Mercury Verado, what have you heard about these motors?

[Little Round]

I beleive down in Fl they have had some problems with them.

[Mr. Sandman]

Had the pleasure of running a pair of them this summer for several extented trips. IMO they are no question the slickest OB engines out there. The controls are outstanding, no one has anything like them. The LCD monitor system puts all the info you want to know about the engines on a nice clear display that does not take a manual to figure out.
The engines burn about the same as a yami as from what I can see. I think the suzuki 300's have the best fuel econ . I have seen some powerboat reports that make the suzuki the clear winner in econ. But the verados are not a hog by any means. They do burn a little more fuel per hour but it is not like a 2 stroke. I took a 27' whaler with twin 200's and ran 160 miles and burned about 80 gals and cruised over 30. BTW the engine monitoring is so sweet you can dial in on the sweet spot very easily.
The steering is better then any mech system as well. Fly by wire it is like a video game, you have doubts about it until you use it...then you love it. The engines electronically sync automatically to within a couple rpm...another nice feature.

The costs have some down a little now that they are not "new" and the engine runs so quiet at idle you barely notice it is on. Better then my 225 yami 4st.
One other thing that is VERY noticeable....when you put this into gear there is no clunk, thud or noise whatsoever...the boat just goes foreward. It is incredably smooth, smoother they any engine I have seen ever. It is almost like it is a fluid drive it is so smooth. I read up on it and they actually shut the engine off for a split second while the gears engage then restart it ...it happens so quick and so smooth that you never notice it missing a beat but the result is that it goes into gear like there are no gears.
IMO this is one nice package. I love them an I never liked mercs. I still don't care for the 2 strokes and the whine they make. But the verado is a nice package. It is expensive, heavy and big but if you have the stern to put them on I think you will like it.

I would like to test drive the new suzuki 300 because I think they built this to compete with the verado...but the zuki is a few grand more then the verado and I don't know if they did as well with all the features...but they nailed the economy end of it that is for sure.

[BassyiusMaximus]

Thanks, this is the kind of reply I've been looking for.

I was going to get an OptiMax 225 with the DTS as the DTS is $1,500 extra for the fly by wire but I want it because it is just such a sweet setup from all that I've heard and read about.

I know that the Verado is heavy, about 650lbs compared to the 225/250 OptiMax @ 500 but as my boat is rated at 350hp and for twins, the extra 150lbs should be no issue.

I like the quietness as I have heard that they are just whisper quiet at idle and at cruising/4000 all one can hear is wind and water, after all I'll have a full transom as well as a bracket 2 1/2 feet out, I won't even know I'm running I'll bet.

I'm psyched for May. I'll be sure to be posting pics and my own reviews then.

[Mr. Sandman]

No motor is what I would call "quiet" at 4000 rpm but this in line with most new 4 strokes, the only way I can descripe it is a lower pitch roar as copared with 2 strokes. You can def. hold a conversation without rasing your voice. At idle is is nearly inaudable if there is any background noise at all. Anyway, I was very impressed with them. They took OB's to the next level. The owner had one minor issue upon delivery but it was promptly resolved. One thing is don't even THINK of working on this yourself...just bring it to "the man". It is basically a sealed black controlled by fancy electronics that can not be worked on unles you are a dealer.

["uffah!!"]

I know a guy at the marina who has a boat just like mine, and has a 225 hp Verado on it, and it burns three (3) time the amount of fuel that I burn with a 150 hp Johnson 2 stroke. I'm talking about a trip from Greenwich Bay to Newport and back!!