You heard it here first: Low Profile "Hidden" outboards coming soon.

Even the loop-charged large engines that came a few years later in the OMC stable were not as fuel efficient as the Mercury V6's dating back to the 70's.

 

Bracketed outboards have killed as many engines as no oil due to the water ingress into the engines for a myriad of reasons.

OMC engineers thought about everything issue ( except changing the height easily)
engines tilted clear of the water
air tight cowl with remote air tube
hydraulic steering straight to the swivel housing built into he swivel bracket, (still not done by anyone but the best steering by far)
They shipped with a electric fuel priming pump with bypass

OMC gained many patents

The other mistake I heard was the project went to the sterndrive department hence the not easy to adjust height story, so I was told

 

So how did they deal with the risk of explosion of petrol vapours in the sealed engine cowling ?

 

I've never heard anyone use the words fuel efficient and Mercury in the same sentence before ( till EFI)
I have heard fuel cooled
At max rpm a looper should be better than a cross flow
at low rpm a crossflow is better

 

My guess, by seeing the pictures of the OMC drive:

price.

 

as Outboards have reeds the USCG has clearly always determined it a non issue.
But yes if it went bang it would go up the hose into your boat.
I wonder if that ever happened?

Ask an insurance company what power is in the majority of boat fires and they say diesel ( turbocharged ones)
thats just statistics of course.

 

for sure, alot of extra small volume engineering added to an outboard


The sterndrive has the advantage as the engines cost a few hundred dollars OEM
( well they did back in the 80's)

 

The V6 Merc was a relatively efficient motor from the get-go in around 1976, certainly does not suffer by comparison with the OMC engines of the era, in that department. The Sea-Drive was probably a bit ahead of its time so far as market acceptance was concerned, but the obsolescent engine under the cowl would not have helped.

 

Yes to release that concept today with EFI engines would be a different story less the added expense competing with either sterndrive or conventional outboard