Administration building at Lake X with its distinctive round "porthole" windows.

After nearly fifty years of using the famed “Lake X” as one of the testing grounds for the latest in engine technology, Mercury Marine is moving to a new integrated testing facility on Watson Bayou, Florida.   The new location, X-Site, will carry on the Mercury tradition of hands-on research and development and real-world testing in a location that allows for a greater variety of environmental conditions.  X-Site takes the best features of the famed Lake X and goes one step further – a necessity, considering Mercury’s incredible developments in marine technology and its well-known commitment to “tough, reliable, and efficient” engines.

Lake X was long known as the top secret testing ground for Mercury’s racing engines.  It was originally leased in 1957 by Carl Kiekhaefer, who needed a remote and secure location to test his new designs.  The then-current Mercury testing grounds were also overrun with pleasure boaters, which made safe testing difficult and extensive endurance testing nearly impossible. 

The famous Lake X control tower

After extensive aerial searches, Lake Conlin, near St. Cloud, Florida, proved to be an ideal location for Kiekhaefer.  The 10,462 acre property was completely isolated and featured a six mile course that could be used for comprehensive testing.  Its isolation offered the security to develop new designs and it also meant that there would be no danger to casual boaters during testing.  To highlight this new facility (and the newest six-cylinder, 60 horsepower Mark 75) Mercury conducted “Operation Atlas,” a legendary endurance test unequalled even today.

Operation Atlas featured a fifteen foot runabout powered by a Mark 75 (with a rotating crew of drivers) completing a grueling course that was 25,000 miles long – a course equal to the circumference of the earth.  The endurance run was supervised and certified by the United States Auto Club, which regulated similar automotive records.  When the Mark 75 successfully completed the course in just over thirty-four days (with only routine engine maintenance) Lake X’s place as the foremost marine engine testing facility was secure, as was Mercury’s reputation for reliability under extreme running conditions.

Test boats stand ready at Lake X

Kiekhaefer knew he had made the right choice in selecting Lake X, and took steps to make Mercury Marine a part of the St. Cloud community.  Donating over $300,000 to the St. Cloud Hospital, he helped ensure quality medical care for both town residents and the Mercury Marine employees who worked on the potentially dangerous side of cutting edge race technology.  Kiekhaefer also showed a concern for environmental issues long before it was ‘politically correct’ industry policy, and initiated the first of many studies of the effects of engine exhaust on the surrounding environment in the late sixties

Currently under construction, the new Mercury X-Site facility offers a water testing environment capable of serving Mercury's development needs for the future. Photo Credit: Mercury Marine

With the incredible advances in engine technology though, it became necessary to move on to a more integrated and better equipped testing facility.  In 1957, a boat that could go anywhere near 100 mph was the exception.  Today, this is the nearly the norm, with several race boats capable of reaching 160 m.p.h. The performance of today’s sport boats and race boats has simply outgrown the usefulness of Lake X, with its limited three-mile straight-aways. With Mercury Marine leading the marine propulsion industry in technology and performance, the need for a new, more advanced testing facility to accommodate this pioneering growth became clear.  As Lake X Operations Manager Bill Harris observed, “When you have a brand new boat and you’re worried about the tabs, trim, rotation, rpm, and watching the dash, three miles goes by in a heartbeat.”

X-Site testing facility will accommodate more boats and equipment. Photo Credit: Mercury Marine

In addition to longer courses, X-Site presents a greater variety of real world testing situations that will allow Mercury technicians and engineers to more thoroughly test and improve on new technologies.  While Lake X could only offer the smooth water of an inland lake, X-Site allows testing in both the rough waters of the Gulf and the flat inter-coastal waters.  Testers can also choose to run on either the leeward or windward shores, and can test seven days a week (unlike the weekday-only Lake X).  It is these relentless tests and the push for greater marine technologies that makes the Mercury name synonymous with performance and reliability, thus underscoring the importance of the new test facility. X-Site will also accommodate laboratory and office facilities, as well as the on site rigging that helped make Lake X such a popular test location. 

X-Site facility under construction Photo Credit: Mercury Marine

Mercury’s Lake X earned its place in history by being the proving grounds for some of the most popular and innovative marine engines for nearly half a century.  The task of carrying on this tradition is a not an easy one, but X-Site is prepared to do that and more.  Between the greater range of testing conditions and the improved integration of on-site facilities, X-Site is ready to take Mercury Marine to the next level of marine performance.