I see many of the production boat manufacturers are offering their lineups w/ the option of either Mercury 8.2L MAG engine. The std 8.2 MAG rated at 380hp & the 8.2 MAG H.O. rated at 430hp. Based on production boat MSRP's (Formula 310) there appears to be approx a $16k premium to upgrade from a pr of 8.2's to the 8.2 H.O.'s. If the hp #'s are accurate you'd have a 100 more hp w/ a pair of them. When I do a side by side comparison of them on Mercuries site the only difference I notice is the rpm range that Max H.P. is achieved at and the +50hp.

I did a Google search but couldn't find any links to any sort of. Ultimately the only info I've found is whats on Mercury's site. I was hoping to find a story, link etc where a Manufacturer had built 2 of the same model boat over time filling customer orders, but w/ the different 8.2 engine packages. Sort of like the Formula Fastech's w/ both Mercuy's & ILMOR's small V-8's.

Anyone know someone thats owned a boat w/ both packages or a dealer thats tested both?

In reality the $16k premium at MSRP is probably closer to $11k for the pair assuming a 30% discount.