Hard life: Mercury SeaPro outboard engine clocks up 10,000 hours
A Queensland business that can’t afford any downtime has knocked up more than a year of continuous running out of its outboard motorA 115hp Mercury SeaPro FourStroke outboard engine working to keep the Gold Coast’s canals clean has clocked up more than a year of continuous, problem-free running.
The 10,000-hour engine is fitted to a six-metre aluminium punt working for Gold Coast-based Wingbrook Marine, and used to haul rubbish dredged from the 400km of canals around the region as well as fixing stone revetment walls.
According to the company, the four boats making up the maintenance fleet travels about 60km each a day, all while working a six- to eight-hour shift up to six days a week.
“Nothing has been changed or adjusted internally,” Wingbrook Marine manager Kevin Adshead manager said. “We just start it up and off she goes.”
The punt carries a 6.0-tonne excavator, a 3.0-tonne bobcat and up to 17 wheelie bin loads of rubbish. All up, it weighs about 20 tonnes, even before it is loaded up with the rocks used to repair the revetment walls.
The engine has had to have a replacement gearbox fitted, though, with up to 200 changes from forward to reverse in a single working day wearing the old one out.
A 115hp SeaPro FourStroke engine was fitted to the barge, replacing a 115hp Mercury FourStroke that had notched up more than 5000 hours. The SeaPro engine uses a Command Thrust gearbox specifically designed to provide better performance and control on larger, heavier craft.
“Since we put the SeaPro on it the characteristics have changed – improved significantly,” Adshead said.
“The reserve thrust we now have is absolutely better; it works really well.”
The engine’s performance also helps with forward momentum. “There’s a section of the canal up here that everyone talks about – the Monaco Street Bridge – which has a really powerful tidal flow that runs at 5-6 knots,” Adshead said.
“We can now go through there against the full tide and not worry about it pushing 29 tonnes which is quite something. We often work in dirty water up here and the SeaPro has never stalled or stopped,” he said.
“This is commercial reality. If this engine breaks down then we don’t get paid. That’s why I like SeaPros.”
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
