Mercury Unveils New 15/20 HP Outboards

Mercury Marine announced a range of new product at this week’s METSTRADE marine equipment trade show in Amsterdam, Netherlands, highlighted by two new outboard engines and what it describes as the world’s first portable outboard tiller handle with truly ambidextrous operation.

Designed for anglers, recreational family boaters and commercial operators, Mercury’s new 15 and 20 horsepower outboards feature battery-free EFI for fast, reliable starting, instant throttle response and better overall performance. The new engines start at just 99 pounds, and are a full 11 pounds lighter than the models they replace, making them among the lightest on the market. The engines are also designed with ease of maintenance in mind, featuring a no-drip, no-spill oil drain system, fresh water flushing attachment, water separating fuel filter and a convenient maintenance guide under the cowl.

“We are thrilled to bring to the market an all-new 15/20hp EFI four-stroke outboard platform, ‒ an engine that is easy-to-start, intuitive-to-operate, lightweight, fuel-efficient, quiet, powerful and reliable,” said John Buelow, Mercury Marine VP of global category management. “Through extensive consumer research, we identified four defining features that our customers had been asking for, and these engines provide them. The goal is always to deliver an elite boating experience to our customers, and these engines do just that.”

Both the new 15- and 20-horsepower engines are also available in a ProKicker trolling version, which comes standard with a high thrust four-blade prop, power tilt and Mercury’s patented kicker straps that automatically center and lock the outboard in the tilt up position during high speed running to protect the clamp bracket from impact.

Along with the new engines, Mercury also showed its new Multi-Function Tiller Handle, an ergonomically enhanced control for the company’s new 15 and 20 horsepower engines. Traditionally, tiller handles are mounted on the port side of outboard motors, intended for left-hand operation. Mercury’s new center mounted tiller is adjustable to optimize left- or right-hand control. Using hand tools, boaters can adjust the tiller arm’s horizontal angle 18° port and starboard from center, at 6° increments. The throttle grip rotation is also reversible to compliment the tiller angle position to provide a more intuitive and comfortable boating experience, regardless of driving-hand preference.

The new engines and tiller handle will make their North American debut simultaneously at the Toronto International Boat Show and the Minneapolis Boat Show, both in January 2018.