The Fall of Mercury Racing. Opportunity?
 

So with the recent news of Mercury Racing stopping the production of the last 2.5 200 XS optimax and the discontinuation of some propellers, it looks like the 250 and 300 XS might be next. Does this create a great opportunity for another manufacturer to jump in? I do. The market has been neglected for 15 years and outboard sales are at an all time high. Could four-strokes be offered in a lightweight 200 to 300 HP true performance outboard? Four-strokes are already lighter than the last two-strokes on the market.
We wrote an article about this on Friday.

Mercury Racing has fallen?

lighter,,,,300xs is 505lbs
lightest verado 6 cyl 250 is 635lbs up to the 400 is 668lbs

In the context of the article it has. https://www.wavetowave.com/home/2017...g04yzgm3zse9ha

Verado L4SC- A little more than 500 lbs. HP can be turned up and add gearcase options.

ok I thought apples to apples 6 cyl 250-300hp xs motors to 6 cyl 250-400 hp verados
yes the 200hp 4 cyl is lighter but still same weight as a 6cyl 300xs both being a tad over 500 and 100 les hp out the box
so in that comparision older offshore 280 was @ 375
the new 4 strokes is all there will be that's a given
problem is the high performance light motors are going away
and boats are growing to handle the bigger heavier motors which makes cost go out the roof
is what it is,,,,,,

Merc hasn't fallen. No one wants 2 strokes and no one wants performance boats. Your welcome to jump in the market with a product. Good luck.

I normally only want 2 strokes if at all possible. Problem is emissions and the Gov't/EPA doesn't want 2 strokes... I will continue to hoard 2 strokes bikes/motorcycles whenever possible to keep the smoke flowin'

So, if you choose to not write about V bottom boats anymore because you only want to write about cats.... then I can write a headline that says "The Fall of Wave to Wave . Opportunity"...? That doesn't sound good to you, does it?
I suggest you be more careful with your headlines.... Mercury may have been considering advertising with you... and now how do you think they view your media?

The click bait title sucks, its not that people dont want two strokes, people dont want overpriced, overweight, over-complex, under-performing 2 strokes. The guys really into the performance 2 smokes are still running pre emission controlled 2.5s, mostly on lake boats STVs/mirages. 300xs has its place for now but I feel it is on the endangered species list.

But you didn't read the article. I specifically said it's not about reminiscing about old technology. Although having said that, Evinrude sales are growing with the G2 and they have lower emissions than competitive four-strokes. I like the idea of a light performance four-stroke. The performance boat market is growing and has been for the last 6 years. Outboard sales are at an all time high.

Have you run one? I'm not a fan. Way too heavy too, steering is sloppy etc.

lmao......really?

2 strokes are over-complex? And here I thought they had less parts (no valve train, etc)?

Meaning, DI pumps and all the good stuff that comes with Green two strokes.

I get the feeling Merc Racing isn't going anywhere. As for opportunity, what might that be? Someone said that no-one wants 2 stroke outboards or performance boats (or something similar). I noticed Tim G was reading this. Here is a guy that is selling 57' Center Consoles w/ 4 BIG 7 marine outboards in the middle east; for sh!t-tons of dough. MTI has designed new model after new model in recent years, primarily for the outboard market. So lets ask him- "excuse me, Mr. G sir, would you say that Merc Racing, outboards (in general) and/or the performance boats markets' are in trouble?".

There is a reason that Volvo bough 7 Marine. As for the 2 strokes, eventually it will be evolution that kills them, but not for a while yet.

Yeah Man, you lost any opening with Merc forever. Think Monkey, think!!

Ah, that explains it. Yep, I miss the old V-6 2-stroke outboards. I especially liked the simplicity of the carbed 2.0 and 2.4. Maybe Yamaha can fill the void? Hard for a newcomer to make it.

I love my 1998 Mercury 250 EFI Saltwater Series. Smoke on start up but much less when warm. I like to tie up on the outside anyway...
Not a ball buster in the traditional sense but 35' CC with huge bimini top, seating for 10 and stand up vacu flush I get 53-55 mph and have 540 hrs with no repairs except for plugs, impellers and belts with 100% saltwater usage.

