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March 3rd, 2012

Islamorada Poker Run Fun!

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Verados almost everywhere!

Florida Powerboat Club’s (FPC) Miami to Islamorada poker run follows the world’s best boat show. It’s unusually interesting because of that timing: Many of the Miami Show boats make their first outings with Stu Jones’ club. I counted eight show boats on Thursday’s wave.

OK, poker runs are about the fun, relationships and a common interest in performance boating. But my focus is mostly on our customers and their hardware (my job!)…

This year, I hitched a ride on Thursday with Derek Wachob, his family and friends. Their new 42 Cigarette Huntress is powered with five of the Mercury Racing designed 350SCi Verados! What a ride! And the sound system: young Madison sure can “shake that groove thing”! (So can Abby – and probably anyone else within about two miles.) Derek reloaded and made the trek again on Friday in his sinister black ZR 48 MTI.

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February 27th, 2012

Fred’s Window on the Miami Show

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Cigarette 38 Top Gun 90+ MPH: Update of a classic and first installation of 565's.

Demonstrating the 565 in Nor-Tech's 420 Monte Carlo, the author with a prospect, Rex.

Demonstrating the 565 in Nor-Tech's 420 Monte Carlo, the author with a prospect -- my personal friend, Rex.

What a couple of weeks! For me, the Miami Show is about the best activity one can still call work. We rolled out Racing’s new, 8.7 liter, digital throttle and shift, 565 hp propulsion package. That gave me plenty of excuses to hang out with customers of Mercury, Cigarette, Dave’s Custom Boats, Formula and Nor-Tech.

The abundance of new boats powered with 1350, 1100, 700SCi, 525EFI or 350SCi’s didn’t spoil my attitude, either.

What better way to cap off a successful Miami International Boat Show than a poker run with Stu Jones and his Florida Powerboat Club to Islamorada? That’s some great folks with whom to share time!

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February 22nd, 2012

Breakout Show!

Posted in Announcements, Event News, On the Water, Products by

Fred with the all-new 565 sterndrive. Photo courtesy of Charles Plueddeman - Boats.com.

Even competitors came by to check out our new products.

My first indication this was going to be a breakout Miami show was first thing Thursday. We had a huge gathering of media and trade professionals  for our 10:05 a.m. press conference.

Kevin Grodzki was first up to unveil the Mercury 150 Fourstroke outboard for its debut appearance at the world’s largest boat show. Fred Kiekhaefer followed with his unveiling of our all-new 565 sterndrive. Both engine’s were very well received. From that point on – the show was a non-stop-go.

We had two free-standing static 565 engine displays at the show – one in the Mercury booth and one in Dave’s Custom Boats (DCB) booth.

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February 16th, 2012

Lovin’ Up Our Classic Big Block

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These are some of our people who made the 565 happen.

Color optioned Super Silver valve cover caps Racing's exclusive aluminum 2-valve cylinder head.

New for the 2012 Miami International Boat Show — and enthusiastic performance boaters!

Mercury Racing has updated its core, big block sterndrive! Now, the venerable 525EFI has a digital sibling — 565!

We’ve stroked the block to 8.7 liters (or 533 cubic inches), redesigned the cylinder heads, added a second throttle body to the inlet, broadened the torque curve and increased output to 565 horsepower at 5,000-5400 rpm.

 

Zero Effort digital throttle: the ideal way to control this powerhouse!

Top mounted PCM, TCM and electrical connections makes installation easier.

Mercury Racing’s new 565 runs strong on 89 octane pump gas (RON+MON)/2. It employs dual throttle bodies and electronic fuel injection flowing through a new cylinder head which we designed with improved valve angles for better flow and more precise air and fuel distribution.

Managing operations is a new controller for this engine – the same Propulsion Control Module used on our 1350.

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February 8th, 2012

Bravo I FS

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Big four strokes are back as a viable power option for bass boats.

