Mercruiser

[ikucera]

I'm sure there is a thread somewhere, but I can't find it. I just moved from a 2016 A28 to a 2023 R8 surf. Loved the mercruiser 8.2 in the A28 and was surprised that there were virtually no options for that engine in the R8 surf (I believe mercruiser has a forward facing option). Was wondering why Cobalt appears to have gone exclusively to volvo, particularly in light of the increased weight of the 8.2 merc vs 6.2 volvo potentially being beneficial for a surf boat?

[jhnmdahl]

You can get the 380 or 430hp versions of the Mercruiser in an R8. Lots of dealers don't buy may of them by default, or unless someone orders one, as Cobalt and lots of customers somewhat prefer the Volvo and it's slightly cheaper. Now there's also the Monsoon-branded engines, which can give you the same 430hp but at about a $10k discount to the Mercury and in a 6.2l instead of an 8.2l block.

[ikucera]

Interesting. Strangely enough one of my friends had an R7 surf with the 380 volvo and it hydrolocked last summer and ruined the engine. In looking into it, it seems like that issue can pop up with the Volvos, and never with the Mercruiser. Like I said I get the advantage of the volvo in a conventional boat since it weighs so much less than the big block mercruiser, but you would think the extra weight could be an advantage in a surf boat.

[jhnmdahl]

Even in a surf boat, the weight of a bigger is always there whereas a ballast tank can be emptied when you aren't surfing. Plus there's the extra fuel per revolution of an 8.2l engine relative to a 6.2l engine, which makes a real difference in fuel efficiency. I have a big 5.7l cast iron engine in a 2016 that is about on par with the 4.3l aluminum block engine offered today - it's just the direction things are heading.