All I Want For Christmas Is A Verado 500R
Speaking for a lot, and I mean a lot, of performance boaters around the world, the headline above says it all. Come on Old Saint Mercury, I mean Nick, that’s all we’re asking for really—a shiny new Mercury Racing Verado 500R outboard engine. Make that two, maybe even four, for that matter; it depends on the boating application.
A 38-foot Mystic Powerboats sport catamaran like Slug Hefner’s beauty, Dirty Duck, would look pretty good with a big red Christmas bow on the deck. Photo by Pete Boden
As I’m 100-percent certain that a 500-hp engine will not be sitting in front of my tree on Christmas morning, I’m going to be a bit more realistic and hope that Santa is reading this—or maybe even my wife, who I know has secretly been wanting a boat for our family to enjoy on the California Delta.
So let’s start right there. Topping the list, for me at least, is a twin-engine sport cat with a couple of Verado 400R engines on the transom. And because this would be a gift, I won’t be picky. Many brands will do—heck I’ll even take a used one. Let’s say a 27- or 28-footer from Nordic or Eliminator or any of the boats we tested during the Speedonthewater.com Mercury Racing Verado 400R Sport Cat Roundup (download the digital magazine feature here). Everything from the 32-foot Fountain and 33-foot DCB to the 34-foot MTI and Wright Performance 360 would do the job more than adequately enough.
and then