Pontoon Power

It wasn't that long ago when a release of something as big as the industry’s first-ever V10 outboard would sadly exclude the pontoon segment. A big engine like this would be considered of no interest for the average pontoon owner, but fortunately with performance pontoons continuing to dominate the boating industry, those days are clearly in our wake.

In our extremely biased and tainted perspective, we could make an argument as to why Mercury Marine's all-new 5.7L 350hp and 400hp Verado outboard engines were specifically designed [just] for the pontoon industry, but we won't.

Instead we'll highlight the Avalon, Barletta, Harris and Princecraft pontoon boats that Mercury had on the water at a recent media event to show off the new engines, plus there was a Sea Ray deck boat at the event as well. Mercury had an impressive lineup of boats of all sizes to run, but our focus was of course on the types of boats we know best.

Consistent with the award-winning Verado brand, we quickly confirmed the new V10 engines are extremely quiet as well as smooth as we glided across the waters of Lake X. This is the engine manufacturer's secluded testing facility in Florida that dates back to 1957 when Mercury founder Carl Kiekhaefer bought the 1,440-acre body of water for covert testing. The majority of testing for Mercury still takes place at this location, and it's still in a very remote area, but Mercury has opened its doors up recently to several engine release events on Lake X.

Old vs New

Fresh off our own boat test that was held prior to the Mercury event, we had just run multiple boats with the 2.6 L inline 6 cylinder 400hp Verado, which gave us a unique perspective. The 2.6L version is being replaced by the new 5.7L V10 400hp and we were pleasantly surprised by the torque and quick hole shot of the new version that is drastically improved. 

It seems when new engines are released, all anyone wants to know is how fast will it go? There is much more to engines than just a top speed, plus I seldom run with the throttle pinned when I'm out boating with my own family, yet I still found myself asking this question. It's a gearhead thing; we can't help it. I ended up running each of the four pontoons wide open just to satisfy my own curiosity and to be able to answer the question I knew I would constantly be asked when talking up these new engines.

All four pontoons were powered with the new V10 400hp Merc and despite the different lengths and overall weights of each one, they all comfortably reached the 50 mile per hour mark with ease. With permission from the president of Harris Boats, Chris Bernauer was more than willing to let me put the throttle down on the Harris Grand Mariner 250. At full throttle we reached a top speed of 56 mph. We received similar results with the Barletta Lusso 25UCA (52 mph) and the Princecraft Vogue 27 RL (53 mph).

“The pop and the torque that you feel out of this new V10 is noticeable and we've got some great top speed runs on the boat as well,” said Bernauer. “Certainly the Harris Grand Mariner loves the new Mercury 400.” 

Twins

Proving just how far performance pontoons have come along, the Avalon 2585 Catalina Platinum Windshield was actually equipped with two V10 400hp Verados. With all four pontoons I could really feel that “throw ya back in your seat” kind of raw power, but with 800 horses on the back you could really experience it. Let's just say our thrill ride with Bill Forenski, owner and founder of WMF Watercraft & Marine, was a lot of fun.

“The acceleration is amazing, it's quiet, torquey and very fuel efficient,” said the Avalon dealer. “I'm very impressed with these new outboards.”

Bill began selling Avalon pontoons in 2013 and since 2014 WMF has been a top 10 dealer for them and is currently its number three dealer in the world. At full throttle (and with a wakeboard tower plus 100 gallons of fuel in the tank) we topped out at blistering speed of 72 mph and at that speed it didn't take us very long to go from one end of Lake X to the other.

All The Advantages

It didn't matter if we were on one of the four pontoon boats or the Sea Ray SLX 260 OB that was powered with a V10 350hp Verado, these new outboards are surprisingly quiet and are compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft technologies.

“The all-new Mercury V10 Verado outboards are exactly what boaters have been asking for in a 350 and 400hp platform,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president. “They are powerful, smooth and quiet. They have many of the same fuel efficiency-enhancing features that are synonymous with our high-horsepower lineup. They also deliver the same kind of premium boating experience that has made Verado outboards legendary. The V10 Verado outboards solidify Mercury’s leadership position in the high-horsepower outboard market.”

Another reason these new Verados work for the pontoon segment is the engineers were able to keep the weight down on a high horsepower engine like this. Coming in at 695 pounds and with the same 26-inch mount spacing as the V8 outboards, the V10 engines maximize compatibility with current boat designs and that of course includes pontoons. This lightweight, compact design provides the performance boaters are looking for and makes them perfect for multi-engine applications like the Avalon we went out on.

Naturally Aspirated

The new platform features the outboard industry’s first V10 naturally aspirated powerhead. It leverages class-leading 5.7L displacement and a performance-inspired quad-cam design to propel boats ahead with exceptional speed and acceleration. A class-leading 150-amp alternator swiftly charges on board batteries and intelligently supports the boat’s electrical system.

The all-new hydrodynamic gearcase is engineered to improve performance and durability across multiple applications while also maximizing fuel efficiency. Mercury engineers went back to the first principles of engineering and designed the all-new Revolution X propeller to perfectly match the V10 Verado in every way. Larger diameter and wider blades combined with the deep ratio of the new gearcase provide excellent handling, thrilling acceleration and high efficiency from low speed all the way to wide-open throttle.

Challenge Accepted

“We challenged our engineers to improve acceleration and overall performance with the new V10 Verado outboards, while also making them quieter and lighter than competitors’ outboards in this horsepower range,” said Tim Reid, Mercury Marine vice president of product development and engineering. “Once again they exceeded expectations while also incorporating technologies that make boat operation and maintenance intuitively simple.”

Bridging The Gap

Since 2008 Mercury has invested $2 billion in the development of its products and it continues to demonstrate its commitment with a manufacturing footprint that has now expanded to more than 3 million square feet. With the new V10 outboards, the gap has been filled with Mercury now offering a lineup that includes V6, V8 and V12 offerings. While most people would agree the massive 600hp V12 engine wasn't specifically built for the pontoon segment, after a couple of days out on the water with the new V10s I'm starting to think the new 350hp and 400hp Verados just might have been. Again, we know we're a little biased.