CONTINUOUSWAVE

The Mercury Marine operation of Brunswick have announced a new VERADO 425-HP outboard engine, with an MSRP of $42,600.

The 425-HP engine is based on a 5.7-liter V10 design and weighs 695-lbs in the lightest model. The engine include standard electronic shift and throttle remote controls, and has the proprietary Mercury Smartcraft engine instrumentation.

There are not many classic era Boston Whaler boats that could accommodate a single 425-HP engine, so I don't expect to read about many re-powerings with this new VERADO.

The 425-HP V10 is not the biggest VERADO available. The 7.6-liter V12 VERADO 600-HP remains the highest power rated model. However, at a staggering 1,260-lbs, application of this engine is limited to only very large boats that can accommodate that sort of weight on their transom. The MSRP is in the range of $80,000 to $85,000 depending on model and color.

Here on the Northern Gulf Coast we are seeing boats daily with four or five of these monster Mercury outboards on the transom. They are mostly catamaran fishing boats with quads and huge center console boats with five engines. Almost all of these large recreational boats are rigged for offshore fishing.