Are The Mercury 600 V12 Outboards Worth The PRICE TAG?! 

Do you think these motors are worth $77k each?

I made 77k crawfishing last year. Ima put one of these on my crawfishijg skiff. Hell yeah brother. 🇺🇲💪🇺🇲💪🇺🇲🤣🤣👍🤟🤟🤟🤟

Merc has been developing these for a while on the hush. They done extensive testing. These motors are built well. The only long term issue they may have is the lower half with the turning mechanism. As long as these are serviced regularly, they should be good. For the price, the buyer would have no issues to keep them maintained by a servicing company. People who buy and expect maintenance free will be in a big surprise as Merc may pick and choose coverage and abuse.

No matter what, these V12 600 's are truly an amazing piece of work! just bcuz i can't afford something doesn't mean i can't appreciate it, Bravo for the great vlog.

If the Mercury ends in “R” it’s meant to do one thing, go fast, and go fast comes high maintenance and issues and thats just the go fast world. You don’t buy a Ferrari for it’s reliability ( you’re going to be very disappointed ). As a mechanic and drag racer, the big problems with V12 cars is 1. Wrapped heads ( blown head gaskets). 2 Due to the incredibly long oil pan, oil starvation can be an issue under high G acceleration and turns. How these issues will play out with a vertically mounted V12, who knows, but I won’t be rushing out to buy them any time soon. As for Yamaha and Mercury reliability, Yamaha is only rated at 2% better reliability than Mercury…. Not even worth mentioning, it’s so close. Mercury just gets a bad rap because people buy a 350R-400R or 450R thinking it’s going to be a low maintenance pleasure boating motor…. Rookie stupidity, not Mercury’s fault.

We saw them upclose and spoke with one of the reps from mercury at the boat show. Great info we were able to get from him.

Love you videos, I totally agree about the transmission and lower unit being the most likely sources of problems. For the sake of progress, I hope everything works out for Mercury. As a Yamaha fan, I want to see them get pushed to make a higher-performing and bigger HP outboard...

No outboard is worth the money, yet we need them so we buy them🤷‍♂️

Short; straight to the point 👌 Interesting engine. They will need to stand behind it -warranty wise.

I think they are worth it for those who can afford it. They are incredibly expensive right now but you have to take into account all the research, development and tooling their factories to get this innovative monster in the water! It’s much much more than just a BIG motor! It’s a Big motor, 2 speed trans, moving lower plus all of the technology to bring it together. I give Mercury 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ For getting this beast to market!

Keep doing guys, really informative 👍

Awesome video, straight to the point with all the info we wanted and needed 👍

Well done! great video. Good range of thoughts and always going back to accepting that newer is better, because innovation is survival! But always noting it must be designed and tested properly for weaknesses. Keep them coming!

Great to see many decades great products coming from Mercury Marine. RIP Evinrude/ Johnson. In the 1950/60’s Mercury leadership used to burn Johnson outboards at the stake at company BBQ’s. They continue to push performance of marine products as they have for years. Long live the tradition of Kiekhaefer Mercury!

DUDE!!!... Bravo!! This video was ABSOLUTE perfection!

The thing about inboards for me is this. My days of money being no object are past, I can rebuild an IB V8 at home in my workshop in a few days and the transmission is both simple and relatively bombproof. Outboards are a different story, much more technical and a heap of special tools needed. I could pick up an old Cigarette or Donzi with flogged motors cheap and rebuild a pair of 800hp big blocks for 10 grand in parts (I can handle most if not all of the machining in-house), I can't do that with 4 450Rs. Now I know that doesn't apply to the folk buying 77k OBs but it's a factor for me.

Just getting back into boating man, andI like your videos

You should really do more informative videos like this. This was really enlightening.

The offshore Center Console market has been the only double digit growth segment in the entire marine industry since 2009. And tbh Merc and Yamaha dominate it. Mercury's timing with this is brilliant

The 2 Speed is from ZF, there shouldn‘t be any Problems with it.

Interesting channel...pieces of other websites videos, a microphone, and an opinion on all the videos! Educational purposes. NICE!

I like your Channel man, It's good stuff!