The problem with Mercury Marine and performance outboards imo is they are the only game in town..... back in the 70's & 80's when OMC had a racing division they challenged Mercury at every race site... beating Mercury to a point that Mercury lobbied APBA to "restrict" the new (and faster) OMC outboards almost to extinction.... then all you saw at the races was Mercury vs Mercury... boring and made the factory sponsored teams unbeatable..... Be nice to see Bombardier & Yamaha set up a racing program and put Mercury back to work!

Joe,
You're correct... we do a fair bit of OBs now... Our 42 Vs take 4 at a shot.... And we have done a few boat with the big V8 627 from Seven Marine... Our new 340X cat has been a great success, and is using the 400 Verado...
The performance that Mercury gets out of a 400 Verado is exceptional..... 400 hp, 7000 rpm....and a 5 year warranty... SO I can run my 340 X at WOT 7000 rpm every weekend for 5 years and they have the faith that warranty won't put them down..... Unreal...
Mercury has done it right.
I'm a fan of two strokes... I actually worked for BRP when they brought out the E-Tec technology..... Very, Very good engines.... I really think a 400hp E Tec would open some eyes....

The point here was about the hi-po two strokes..... What is the real market for them? Will 200 sell each year? Not 1000... I know that...
Mercury is a big dog that needs to be fed... Selling 200 engines doesn't warrant the assembly line, parts, and support....
I certainly understand why they wouldn't want to continue the line...

Mercury Racing has focused solely on the high end marketplace. The big twin turbo I/O's and the large 400 Verado's. I'm sure as said, the 300XS will be dead soon too.

I'd be curious to know the sales numbers of the 400R's compared to all 260/280's sold ever. Bet the 400's are either really close or already outsold the 2.5 race motors.

Unfortunately, the direction Mercury has gone, will virtually eliminate the high performance sub 20' outboard market. The bass boat guys, and the smaller outboards have shifted focus to slightly larger boats that will handle the heavier 4-strokes. The small builders will have to either adapt, or hope the new owners have a stock pile of old 2.5 stuff floating around to make a complete package. And the 2.5 stuff is getting harder and harder to come by, and when you do find it, the price has gotten crazy. The days of the 2.5 Race stuff from Mercury is over, and the used market has shown that. Guys are getting stupid money for parts. 3-4 years ago, a nice sportmaster was $1500...today, the same case will bring $2500...same thing for 15" mids.

Some have adapted with the 300XS/15" mid, but it's not the same.

I said years ago, the 200 4-cyl could be a great platform for the next lightweight race motor, but who knows...

TIm,
If the EPA goes away and Mercury can build a real HP two stroke like the 300x of old. That motor would put to shame the 400r as far as performance. My old 300x motors blow away the 400r in acceleration and will more than hold their own on top end as well. The 300x was to be their platform for a 375hp version but EPA killed it. I think that CC boats will want the 400r without a doubt. However if Mercury had a bigger version of the 300x for the HP cats up to 36' I think with the performance gains over the 4 strokes most would want the 2 stroke. I also agree what about all the single engine small HP boats out there. You guys need to start buying 300xs motors and stop fixing old ones!

Not fallen

Is the popularity of the 400hp outboard more about the Hp, or finally a surfacing gear case?

Hi,

I have been running my Phantom 25 for 20 years now. Its a 1985 model, so its been through several engine applications. The boat is a narrow 25 footer, only 5,5 foot wide. So its a offshore performance boat, typically made for a single 300XS or twin 2,5 engines. The package used for offshore racing was twin Merc XR2 in the 80 ties in UK.

I have owned Johnson 3.6 GT Offshore Race 300 hp engine, Mercury Promax 300 SVS, twin Mercury 2,5 EFI SS with PCU, Verado 350 Sci and now a Verado 400R. The best engine (and fastest too) is by good margin the 400R. No question about it. Although the sound and acceleration was mindblowing with the twin package, the downside was malfunctions and 3 litre oil and 100 litre fuel per hour on cruise. Making the total cost of running them to approx USD 15,000 per season in Norway for 20 hours use... The 400R you can run hard all day, they start and they stop when you decide to and the total costs me for 80 hours use this season is USD 4,000 incl winterizing and storage...

I considered to buy twin 200 ROS, but no warranty stopped me for doing it. Mercury should change that since this engine is runnng very strong and suits the 18-22 footers very well. So I understand your point.

Cheeers, Toffen

Much rather have a Yamaha outboard and not deal with the BS.

merciury will never fall at 200,000 enginevpakages lol. What a joke as far as I'm concearned. But they stay together . 50 hr rebuild not ..

