New Baja 36 Outlaw With Mercury Racing 565 Engines Tops 80 MPH

After taking delivery of its latest Baja Marine 36 Outlaw recently, the team at Day’s Boat Sales in Frankfort, Ky., put a little extra work into the stock boat before spending some time running the 2019 36-foot V-bottom last weekend on Lake Cumberland.

This new Baja Marine 36 Outlaw powered by twin Mercury Racing 565 engines is available from Day’s Boat Sales in Kentucky. All photos courtesy Day’s Boat Sales

Featuring custom paint, graphics, upholstery and interior trim, as well as a pair of color-matched red Mercury Racing 565 engines coupled with Bravo One XR drives and Sportmaster gear cases, the available dealer demo model is the first 36 Outlaw to be powered by the 565-hp engines and five-blade Mercury Maximus propellers, according to Bill Day, owner of Day’s Boat Sales.

Day, who ran the boat up to 81 mph at 5,240 rpm on the lake last Saturday with two people on board and 100 gallons of fuel, said the boat got a lot of looks both on and off the water.

“It’s a dynamic boat, that’s a good way to describe it,” said Day, who explained that the dealership added a few touches after the boat left the Baja factory in Washington, N.C., including an Isotta Carlotta steering wheel, the Baja logo in the carpet and a digital Mercury SmartCraft tachometer gauge on each side of the helm’s 9-inch Simrad display screen. “It has a lot of eye appeal and it runs very good for not much more than $300,000. In that aspect it’s a bargain, a Baja bargain.

“It’s a big boat, it’s even bigger than it looks once you’re in the cockpit and in the cabin,” he continued. “It handles like a big boat, too. It takes a little while to get up to speed but once you’re rolling you can cruise at 60 to 80 mph with ease. All of the Mercury DTS controls make everything effortless. It’s dang near video game like, it’s so easy.”

Check out the slideshow above for more images of the 2019 Baja 36 Outlaw.

Day added that the dealership’s previous 36 Outlaw, which was powered by Mercury Racing 520 engines, sold in two weeks so time is of the essence for anyone interested in the boat, which he said has topped out at 84 mph during a factory test session at sea level in North Carolina.

“There’s such a quick learning curve for figuring out how to drive this boat,” Day said. “In my mind, the buyer for it is someone who wants a boat to poker run across the country in without a whole lot of drama, and at the same time have plenty of room in the cabin as well as all the amenities you can ask for and still get that factory warranty.”

An overjoyed Day said he has had more success with the Baja line than he initially expected and that the dealership has three more 36 Outlaws on order as well as a half-dozen 27 Outlaws, a 27 Islander and a couple of 24 Outlaws.

“We’re selling boats and people are very happy with them, plus we’re generating a lot of leads,” Day explained. “The Baja line has a been a real shot in the arm for us and we’re expecting it to get even better as the factory ramps up production.”