2-Stroke Mercs Still Live!

[ctpdsr]

There seems to be a growing interest in the Midwest for Outboard Drag Racing using simple Bracket rules. The vast majority of the entries use 2.4L and 2.5L two-stroke V-6 Mercs. One might not think of these as true "Oldmercs", but think about it for a moment. The 2.4L 175 HP V-6 that I run around with on my Hydro Stream was built in 1989! The few races I attended with my son a few years ago were poorly organized and the boats were in various states of repair. The race we saw last weekend in Freemont, WI was very well organized and the boats were really sharp and professional looking.

The sound of these V-6 Mercs at speed is awesome. I tried to post a short video, but could not get it to take.

Chuck
https://www.umpba.org/

[Bob]

You’re so correct about the incredible sound of these V-6’s. My friend from Minocqua had two 2.5l engines and we would roar around at 109 mph. He had huge chopper blades don’t remember the pitch.
If I recall each were rated at 260 hp. But he did a lot of modifications and believe he was running close to 300 hp at the prop shaft. He liked the water to have a 5-6 inch chop . It was a blast, then I realized 60 mph was fast enough for me.
I may be off on the hp but that’s ok with me. It was fun, then he sold the boat.
Now I’m safe again.
Bob

[ctpdsr]

Bob,

The prop on my Blue Boat is a 26" Merc Chopper II. Hull is a 1980 V-King with original exterior finish but complete re-core and transom. I ran a kneel-down Runabout and Hydro's in the 1980's. Time for a comfy sit down ride at 80 mph.

Chuck

[Michael]

[outboard-rob]

Wow, That picture of the HydroStream looks like something out of a Mercury Brochure. Thats beautiful.

[ctpdsr]

Thanks Rob!

My Son Nick helped out a lot on this project. These hulls were super trick in the day and in my opinion, the styling is timeless. The shorter 15'-17' versions are perfect for a classic inline-6 Merc enthusiast.

Chuck

[spitdoc]

That is way cool!

[Locomotion]

Chuck,
Great looking boat, what is the length?

[ctpdsr]

https://hydrostream.com

The V-King is 18' and designed in 1978 specifically for the then-new V-6 Mercs. The earlier Vector hull was 17' and worked quite well with the inline-6's.

HydroStream produced some of the most beautiful and silly fast hulls during the era. As a kid, I dreamed of the little 14' Vixen that closely resembled my Dad's 1952 13'6" Switzer Bullet. There were a lot of cool fiberglass outboards in the 70's including Checkmate, Marlin, Glastron and Switzer. If you wanted to go really fast, you bought a HydroStream.

Chuck