Verado Tames the Crocodile Man
When Malcolm Douglas, Australia's original crocodile man, starts talking about outboards it's a good idea to pay attention, his words come backed with 40 years' experience and more nautical miles than he cares to remember"I started around outboards seriously in about 1965 and it's gone on from then," said Douglas.
He has been filming documentaries about Australia's beautiful wilderness areas since the 1960s, and is constantly using boats for transport, filming and conservation work.
Based at Broome, Douglas regularly goes 50nm off shore chasing red emperor and will go even further for a good barramundi... and those are his short trips.
He's crossed Bass Strait in a rubber ducky, been up to the Kimberley 40-or-so times and regularly goes on two-to-four week trips covering up to 200nm a day.
Douglas says his Mercury Verado 175 is "brilliant".
"I would say it's the best motor I've ever had. The torque is fantastic. It's so quiet that when I'm trolling into the wind I have to turn around to make sure it's still running. It's also amazingly fuel efficient," Douglas said.
"I've got a 6.4m boat and when we go away on a trip we load up with three blokes and a dog, 800lt of fuel, water, tucker, and all our camping gear and film equipment – something you'd never do down south.
"We put a different propeller on the Verado to push all that weight but even then it's still probably 25% more efficient than my old motor," he said.
Douglas said he was a bit concerned when he first saw the supercharged four-stroke Verado's fully computerised control system but says he's a convert now.
"I was expecting things to go wrong but it's incredibly reliable. One flick of the switch and she kicks over. It never misses a beat and that reliability is exactly what you want when you're going into some of the places I go," he said.
Even though he's well into his 60s now, there's no sign of Douglas slowing down.
He's just delivered five episodes of his latest TV series and is busy finishing his new film The Wild and Dangerous Kimberley Coast. As well, he's preparing his wilderness park, outside Broome, for its grand opening – the culmination of eight years' labour.
"I've had Mercurys for seven or eight years now and I wouldn't consider changing brands. This Verado is so good I rave about it and I'm not just saying that," he said.
For more information, visit www.mercurymarine.com.au
Tags
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.