Thanks Tim, I think that would be a really good headline if we stopped writing about V-hulls for sure. Because that would be a good opportunity, anytime someone vacates a market or there is a way to serve it better. I received many emails from manufacturers who have been in close contact with Mercury Racing and very much supported the article.

Full disclosure, I own Mercury products and my dad was a Mercury dealer in the 70's. I am pretty loyal to the brand.

Thanks Toffen. I agree with your note. I would love to see a light 4-stroke in the 200-300 segment from Merc. I believe we will see ProXS versions of the 4-stroke 3.0L engine that is 450 Lbs, that would be great.

Thanks for the reply, but it doesn't seem like you read the article. The opportunity is in new technology, not two-stroke, although it could be. I think it's a light four-stroke in the 225 range. Yamaha is really close with the 4.2 V6 SHO, if it was a little lighter. The G2 is close, just needs to shed about 50 or 60 Lbs.

The outboard market is at record highs by sales, as I cited in the article. It's the strongest segment in the marine industry right now, again, as stated in the article. Not sure where you get the impression I said it was in trouble.

Thanks Tim, I agree, the 400R is a beast on certain hulls. In the article I talk about four-strokes, not two-strokes, that's the opportunity. Dwelling on old tech at low volume is not smart, I agree. If you look at the segment though, 200 to 300, it far outsells the 400HP market, hands down.

The article was about "Mercury Racing" I thought? who's racing Verado 350"s and 400R's? haven't seen any CC's on the race course as of yet.....I just read an article that Sterling was almost a lock to win the SBI Premier Class in Key West next week.... I think WavetoWave's article makes a good point..... Mercury has abandoned an entire segment of the true performance industry.....

[/QUOTE]Yeah Man, you lost any opening with Merc forever. Think Monkey, think!![/QUOTE]

This is funny. There is nothing defaming about Mercury in the article at all, if anything it points out how they might make up the space with their latest 3.0L four-stroke platform, which would be great. But if you want sponsored content, there are plenty of publications with no opinion on anything that are happy to do it.

We really love feedback but "Think Monkey" when you clearly didn't read the article nor do you understand digital content, seems a little inappropriate.

Yeah Man, you lost any opening with Merc forever. Think Monkey, think!![/QUOTE]

This is funny. There is nothing defaming about Mercury in the article at all, if anything it points out how they might make up the space with their latest 3.0L four-stroke platform, which would be great. But if you want sponsored content, there are plenty of publications with no opinion on anything that are happy to do it.

We really love feedback but "Think Monkey" when you clearly didn't read the article nor do you understand digital content, seems a little inappropriate.[/QUOTE]

I actually read the entire thread. I'm not sure where the "defaming" comment comes from. The title for the article is misleading. You have your opinions, I have mine.

Epa
 

I would say the obstacle is emission requirements. Everything adds weight to a new motor. Lots of sensors, high pressure fuel pumps, computers etc. All this adds to the weight.

Boating is different today. Look at old bass boats as an example. They were narrower and lighter. Today they are wider and heavier. They can handle the extra weight. Then there was the I/o runabout. A new ob is lighter less complex and more fuel efficient.

Formula boats is getting back into the outboard market. The have a new 43' boat with outboards. But they will have some of the smaller boats with ob's too.

I just don't think they can easily shave alot of weight off the engines and still have an affordable engine.

Maybe the boats have to adapt to new engines. Could fuel tanks or batteries be moved forward to rebalance the boats

Ya, everyone is making outboards, it's the biggest market for sure. I think Merc's 3.0 fourstroke is getting in the right weight range and a performance version could shave a little off, lighter mid and cowling, plus some internals; could get it really close to 400 LBS. That's why I think they will use that for their new ProXS models in the 200 HP range hopefully. The Yamaha's shedded some serious weight with just a few tricks, it's doable. Look at how light the sport motorcycle engines are.

No worries man. It was just the comment that I "lost any opening with Mercury" and mentioned a monkey, implied I was defaming Merc. But Merc pulling out of the 200 to 300 HP range is a fact, not an opinion and it opens up an opportunity for someone. Mercury might very well have plans for a new engine in that range, I've heard they are but time will tell. Although I am a Mercury fan, I think it would be great to have some competition. Plus, the 115 to 250 is the best selling outboard segment, so there is lots of room there.