| Testimonials:
22 March 2007
Verado - the best
motor Malcolm’s
ever
had
When Malcolm Douglas, Australia’s
original crocodile man, starts talking about outboards
it’s a good idea to pay attention.
That’s because his words come
backed up with 40 years’ experience and more nautical
miles than he cares to remember.
“I started around outboards
seriously in about 1965 and it’s gone on from then,” he
said.
Malcolm has been filming
documentaries about Australia’s beautiful and ferocious
wilderness areas since the 1960s, and is constantly
using boats for transport, filming and in his
conservation work.
Based at Broome, Malcolm regularly
goes 50 nautical miles off shore chasing Red Emperor and
will go even further for a good Barramundi... and those
are his short trips.
He’s a man who’s crossed Bass
Strait in a rubber ducky, been up to the Kimberley
40-or-so times, and who regularly goes on two-to-four
week trips covering up to 200 nautical miles a day.
So when he says his Mercury Verado
175 is “brilliant” you know he means it.
“I would say it’s the best motor
I’ve ever had, for a number of reasons.
“The torque is fantastic. It’s so
quiet that when I’m trolling into the wind I have to
turn around to make sure it’s still running. It’s also
amazingly fuel efficient.
“I’ve got a 6.4 metre boat and when
we go away on a trip we load up with three blokes and a
dog, 800 litres of fuel, water, tucker, and all our
camping gear and film equipment – something you’d never
do down south.
“We put a different propeller on
the Verado to push all that weight, but even then it’s
still probably 25% more efficient than my old motor.”
A supercharged fourstroke, the
Verado also produces ultra-low emissions and has the
lowest vibration level of any outboard ever built.
Malcolm said he was a bit concerned
when he first saw the Verado’s fully computerised
control system - including the Digital Throttle & Shift
controls and the SmartCraft digital management system
which optimises performance - but now he’s a convert.
“I was expecting things to go wrong
but it’s incredibly reliable. One flick of the switch
and she kicks over. It never misses a beat, and that
reliability is exactly what you want when you’re going
into some of the places I go.”
 Or
if you’re just heading off shore with the kids.
Even though he’s well into his 60s
now, there’s no sign of Malcolm slowing down.
He’s just delivered five episodes
of his latest TV series and he’s busy finishing his new
film The Wild and Dangerous Kimberley Coast. At
the same time he’s preparing his wilderness park,
outside Broome, for its grand opening – the culmination
of eight years’ labour.
“That’s one of the reasons we’ve
been up the Kimberley so often. We’re collecting rare
and endangered species for the park which will have a
very serious conservation role in this region,” he said.
“I had Mercurys for seven or eight
years now, and I wouldn’t consider changing brands now.
“This Verado is so good I rave
about it and I’m not just saying that.
“I won’t change.”
For more information visit
www.mercurymarine.com.au
|
Mercury is a division of the Brunswick Asia
Pacific Group, a division of Brunswick
Corporation, including leading marine brands,
Mercury and Mariner outboard engines; Mercury
MerCruiser sterndrives and inboard engines;
MotorGuide trolling motors; Quicksilver Parts
and Accessories, and boat brands Sea Ray,
Hatteras, Albemarle, Baja, Bayliner, Boston
Whaler, Sea Pro, Maxum, Meridian, Trophy,
Bermuda, Savage and Quicksilver.
www.mercurymarine.com.au
www.brunswick.com |
|