The new Pro Finish Bravo I FS prop was developed for four stroke outboard applications.

I can’t wait for the Miami Boat Show. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and talking props with boaters, boat builders, dealers, consumers and racers. We’re geared up to have another big show. Fred Kiekhaefer has another exciting new product to unveil and I have a couple of new things to show as well. In fact, I just couldn’t wait any longer to talk about our new outboard prop.

You may recall my post regarding the Bravo I XS. We took the proven Bravo One sterndrive prop, added big one-inch vent holes in the hub and did some other tweaks to make it a big performer on low-emissions OptiMax outboards. Read the rest of this entry »

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February 3rd, 2012

Team Mercury – Part 3: Earl Bentz

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Earl in the "Big Bore T-4" powered Seebold. Photo credit: Boatracingfacts.com.

Photo from 1980 Popular Performance boat magazine feature on Earl.

“My racing days hold many fond memories for me. Being part of the Mercury Racing Team made it possible for a young country boy from South Carolina to go places, do things, and meet people from all over the world that would have otherwise never happened.” wrote Earl Bentz, regarding his time driving for Team Mercury.

Earl credits his uncle, D.F. Jenkins [Jenkin Outboard, Charleston, SC]. for getting him into racing. He ran his first race at age 16 on Lake Murray, South Carolina. “Blue Goose” was the name of the boat, a 100 h.p. Mercury-powered deep-vee.

“My uncle bought me my first tunnel boat over the Winter of 1968-69. It was a Galaxie tunnel boat powered by a stock V-4 Johnson that qualified me for Sport J class. One of my all-time favorites was the ‘Wild Geechee’. It was a kneel-down tunnel with a ‘crash’ throttle. We probably won 80% of the races we entered. One year in particular, we won 20 consecutive races in classes from Sport J all the way to U and S class [unlimited single engine outboard],” said Earl.

 

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January 26th, 2012

Clean Power for Future Champions

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The low-emissions Mercury 60 EFI FormulaRace outboard is featured in UIM F-4S racing. Photo credit: Hartmut Knape.

Mercury made history with the 1997 debut of low-emissions engines at the 24 Hours of Rouen endurance race.

We are pleased to have been awarded the 2011 Environmental Award for Economic Feasibility and Sustainability by the Union International Motonautique (UIM). The award nominations were announced January 21 during the UIM press conference at the Dusseldorf Boat Show. We were one of four companies recognized for our proactive efforts in protecting the marine environment. Mercury Racing received a special mention for our development and production of low-emissions engines for the greening of outboard powerboat racing worldwide.

“Mercury customers, myself included, want to boat on clean water and in a healthy environment. Mercury Racing showcases our environmentally responsible technologies through powerboat racing and performance boating,” said Mercury Racing President, Fred Kiekhaefer.

Nico Bauduin addresses the media during the UIM press conference in Dusseldorf. Photo credit: Arek Rejs.

The GT30 class boat features a low-emissions Mercury four stroke outboard. Photo credit: Arek Rejs.

Nico Bauduin, responsible for Mercury outboard sales in Europe and the Middle East, represented us in Dusseldorf. “Mercury has worked hard over the past few years to bring industry leading emissions compliant technology to outboard powerboat racing. We’re proud of our racing heritage. We are equally excited to be working with the UIM in the development of low-emissions entry level classes for the next generation of racing champions.”

Nico was referring to the UIM’s new Youth Development Program.  The powerboat racing training program is designed to encourage youth, starting at the age of 10, to get involved in the sport of powerboat racing. The program features two classes; GT15 and GT30. Both feature a 12-1/2 foot vee-bottom hull powered by a low-emissions Mercury four stroke outboard. The GT30 boats are capable of reaching speeds up to 62 mph.

UIM President - Dr. Raffaele Chiulli (L) discusses the future of powerboat racing with Nico Bauduin. Photo credit: Arek Rejs.

Nico poses for the camera while future GT30 racer Tobias Komm takes the wheel. Photo credit: Arek Rejs.