Love the content keep it up!!❤

Biggest concern i’m hearing is the lower unit and the issues that could develop, give them a few years and they will have them dialed in with little or no issues. Thinking about putting one on my 23’ CC, lol

I worked for Intrepid power boats n have to say they started with inboards n switched to outboard for the performance n less weight etc I recall when they put 2 7 marines on a 38ft n clocked in the gulf at over 100

Props my dude! Well made videos. Where the are all the subscribers?

Thank you for sharing.

I want to see 6 of these bad boys on anything! Please please!!! I’m 🙏

I've had Mercs (both I/O's and outboards), Evinrude, Johnson, Force, Yamaha, you name it and with rare exception I can tell you that most issues are owner related. Anyone can own a boat but most owners are completely ignorant about how engines work and as a result have no idea what to do to maintain or operate them and the less they know the worse this becomes. Your initial comment about both I/O's and outboards having pros and cons is spot on. Twenty years ago the pros and cons were pretty balanced. Today, with the exception of an I/O maybe giving the boat better lines or more space on the swim platform, there really isn't much that ends up in the pros column. I have an I/O now but my next boat will be an outboard for certain.

At $77K that is about 60% the price of the old 7 Marine 627 at about $130K each.

Good to hear you buddy! I was wondering where you went!

Yes they are one bad ass outboard. Love to have one for our boat. SMOOTH!!!

Keep up the great work

There are some points to consider: the boat you buy today with the multiple matching outboards may and likely will not have that same looking outboard a few years down the road if you need to replace one. That fancy boat will look like a turd with non-matching motors. So instead of buying one, you might need to buy 2,3 or 4+ more. Look at the Formula 500SS with these 600hp engines. Depending on cruise speed, 70-100gph burn. A similar sized boat with Volvo IPS diesels will be at 30gph. Few people are intetested in a 50mph boat ride for an hour or more. Beat you up good! One also loses the potential to carry a dinghy. They are impressive motors and really quiet.

I for one am happy to see this innovation in outboards. Ever since I first 7Marine 557, I knew the world had changed. Saddly, 7Marine was bought out by Volvo...who then decided to end production l so my personal dreams of owning one was forever dashed. However, NOW I can aspire to have a boat with two of these outboards behind her some day

Like with any new tech, there will be problems, how Mercury handles these issues is the key, Mercury is taking their place as the leader in outboard technology and innovation. My choice will always be a Mercury outboards over any inboard. First Merc was a Mark 75 in 1962, currently own 2.

For maintenance and care free boating especially in the Sport fishing arena, you cannot even put OB in the same the category as Diesels. You can cross oceans with Diesels many times over. The Old Detroits and Cats are total beasts when it comes to longevity + performance. Also Diesels tend towards being infinitely more fuel efficient and Diesel fuel is prolific most everywhere.

people who can afford these motors aren't worried about it

Great video boss man!

Definitely worth the money... As long it's some other dudes money.

Wow I was happy with a 21’ astro bass boat with a 150hp evinrude!!! Was even happier when I sold it for $3k

awesome vid man!

The engine for the 1% is here! Got to appreciate the technology. 600 horsepower out of 12 little pistons. That is pretty amazing. That's formula One stuff!

I can’t wait for someone to take the V12 out of one of these and swap it into a car. Hopefully Mercury Racing gets their hands on these and offers a supercharged version with a more free flowing, less muffled exhaust so we can actually hear it.

Great video !

They look awesome & if I were a member of the 1% who could afford them I would own them.

😂 always had good luck with yamaha mx bikes but had 2x Yamaha outboards now and they both blew up n had endless issues.... bought a merc and no issues at all 👌

I love this video excellent

Lets gooooo 🔥🔥🔥🔥

My last boat was 26 ft long, 400 horsepower Yanmar diesel... I got a word for somebody who hangs a bunch of outboards on the back of a boat. Dwight, Good Seamaritan Rescue since 1958... Good stuff, thanks for posting. PS. At almost 80 years old I'm officially out of the Volunteer Rescue Boating business... Go buy a Boat US plan.😊

this video was lit! worth it of course g.

underated chanel

Superb review! I am an old Merc’ guy… for a half century. Nothing wrong with Yamaha…. but for bigger outboards , my experience favors Mercury all the say. And I agree… way too many lower unit problems … with all brands are caused by high speed cavitation when in and out of water. No lower unit, standard or racing is made for that high RPM level frequently.

