[Vic]

Kiekhaefer introduced his own outboards, which he called Mercury motors, to enthusiastic buyers at the 1940 New York Boat Show, but the start of World War II derailed his plans once again. Kiekhaefer spent the war building chainsaw motors, but after the war he was back in the boat propulsion business. His Mercury Lightning outboard, introduced in 1947, was a two-cylinder engine that produced 10 horsepower. The Mercury Thunderbolt, a four-cylinder engine delivering 40 horsepower, followed a year later, and the six-cylinder, 60-horsepower Mark 75 was delivered in 1957.

[florencte24]

Engineer Carl Kiekhaefer didn't have dreams of revolutionizing the marine engine business when he founded Kiekhaefer Corporation in 1940. He wanted to build dairy separators, but a contract to rebuild outboard motors changed the direction that Kiekhaefer Coporation would move. The MerCruiser engine, the first sterndrive powerplant over 100 horsepower, was just one of the many results of Kiekhaefer's detour.

[syndicat.com]

The MerCruiser 470 began production in 1976. It was a 3.7-liter inline four-cylinder engine that produced 170 horsepower, a powerful alternative to the 160- and 165-horsepower six-cylinder Mercury engines. The 470 featured a cast aluminum engine block designed by Mercury Marine, the name Kiekhaefer's company had taken in 1969, and the block was mated with an iron cylinder head from the Ford 460 V-8 engine. The same engine block was used in several other MerCruiser engines, including the 170, 190, 485 and 488. here

[SiBorg]

In 1961, Kiekhaefer merged with Brunswick Corporation, signaling the beginning of a new era for the company. Its products changed along with its corporate structure, and the first MerCruiser sterndrive engine was introduced in 1961, as well. The sterndrive was a compromise between inboard and outboard engines, and buyers loved the Kiekhaefer interpretation of the concept. The MerCruiser dominated the sterndrive market, and larger versions of the engine were developed in the following years. here

[sevyanfellow]

Set the standard, then surpass it� that's the Mercury way
In the early 1970s, a Mercury Twister II racing outboard set a world outboard speed record of 136.381 mph, breaking the old mark by more than 5 mph. And the company continued to break records around the world. The new Mariner Outboard was introduced in Australia and proved itself quickly, setting a new endurance speed record in 1975 during a 546-mile run from Sydney to Brisbane. An 18-hour running time slashed more than nine hours off the previous record. In 1976, Mariner Outboards were introduced in Europe and the United States; in conjunction with the American debut, three Mariner-powered boats ran up the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Chicago for a total of 4,500 boat miles.

[BrightAnarchist]

Racing into history
To promote his outboard business, Carl Kiekhaefer entered the sport of stock car racing. Driving large but powerful Chrysler 300s, his team's mechanical innovations and attention to detail culminated in two national championships - both the NASCAR and AAA circuits - claiming the largest collection of stock car racing trophies ever won in a single season and stunning the racing community. Among their innovations were the first dry paper air filters, which are standard in automobiles today.

[Nerd]

Stumbling into the outboard business� the best mistake ever more

[awwright]

Carl Kiekhaefer was a young engineer fresh out of college. With financial help from his father, he bought a dying outboard motor manufacturing company in Cedarburg, Wis. He never intended to get into the outboard business. His plan was to make magnetic separators for the dairy industry. But included in the assets of the company were 300 defective outboards that had been rejected by a large mail order retailer. Carl needed cash to keep his new business running, so with a small crew, he rebuilt the motors and sold them back to the mail order company. The engines performed so well that the buyer placed an order for more. Soon a second firm asked him to design and build an alternate-firing twin cylinder model. The Kiekhaefer Corporation was in business. here

[jimbobway]

Post-war boating boom
Before the war, an outboard motor was mainly a device to propel a fisherman's boat. A 6-horsepower was considered big. But immediately after the war, times were changing. With more money and more leisure time, tens of thousands of families were discovering boating. Water skiing, once deemed a pastime for daredevils, became a popular family sport, and one that required even greater horsepower. Kiekhaefer anticipated the boom in recreational boating and the increasing demand for larger and more powerful outboard motors.

