NSW Water Police gain performance with Verado

by Jonathan Revitt on 12 Feb 2013 It was fast and furious to start with – now it’s even better. NSW Police has repowered one of its high-speed pursuit craft with a pair of Mercury 200hp L4 Verado outboards.

The engines haven’t only given the aluminium-hulled inflatable boat better low-to-midrange performance, they’ve also made it more manoeuvrable.

'The craft was powered by two Mercury 3-litre 250hp TwoStroke engines which could push it fully-loaded to the 45 knot mark,' said Darren Whitfield, Mercury’s Regional Manager for NSW.

'Even though we’ve reduced the overall engine power by 100hp, the boat is still just as quick – hitting 47 knots the other day,' he said.

'The newer, more technically advanced Verado FourStrokes get more power into the water, particularly for mid-range performance, while still providing a better hot-shot and improved responsiveness in the 10-20 knot range which is critical for this application.'

The previous engines had each notched three years of service and were ready to be replaced with the ‘greener’ Verado engines.

One of the features of the Verado is the Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) system which comes standard, providing instantaneous gear changes and throttle control for greater manoeuvrability and control.

Darren said: 'With this police craft the two motors are synchronised so the driver can control both engines with just one lever which makes driving much easier, from high-speed manoeuvring to docking, especially when the water is rough.'
'The feedback from the crew has been extremely positive. They clocked up 27 hours in the four days since it was first commissioned, and it is already the boat of preference.'

Mercury’s SmartCraft gauges were also installed during the repower. Mercury’s exclusive SmartCraft engine-management system automatically adjust engines for optimum performance in all conditions, and provides continuous information to the helm including fuel consumption, estimated range, remaining fuel, trim level and much more.

It adds up to superior real time information, all at a touch of a button.

More at www.mercurymarine.com.au