I have always wondered about the weight of these big outboards right at the very back of the craft!

excellent view of the new motor

2 Cummins diesels... 'Nuff said!!!... Thanks for posting... especially for the nimrods that don't know any better... or have more money than they know what to do with... And would like three or four status symbols hanging off their transom... SMH

For certain clamp-on guys, this is super cool. For performance I/O people, this doesn't affect their world at all. I am of the latter. They do some neat R&D up north, but I won't be using it.

Almost every HCB 65 Estrella I have seen had 5 7-Marine 627s on the back so I don't really for them going with 3 Merc 600s. Most customers, when you're already spending that much, will think another $150,000 for 5 motors instead of 3 is not much of an added expense for the bling factor.

In my dreams I am getting one tonight!

The down sides to outboard #1 the price #2 they're in the way If I'm paying for an expensive boat I don't want to have to a big motor in my way. Some people like them but that's my freshwater opinion.

If Merc came out with a dual prop, I think it will set them a part easily. The Yamaha and Suzuki both have 350 DP packages, and have a slight edge on Merc. I know Formula specifically built the SSR500 around the Merc 600Hp power, but I still think a contra rotating dual prop would be more efficient.

These, and other large displacement outboards are good for short range, fiberglass day boats. You will always need diesel powered shaft drives for long range sea travel.

IF , big if ,those gearboxes are reduction for " Out of the Hole " and Locked up DIRECT in Cruise/Plane mode , reliability can be REAL good . The Steerable Leg SEALS may present problems however . Price isn't too bad considering this is basically a Lamborghini Engine for the Water . TIME WILL TELL . BTW , Marinized Turbo-Diesels with Jet drives are VERY Fast , Fuel efficient and Reliable . Ocean Racers think so .

That's a lot of money for an outboard I really love my Yamaha 300 my engine has 2000 hours 2018 Yamaha 300 and still runs like a champ on a 23 ft Albury Brothers

it's on a way or another.... if we compare the price/hp at all outboards is almost reasonable.

Great Video.

i did my apprenticeship in Australian with Mercury, i really loved my trade but with the way the technology and price has impacted on the marine industry i’m glad i become a coal miner..more money and less headaches..

The issue I see is trust. After all Mercury is rather famous for (change) then another dose of (change) while leaving the previous customer with non supported equipment.

You're asking the wrong question. With this class of outboard, it's all about snob appeal, not the cost.

Lots of advantages having outboards!

People keep raving about the efficiency and power and technology, but if you know anything about the car world, these motors aren't shit. Automobiles have been putting out more power per cubic inch for at least a decade now and more reliable. I am an inboard guy because of the reliability and not having all that junk hanging off the back of the boat to tangle lines and chopping up swimmers. Putting a small turbo on an LS with a direct drive will get better efficiency than these units. Add two if you want redundancy. If you go back in your time machine, direct drives (dd) have always been king due to efficiency and the bad fuel economy stigma from outboards is oooooold, but there are basic fluid dynamics that can't be overcome. Putting 4 outboards to make the power of one or two engines is stupid to cover the entire stern of a center console built for fishing. The only point you make which makes any sense is draft, but good electronics can save you from that and the big fish aren't in 2' of water.

If I’m not mistaken those 600s have pod drive technology and pod drives have been around for a while made by zf and Volvo. Merc has had the Zeus drive for some time now also the 2 speed transmission is also nothing new either mercury has messed with those in the past

