."

Great piece of technology.
But as a working man it’s a little over my budget.
Be more interested if Mercury can build a 75 HP that weighs less and wasn’t so physically big .