Browsing: Mercury

Cruising Life
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Mercury Debuts 2 New Electric Outboards

Mercury just introduced two new, more powerful, Avator electric outboards at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mercury now has a total of five electric outboards on the market. The new outboards are called the Avator 75e  (10-hp) and the Avator 110e (15-hp). The high-torque, portable and rechargeable outboards are designed for small boats or tenders for cruising boats. The appeal for larger boat owners is that they can have an environment-friendly outboard for their tender and they don’t have to carry gas on board if they have a diesel-powered cruiser. The new Avators require minimal maintenance, and…

Cruising Life
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Mercury Unveils New 20e and 35e Electric Outboards

Mercury Marine just launched its new Avator 20e and 35e electric outboards that you can order now. Mercury launched its first electric outboard, the Avator 7.5e, at the Consumer Electronics Show last January. John Buelow, the president of Mercury Marine, said the two new outboards “set new benchmarks for innovation, performance, and connectivity.” The 20e and 35e have many of the same features as the earlier 7.5e, including transverse flux motor technology, color display, and ambidextrous tiller handles. They also can be connected to multiple Avator batteries to extend their range and run time, and they have access to the…

Cruising Life
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Mercury Launches New 500-hp Outboard

Marking its 50th anniversary, Mercury Racing just introduced its new 500-hp outboard designed for fast luxury sport boats. The new 500R V8 has Mercury Racing’s exclusive supercharger, and it not only has 50 more horsepower but also 10 percent more torque than the company’s 450R. It has a 4.6 liter, 64-degree FourStroke powerhead and is designed for pump fuel with an 89 octane rating.  The company says the 500R is “the most exciting production outboard to ever emerge from Mercury Racing.” The 500R tops out at 6,600 rpm. To handle all that power, it has upgraded its powerhead, cooling system,…

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Mercury Ships First 7.5e Electric Outboards

Mercury Marine just announced that is has shipped its first batch of Avator 7.5e electric outboards to customers around the world, setting a milestone in the popularization of sustainable power. Part of the giant Brunswick Corp., Mercury says the Avator 7.5e is the first of five electric outboards to be announced this year, including an Avator 20e and Avator 35e. (We don’t yet know the size of the other two.) John Buelow, Mercury’s president, said the current shipments were history-making, and that Mercury is committed “to being the industry leader in both internal combustion products and electric propulsion.” The Avator…

Boat Reviews
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Meet Brunswick’s New Electric Veer X13

Brunswick, the global recreational marine giant, just introduced its new Veer X13, built with rotomolded polyethylene, at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The boat can be powered by Mercury’s Avator 7.5e electric outboard, the first in Mercury’s Avator series. (Mercury, of course, is a Brunswick brand.) The new Veer also be powered by Merc’s four-stroke gas outboard, but the theme here is Brunswick’s move to be a force in creating a future without fossil-fuel emissions. The new Veer, created by engineers at Lund Boats (another Brunswick brand), is aimed at first-time boaters. “Veer provides an affordable, low-maintenance…

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New Protector 410 RIB with 600-hp Outboards

Rayglass Boats just announced they’ve built a Protector 410 Targa with twin 600-hp Mercury Verado outboards, the largest outboards ever mounted on a RIB (and Mercury’s most powerful production engine). Rayglass, a New Zealand builder, said they had to customize and strengthen the transom to handle the weight and torque of the massive V12, 7.6 liter displacement outboards. A new 600-hp Verado weighs 1,260 pounds. In an announcement, the company said, “The result is one of the world’s most capable all-water vessels, combining the unmatched power of the Verado V12 engines with the Protector’s world-leading capability for safety and handling.”…

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See Winners of European Power Boat Awards

The winners of the European Power Boat of the Year awards were just announced, chosen by the editors of eight leading boating magazines across the continent. The awards this year were in five categories, organized by size, plus one innovation award and one special mention. The annual awards are usually given at a banquet at the big Düsseldorf show, but that was cancelled this year because of the pandemic. The awards were announced digitally from Hamburg. The editors who had tested the boats represented magazines in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Austria. Here are the winners:…

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Bavaria Launches New Vida 33, Its First Outboard

Bavaria, the large German builder of power and sailing yachts, just launched its first Vida 33, an outboard-powered weekender with sport styling and performance. If it brings to mind the looks of the Greenline NEO 33, it should. Bavaria acquired the rights to the NEO recently, after Greenline, the Slovenian builder, decided that outboard power didn’t fit in with its eco-friendly positioning. The NEO had solar panels to provide on-board power. For its part, Bavaria did not have an outboard boat in its powerboat lineup, which ranges from 29 to 55 feet. The new Vida 33 comes with standard twin…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Is Your Boat Smarter Than You Are?

We already have smart phones, smart cars, and perhaps even smart refrigerators. Now we’re getting smart boats too. Consider this: Numarine will introduce its new 78HTS as “the world’s most innovative smart yacht” at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, starting March 28. The boat actually was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January to promote its new artificial intelligence systems worked out with Furrion, the luxury innovation company. The Numarine 78 (pictured above) is indeed smart. On board, you can interact with Angel, a virtual onboard concierge, and with a series of Smart Mirrors that…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Report from Miami: More Power, More Smart Boats

The big Miami shows just opened with a new emphasis on high-tech, artificial intelligence and power and more power. Mercury introduced a brand new 400-hp outboard, it’s most powerful yet for recreational use, while Volvo teamed up with Tiara to launch a new outboard version of its revolutionary IPS pod drives for inboards (see the picture at top), and Raymarine showed off its artificial intelligence assisted docking system that I just tested – and I’m still smiling. To celebrate Mercury’s 80th anniversary, Mercury President John Pfeifer unveiled the new 400-hp Verado, which he said was an upgrade from the 350-hp Verado,…

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