Mercury Racing Brings Options: The 15 Inch 300R, 200R and ROS Outboards are for Enthusiasts and Racing

For a while now, the enthusiast market of the performance boat world, the market Wave to Wave is really geared towards, felt a little neglected. We would harken back to the days when you could buy a Mercury Racing product, particularly an outboard, that fit the bill for a weekend warrior, enthusiast or even someone racing from short course to offshore. It seemed like back in the day you could get a 200 or 225 ProMax, a 15” ROS spec engine or monster 300X and there was something for almost anyone. And now, Mercury Racing has tried to bring that energy to the V6 and V8 four strokes. Here’s a look at the new outboards from Mercury Racing.

In general, Mercury Racing is offering a CMS HD version of the 200R and 300R in a 15” midsection model. You get mechanical or DTS, wing plate versions for single or twin applications, and the sport master or torque master in 1.75 or 1.60 gearsets. The 200R single is not available with a wing plate, only twins. That is a lot of optionality and really addresses the market.

First, there is no getting around the weight of four strokes, but if you bring the CG lower and lighten it as much as you can, then it’s a much better engine. Effectively, the lower CG and slightly lower weight is better for safety, handling, and even makes the outboard more durable as a longer mid causes more strain overall. The nature of the V8 had the powerhead way up high too, with 2 more cylinders stacked, now it brings the powerhead down, which is especially better for smaller boats.

The familiar 5.44 sport master is on the business end and is certainly robust. An optional torque master really opens the door for many other boats, from 200HP to 300HP that can’t run 85+ MPH but need the benefits all the same.

Because the 200R and 300R RPM range is much higher than a ProXS for example, 6,400 RPM along with 1.75 or 1.60 gears provides the ability to get more power through the propshaft. These engines probably make a not only a little more HP than on the label, but the gear ratio allows you to turn that propshaft much faster. Taller gears, with the right setup are always going to outperform lower gears on a high performance setup, you’re simply turning the propshaft faster, and generally puts you in a more efficient prop pitch range.

More goodies include the solid lower mounts, the single ram trim of the HD CMS, and the ability to use a wing plate for side steering or twins with a tie bar. Single application have a cambered skeg to offset torque and twins need straight skegs. The 200R offering as a 15” twin setup is intriguing for repowering smaller cats, or obviously powering new cats as well in the more compact size, bringing weight, cost and performance to more people. And the twin 300R is going to be great for handling overall for sport cats and especially single V hull boats.

If you have a family performance V hull, under 22’, the 200R is a great option as it’s a great replacement for anyone currently running a 200, 225 or 250. You get the optional gearcase, mechanic or DTS, and the solid mounts out of the box. From early testing on the regular 200R, performance was comparable to a high performance 225 HP two stroke. The V6 is a really nice engine. This covers sport boats, bass boats, flats boats and anything that is a little lighter and faster. The 200R cambered skegs comes with front mount steering only

For the 300R, the same benefits apply and the engine is as powerful if not more so than any other 300 HP Mercury Racing has produced, now the 15” brings it to enthusiasts and racing. The ROS is tuned specifically for Racing, wing plate, solid upper and lower mounts, with a single ram remote pump trim.

There is every reason to be excited for these engines. Mercury Racing has really met the market here and is doing their best to offer something for as many customers as possible. And, these engines are just plain cool again.