Baddest ass outboards I’ve ever seen

Great info.. maybe other models will get cheaper

Subbed. nice video

I'm convinced, I'll get four and one as a spare 😄

I think you're worried about nothing. Mercury Marine has run these things through all kinds of conditions and 10's of thousands of hours. They can probably tell you almost exactly how long they'll last. The biggest drawback is the very heavy weight which you didn't even mention. I know a guy who recently spec'd out a 39 foot MSI Cat. This is a 1.2 million dollar boat so the boat itself is very light weight. So light the engine weight is critical. His terms for an engine, no matter the brand, was the lowest weight to hp ratio and he tested every brand. The lowest ratio would provide the highest top speed, all things being equal. Suzuki was surprisingly good, especially for the price but for that boat, the 450R gave the lowest weight per hp ratio by a long shot. Even the 400R was much worse. The weight was almost the same, but for a pair of them, they were down a full 100hp than the 450R. So it wasn't even a close call, the 450R's were far superior for this application. It'll go 140 mph on those two little outboards, and you can run them wide open all day long. Something you can't do with a big block. They were only 2/3rd's the weight per hp than Yamaha. The 600's weren't even on the chart they were so bad. They've not a little heavier, they're a LOT heavier. The 600 weighs 1,260 lbs which = 2.1 lbs per hp Vs. 689 lbs for the 450R and 1.5 lbs per hp, a full 28% faster out of the hole. Double the weight for only 150 more hp? I don't think so. Like I said, not even on the chart. Interesting you recommend them over a diesel because they're just about has heavy as one. I can tell you that. That fact kills their efficiency as far as them being something special, right out of the gate. I'm not aware of lower unit problems on the Mercury outboards. They do have big problems with the Mercruiser I/O's. But that has an entire drive line and would have air slap problems anyway. You can't get all the slack out of an inboard/ outboard driveline no matter what you do. Too many shafts and gear sets that all start on a simple spline. The only thing you can do is go with as deep a lower unit as possible. Not to sound insulting, but what did you do, just read an article on the 600 and do a video from that? You obviously don't know a thing about them. And actually, neither do I. You don't have to, to know the 600 is a slug. The 450R at 54,000 dollars is a much better all around engine than the 600 at 77,000 dollars. To be comparable, they'd need at least 900 hp to keep up. These had better be some serious work horses. Certainly, performance is NOT their game.

I would love to see a video of someone servicing one of these motors

The problem with the outboard is for a lot of people who use boats not as cars is where the outboards are placed and they are way way to expensive for most people who use boats to relax go distances and not speed, simply very different solutions to very different demands. Diesel engines can make zillions of hours without any service, people use them as generators in their boat and have them idling for hours in day, again it's not comparable

Can be more practical than some higher end stern drive applications.

Pretty sweet motor, I will never be able to afford one 🤣🤣. I'm stuck with my 1985 Mercury 18XD FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

You raise some very valid points. Still way out of my league though...

Nice video bro.

My only question on putting outboards on big boats is where do you put the tender? Say you want to island hop to explore new beaches. Almost all big heavy boat hulls over 40 ft long have a draft >3 ft regardless of i/o or OB. But, outboards eliminate a usable swim platform for tender storage. That means youre either going to have to beach a 30,000+ lb boat that costs $500k+ (no thanks), or restrict yourself to docks/marinas. Anchoring in > 5 ft water with no tender is not an option.

These look like some nice motors. Two speed, too.

The inboards will never be replaced 100% you can’t have out boards on big sport fishes and what not

What like Yamaha was making outboard in the 1950's?? I remember well the Kikhoffer plate on front of old Marc's. Only thing I'd worry about is turning lower unit/skag? There has to be a seal of some type to allow turning? Any joint/ interface is a point of possible failure

Very limited audience for a very heavy motor. Still, the weight savings on a diesel inboard are real. As is the minimum or shallow depth required of inboard installations. This ain’t no bass boat motor. It is designed for one specific class of boats. Luxury offshore family/fishing boats in the 40-60 ft range.

what engine block are they using in the Verado V12?

I see so many bitter people complaining about $77k per motor. First, Mercury invested a sh@t ton of money to develop this motor. Obviously the majority of people complaining don’t run or understand business. Mercury has to recoup their investment over time and still make a profit or these new products never see the light of day. Also, everything is relative. $77k for one Mercury 600 is a rounding error for some people. They literally don’t even notice it.

If I had to have a gas motor I would rather have LT4's I think. 1/3 the price, less weight, and more horsepower.

The “soft wet clutches” could very well be the down fall. Any transmission (at least in the automotive world) let the clutches slip more so the operator does not feel the shifts as much. Which means the transmission is “slipping” the clutches more. Which equals more wear and tear an earlier transmission failure on said transmissions.

I'll get one when they come out with a tiller.

Great video put on my lobster boat!

Great vid

All do respect, having a beautiful, slick, elegant yacht with a bunch of shit hanging off the back seems wrong. Also, Sayonara swim platform! 12cylinder is pretty cool though.

as long as people continue to pay these prices it wont be stopping

And here i am with my mercury 5hp that doesnt start

I want a Grady White 37 Express with twin V12 Mercs!

When money is no object, Mercury fills the need, you supply the greed.