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Honda Unveils New 350-hp V8 Outboard

Honda Marine just unveiled its most powerful outboard yet, a 350-hp V8, the company’s first V8 ever. The sleek new BF350 represents a big step up for Honda; the previous outboard flagship was a 250-hp model. The new 350 is aimed at boats in the 25-foot plus range, and Honda says it’s appropriate for single, twin, triple or quad applications. It weighs 765 to 776 pounds, depending on shaft length. Honda says the new outboard provides smoother power throughout the operating range, improved ergonomics, and it’s 17 percent more fuel efficient at cruising speeds than its competitors. It also operates…

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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…

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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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Volvo Unveils Most Powerful IPS Yet

Volvo Penta just announced that it’s testing a new, more powerful IPS (Inboard Propulsion System) for larger vessels from 82 to 180 feet with a top speed from 12 to 40 knots. Volvo calls the new system an IPS professional platform, or IPS 40, and it’s the most powerful IPS yet. The IPS 40 is designed to work with Volvo’s 800-hp D13 engines. The platform can be installed as twin, triple, or quad applications, meaning it can work on vessels with from four to eight engines. Volvo says the IPS 40 “is a true piece of state-of-the-art engineering.” It is…

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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…

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Rolls-Royce Tests Hydrogen-Powered MTU Engine

In a major advance for hydrogen power, Rolls-Royce announced last week that it completed testing a hydrogen-powered MTU engine, and it worked. The bench test was on a 12-cylinder MTU Series 4000 gas engine (pictured above) using 100 percent hydrogen fuel. For the test, Rolls-Royce engineers had to modify some MTU components, including fuel injection, turbo-charging and piston design, because of the different combustion of hydrogen, compared to gas. The test lasted several months, but then Rolls-Royce announced it was successful in terms of efficiency, performance and combustion. MTU has been making engines in Germany for more than a century.…

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Yamaha Makes New 450-hp Outboard

Yamaha just launched its most powerful outboard yet, a 450-hp, V8 four-stroke with more torque, faster acceleration and a higher top speed than ever before. It’s called a 450 XTO, which stands for Xtreme Thrust Output. It’s a larger version of Yamaha’s 425 XTO, and it’s naturally aspirated with a 5.7L displacement. The new Yamaha is designed for larger, and heavier, boats, and it comes with Yamaha’s updated Helm Master EX controls that are built to handle up to three of the new 450s on a single transom. The new 450 has several important improvements, including a high-out alternator system…

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Volvo, Beneteau Developing Hybrid Electric Systems

Volvo Penta and Groupe Beneteau just announced that they’ve formed a partnership to involve customers and dealers in developing their new hybrid-electric power systems for recreational boating. The two companies say they want immediate feedback so they can develop new technology that provides a quiet and sustainable power for boating in the future. Volvo already has run a successful commercial hybrid-electric system on a tour boat for Hurtigruten Svalbard in the past year. Now it’s turning to the recreational market. The new demo boat will be one of Beneteau’s Jeanneau NC 37 models (see rendering above). It will be at…

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Mercury Launches First V10 Outboards

Mercury Marine just introduced two new 350-hp and 400-hp 5.7L Verados, the industry’s first V10 outboards. They’re powerful, smooth and quiet, and they’re designed for a wide range of applications. The new  V10s weigh just 695 pounds, and have 26-inch mount spacing, the same as Mercury’s V8 outboards  They are compatible with most boat designs, either  for OEM applications or for repowering. Mercury now makes outboards in V6, V8, V10 and V12 configurations. The heart of the new V10 is its naturally aspirated powerhead with a quad-cam design. It has a standard 150-amp alternator, capable of charging the boat’s batteries.…

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ZF Unveils New Pod Drive System

ZF Marine just unveiled its new pod propulsion system for the first time in North America at the recent Fort Lauderdale show. It’s already in use on an Azimut superyacht in Europe, but now it will be available here also. The new ZF 4600 POD system is designed for yachts form 80 to 130 feet with planing or semi-displacement hulls. It’s compatible with all major brand engines up to 1,700 hp. It can be configured for twin installation in yachts from 80 to 99 feet and triple installation for larger vessels. Each pod weighs 3,395 pounds. The ZF pods have…

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