• Mercury Racing Blog: Clean Power for the European Union

    By Rick Mackie, Mercury Racing

    The 1650 RACE was the talk of the Miami Boat Show. Equally newsworthy was our release of 565 and 1100 sterndrives certified for use in the European Union (EU). The popular engines, packed with Mercury Racing exclusive components, meet the emissions requirements as set forth in the EU Recreational Craft Directive (RCD).

    The certification expands the availability of the 565, 600 SCi, 662 SCi and 1100 sterndrive engine packages to all countries that fall under the EU’s RCD. EU certified models are identified with the CE mark. OEM boat builders must certify that their boats conform to the RCD noise requirements.


    I first met go faster.de owner Andy Groeber back in 2004 when we first came out with the 1075 SCi. I would catch up with him over the following years on his annual trek to the Miami Boat Show. Andy is an exclusive Nor-Tech dealer just South of Munich. He has had a lot of success with the 662 SCis. He is excited to have the EU certified 565 and 1100. Andy sees the 565s being popular for the Nor-Tech Monte Carlo and 39-foot sportboats.

    “No hassle boating is a key message for both the 565s and 1100s. The 1100s are wonderfully efficient. They have a very good reputation in the field with fewer breakdowns and less maintenance required than anything else in the past,” said Andy. They will open doors to sell high-end cats and vee-bottoms to customers who may not have bought them in the past due to maintenance needs, Andy said. “Customers in this power range would have previously had triple diesels with sub par performance. The big power and torque capabilities of the 1100 will be a natural for big family cruisers as well,” Andy concluded.
    Goldfish-50

    Pal Sollie, owner of Goldfish boats, has a new 42-foot rib for military and commercial/government applications. A recreational model of that rib fitted with 565s would be fantastic!,” Pal exclaimed. He also looks forward to running the 1100. “The 1100 will be a good fit for our new 50-footer introduced a month ago,” said Pal. “Both engines are new and fresh. They are something we’ve needed to attract younger customers into the market,” said Pal.
    Hydrolift-C-33

    Norwegian builder Hydrolift makes 22-33 foot powerboats for the Scandinavian market. They Export to EU countries, Russia and the Far East. Hydrolift sales rep Reider Golstad said, “The 1100 is too powerful for our hulls – although it would make a perfect single engine application.” Digital Throttle & Shift technology is a big deal for our market. Custom colors are too. The 565 will be a good engine for us,” Reider said.

    Dries Kuysten is equally excited about the 565. Dries owns Kuysten Watersport, a Formula and Rinker dealer in the Netherlands. “This is a great opportunity to take the next step after the 8.2L. If I had to power my own boat now, this would be the engine of my choice!,” exclaimed Dries.
    The ergonomic Zero Effort Digital Throttle Control.

    Everyone I spoke to said the European Union is starting to recover from the recession we all have experienced over the past few years. They are looking forward to the future now that they have a broader range of clean, hassle free Mercury Racing power at theirdisposal.

    Read the full blog post here >>
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