UIM president Dr. Raffaele Chiulli said, “There are lots of talented young drivers and we want to provide an opportunity for them to participate in the sport by sponsoring these boats. Also, safety took top priority when the boats were being built.”

The UIM plans to take the boats to various races and power boating events around the world for a multicultural exchange with children from every member nation of the UIM. Tobias Komm is one of the drivers to sign up for the program. The 20-year old from Dinslaken, Germany will enter his first GT30 race in April.

We admire the UIM for their commitment in the future of powerboat racing. We’re proud to be the power behind the Youth Development Program and future UIM champions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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January 20th, 2012

Team Mercury – Part 2: Reggie Fountain

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Reggie in a Team Mercury Seebold hull during the 1978 season. Photo Credit: Fountain 25th Anniversary book.

Reggie checks the rigging on this Mercury Twister II powered hull. Photo Credit: Fountain 25th Anniversary book.

“That boat was a rocket sled!” said Reggie Fountain about his first boat with Team Mercury.

Reggie began racing in 1954. He was 14. He started in B class hydros and runabouts. When I asked about engines, “I’ve always used nothing but Mercury’s….My first race engine was a Super 10 Hurricane with Quincy straight pipes. They were very loud. The hydro ran 60-70 mph which was pretty fast back then,” said Reggie.

Reggie claims the first thing he wanted after law school was to race. He bought a tunnel boat in 1968. “It was a twin-engine, 21-foot Glastron…I did pretty well at local races. You could tell the difference between independent boats like mine and the ones from the factories,” said Reggie. “My boat weighed 775-780 lbs, less driver. Joe Felder [on Glastron's factory team] had an identical rig – but much lighter at 515 lbs.”  Reggie saw the advantage of factory support and the need to build a factory network. Read the rest of this entry »

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January 11th, 2012

Team Mercury – Part 1: Bill Seebold

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Team Mercury core drivers (L-R): Reggie Fountain, Bill Seebold, Earl Bentz.

TEAM Mercury tunnel boats featured in the cover of the 1978 Mercury Hi-Performance product catalog.

A recent discovery of classic photos of the Team Mercury outboard tunnel boat race team rekindled my curiosity of the outboard factory war era when Mercury and OMC (Outboard Marine Corporation – parent company of the Johnson and Evinrude brands at the time) battled for bragging rights (and sales) across the globe.

I thought it would be interesting to interview the team drivers to hear first hand what it was like racing for Team Mercury. Read the rest of this entry »

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January 5th, 2012

Slowest 1200SCi Ever!

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This was a tired P-1 race engine slated for scrap. Now it sets the mood!

Old Mercury Racing engines never die. They just get recycled. I was going through my photo archives and stumbled upon this special project from a few years ago.

A customer paid to have a cosmetic refresh, but no mechanical work!!??? An odd request, until I discovered why: The only fuel it would see from now on would be through a glass table top — and go down different tubes. I suspect we over engineered the product for this application.

Ours was not the first slow table, but likely the most involved. Here is a GT3 wheel in reception at Kelly-Moss Racing in Madison, WI.

The rest of this room is pretty amazing, too, but I don’t have permission to show it. (I might not be invited back. Then, how would I fuel my tubes?)

Vicki, your comment prompted me to add another photo. This is an adapter I designed to fit my ceiling fan with a WWII target drone UAV propeller. The beautiful wooden prop was made for Kiekhaefer Aeromarine Motors engines my dad sold to Uncle Sam during that Great War. I found several new ones, still in the original boxes, while cleaning out a storage room. This one now swings quietly over my couch — unlike its predecessors, which roared over gunners’ heads.

OK. Chuck sent an interesting photo from his dad’s office — a gimbal ring (wait for it…lamp!) Now, this is fun!

Chuck Miller sent in this creative application of a Bravo gimbal.

A target drone prop for my ceiling fan!

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