Although most boat shows were cancelled and the active ones were very different, there is quite a bit going in the marine industry. With new products being announced and some exciting anticipated products on the horizon, let’s take a look at a few new engines and features and what we might expect from 2021. Yamaha and Suzuki have a some new features added to popular engines and Mercury Marine is announcing something big on February 11.

Let’s start with Yamaha. I hate to butter my own muffin but When we wrote about the massive 5.6 V8 XTO Yamaha when it came out, I predicted the advanced electric steering system would trickle down to the V6 and it did. Yamaha has announced a new design for the proven V6 4.2L platform, with a cowl that looks like the big XTO, reverse exhaust thrust to enable more maneuverability around the dock and the highlight; the fully electric steering system on the 300 and 250 offshore models. The F225 remains unchanged and is offered as a 25” mechanical engine. The 300 and 250 are fully featured, digital 25”, 30” and 35” midsections for multi engine application.

I have sampled the steering on a demo and it’s really good. Developed by Dometic, the Yamaha version is integrated on the F300 and F250, making the rigging simple and really clean. For the other models, a bolt on version is available for standard models. This is a really slick system and is incredibly smooth and responsive. A CAN Bus signal and sophisticated scroll design in the actuator make is safe and precise.

This is the future of steering. Dometic offers an Optimus kit for any outboard and I think you’ll see many boaters adopt in short time. It’s important to note, this is not an electric assist steering, this is fully electric from helm actuator, no hydraulics at all; just plug it in.

Other than the digital controls and integrated electric steering the changes are mostly cosmetic. They look pretty good to me. The reverse thrust is nice I guess, just another feature I suppose but these are proven bullet proof engines. Will the SHO line receive any updates? I would say next model upgrades will be the SHO lineup.

Suzuki quietly upgraded the 4 cylinder lineup. We mentioned it before but the change is the gearcase for the 150 SS and 200 SS. This is a smart move by Suzuki, what used to be a decal motor with no difference is now much improved. Suzuki adopted the larger V6 gearcase with low water pickup and a beefier design, and also offered taller 2:1 gears.

For Suzuki this a big step where previously they geared all of their outboards far to low for any performance application, which the SS models were attempting to be in. Now they are much more competitive in the bass and semi-performance segment. Plus, these engines are very well priced and are excellent repower options. The 150 and 200 HP are essentially the same 2.9L engines, only the 200 has variable valve timing and is obviously tuned differently to create more power. They come in matt black only and the rev limiter is 6,100 RPM.

Mercury Marine seems to deliver big news every year, sometimes twice a year. With no Miami Boat Show, Mercury will do a big announcement on February 11th. What to expect? I think we see more than one thing but I hate speculating. A couple new engines, and some advanced features, that would be my guess. Vague, I know. Engines are getting more powerful, features are getting more advanced; digital. Will we see a mild hybrid 48V engine like a predict is the future for powerful outboards? Not sure but probably some day. Looking forward to the Mercury Marine announcement as always.