As it seems to have taken on a pretty high level of interest, I thought I would include a little "progress report" on the four-stroke project we have undertaken. This was technically written to be included in the South Shore Outboard Association newsletter, so for those double dipping I apologize for being repetitive. MERCURY 4 STROKE PRELIMINARY TESTING -12/3/20
In order to help ensure the health of our sport, with the help of Mercury Racing and Chris Fairchild, we embarked on the mission to find a potential engine source for not just Stock Outboard, but outboard racing in general.
To help facilitate the testing, based on the size of the engine and the desired final speed range, we decided that the best possible option would be starting on a “C” runabout. Ryan Burdick was gracious enough to lend us an old “roll-up” runabout that was slightly manipulated to fit the slightly larger engine, the engine being a Mercury 20 HP 4 stroke, completely bone stock. Fortunately for us, after removing the tiller arm and some other unnecessary add-ons, the overall engine weight was not significantly greater than a Yamato 300 series engine. The mid section of the engine is however a few inches longer, which required a custom made transom to raise the height that few inches compared to the Yamato. A steering bar was created to fit in to the tiller arm housing and the throttle tapped into the existing throttle mechanism. The engine used regular pump gas and a standard mercury fishing propeller for initial testing.
Overall, the performance was excellent. The engine certainly has a ton of potential as it showed exceptional performance, even in preliminary testing. As a racer who has only raced Yamato hydroplanes for the last 4 years, I had absolutely no problem “rolling up” the rig and loved the ride. The boat handled about as well as I will ever get a runabout to ride and felt the perfect mixture of safe but light on the water. Having only raced 2 strokes, naturally I was a tad skeptical, however the engine handled and performed better than we ever imagined. As we continue to develop a potential race engine alternative, it is paramount to us that the engine stays as close to factory specifications as possible. Obviously a few tweaks will need to be made, mostly things like removing the tiller arm, but besides for absolute necessities, this engine will remain stock in whatever application it is used for. We hope that with the interest of Mercury Racing, the abundance of equipment available, and overall performance that this can become an engine we rely on as an asset in the future of racing. It should be noted that the intent of this engine is not to uproot or disrupt any existing class, but to be separate from our existing classes in it’s own unique entity.
Mikey Pavlick
Marine Racing Club
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