600hp Mercury V12 Verado takes to the water in Australia
Mercury finds the boat that will launch its 600hp V12 on the Australian marketMercury Marine has locked in the first boat in Australia to use its potent new 600hp Mercury V12 Verado outboard engine – the Gemini Waverider 1060, nicknamed The Beast by its maker.
The South African-built 10.6-metre centre console RIB includes a transom built to take up to 600hp of performance. It’s also a brand with Australian runs on the board, having already supplied boats for the Australian Defence Force, federal and NSW police, and SES rescue services.
The Gemini Waverider 1060 sits on a custom-built tri-axle Easytow trailer, while up front, the entire package will be towed by a RAM 2500.
Mercury Marine has revealed the boat has already had its first splash in what looks like Melbourne’s Patterson River, meaning the first shakedown tests will be taking place on Port Phillip Bay.
The outboard engine maker has said it would shoot video of the V12 having its first shakedown run.
Orders rack up
While this is the first engine to come into Australia, it won’t be the only one. Boatsales.com.au believes there are already a number of local orders for the world’s most powerful production outboard engines, with buyers opting to have two rather than just one of the duoprop engines on the invoice.
That suggests the new engines coming to Australia are likely to power larger, heavier fibreglass boats that will need the extra propeller grip from a second outboard engine to get the boat up onto the plane.
Brunswick Corp, Mercury Marine’s owner, announced in the wake of the 2021 Cannes Yachting Festival that European boat makers had queued up to ask the company about how it could add the innovative new V12 outboard engine to their vessels.
Mercury’s boat engine business is thriving, rising 19 per cent in the last quarter alone as demand for its products rises globally, and buyers show they are prepared to pay higher prices.
The 600hp Mercury V12 Verado is expected to cost around $100,000 once official pricing is released.
Model:
Length overall: 10.6m
Internal length: 7.4m
Beam: 3.25m (external)/1.95m (internal)
Deadrise: 20deg
Tube diameter: 600mm
Tube compartments: 7
Inflation pressure: 0.25bar
Weight: 1350kg (hull only)/5000kg (max)
Engines: 500hp (rec)/600hp (max)
Max engine weight: 760kg
Fuel: 1080L
Passengers: 22
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