[Nomatra]

History Of Mercury Outboards here

[eugene2k]

OptiMax is built with more Stainless Steel Components, which translates to saltwater durability, longer intervals between maintenance and lower cost of ownership. In addition, our lower-pressure DI system also provides superior component durability and longevity. Innovative features like Engine Guardian, a proactive warning system, alert you to anything unusual. OptiMax 200 and 225 horsepower models are available with SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift for a more enjoyable driving experience.

[AStephen2011]

The basic challenge of the stern drive concept was to marry the benefits of inboard and outboard motors. The inboard could produce far greater HP. For example, when the Mercury 60HP was the largest outboard motor available, anything from 65HP to many thousands of HP could be generated by an inboard motor. Unfortunately, inboards were clumsy to operate, inefficient and slow turning due to drag. They also required a large hole in the bottom of the boat, which demanded vigilant maintenance. more

[FreedomFirst]

The MerCruiser Stern Drive introduced in 1961 is the first collection to be painted black. The black color was suggested to make the large engine look smaller, but quickly became a brand trademark. The MerCruiser was a huge global success, and quickly captured 80% of the world market. Shortly after that, Kiekhaefer introduced the first 100HP and 125HP outboard engines, and with the launch of the Merc 1000 Phantom, an icon was born. here

[yommys01]

By comparison, the outboard motor was streamlined and agile with most of its weight in the very rear of the boat, and its efficient transfer of energy from the motor to the propeller allowed for steady control.As a young engineering student at MIT, Strang had tinkered with the idea coming up with an aluminum fire pump engine attached to the lower portion of a traditional outboard propeller and shaft. The truly innovative part of Strangs design was to incorporate a double-universal joint between the inboard motor and the outboard propeller, allowing for fluid steering control and maximum power transfer. He named his invention after a sultry comic book siren named Apacinata Von Climax, and the AVC drive became the first functional version of the modern stern drive. Strang tried to enter this prototype in hopes of having his hybrid be accepted as an outboard motor in speed racing competitions, but it was not allowed in the race and he put the idea aside. more

[Red]

1982 The Black Max was revamped to a 60 V6 Loop-charged engine, and was upgraded to 300HP. [links]

[jesicaaba13]

Inboards are designed for long life and a low-maintenance boating experience using quality materials like ceramic and stainless steel in the exhaust system and closed-cooling, topmounted starters and oil pans with better corrosion prevention. All Multiport Injection (MPI) inboard models offer optional DTS to ensure peak efficiency and performance DTS eliminates all helm maintenance and automatically synchronizes multiple engines, provides shift protection and provides SmartStart digital starting. and our exclusive Transmission Guardian delivers reliability like no other. [links]

[stbri]

Mercury Racing opened the new millennium with a new identity, a new logo and a new mission. As its president, Fred Kiekhaefer moved to erase the company's image as the "sugar daddy of racing" to instead position Mercury Racing as the maker of the most innovative products for recreational performance applications. here

[bittard]

No thanks. Continue to MercuryMarine.com

[earleenproehl]

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[phoebebright]

Competition in the outboard market was tough in the early 1970s, and Mercury Marine found itself at a slight disadvantage.

[Simly]

It’s easy to look back at 75 years of Mercury Marine history and point to major milestones, such as the first 100hp outboard in 1962, the first V-6 outboard in 1976 and the first fuel- injected supercharged sterndrive to produce more than 1000hp (the HP1075 SCi) in 2004.

[knascit12]

Table Under Development
If you can help us add brand information, Spec Sheets, Manuals, etc. that we lack, please submit the link or PDF to Editor#EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace “#” with “@”) so we can add it to the website. Thanks.
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[painge]

We are currently formatting and polishing the Anchors Aweigh Academy online and hands-on courses. The Marine Surveying course has proven to be excellent for both the beginner and the seasoned surveyor, and especially helpful to the Do-It-Yourselfer. here

[randomguy7]

FROM Huey: "I agree with my Uncle, I too have found the articles to be very enlightening. They say that it will take about 100,000 articles to cover the full scope that they have envisioned for the website. They have over 20,000 articles so far and that's doing pretty well, but it could take several years to get the rest. I also noticed that many of the Main Topic Pages and some of the article pages are still in the rough draft stage. I guess that they will fill in as they can get volunteers to work on them. But what I can't figure out is why anyone would spend the time writing informative in depth articles just to give away free to this website for publication? What's in it for them?" [links]