During my boating career, stepping up to a more powerful outboard was going from a 3.5-hp one-banger to a 6-hp two stroke. Once, about midlife, when I started making a better paycheck that afforded me some discretionary money for “play,” I really stepped up — to a 15-hp longshaft Evinrude. That was a good, reliable outboard that got me to the fishing grounds in a hurry, and off the water when the sky turned dark and foreboding. But the Evinrude’s lower unit went south, so I stepped back down to a 6-hp Johnson.

So, with this as a backdrop, I made the rounds recently at one of the premier boat shows in the U.S. — the Miami Boat Show. You talk about boats! And outboards!  And the smell of money and oppulence. A modest, low-end  boat/motor lashup at this affair would be a 16-foot Boston Whaler with a 60-hp Yamaha four stroke. If I told you the show-special price on the Whaler, you wouldn’t believe me. From there, the prices of the boats and the power plants just spiral as the zeros line up like Redcoats at Lexington.

What I like about the Miami Boat Show is that, because everyone dresses pretty much alike — sandals, T-shirt and shorts — the vendors can’t tell the casual tire kickers from the serious buyers with the fat wallets. As one of the former, I enjoy the special treatment I get when kicking my sandals off and stepping aboard a million-dollar power yacht for a look see. “Good afternoon, sir,” greets the vendor, “Welcome aboard. Help yourself to the wine and cheese. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

With a mouthful of cheese and cracker, I could not resist. “What’s the capacity of the dual fuel tanks, and the fuel consumption,” I queried with a serious vocal inflection and a raised eyebrow,

“She holds 500 gallons,” he said. “It’ll burn 4 gallons an hour at idle and, of course, much more than that at cruise.”

“Of course,” I thought. Quick mental calculation to myself: “$2,000.00 just to top off the tanks on this baby! Wow!” 

Lest I mislead you, The Miami Boat Show, however, is not just for neurosurgeons, orthodontists and drug runners. There is much to see and things, unique things, to buy that just about anyone can afford. German glue, for example. Special chamois cloths. Or small bottle of fuel stabilizer.

The march of technology is ever evident at this big boat show. A new, revolutionary concept in powerful outboards created quite a buzz at the show. Making its debut was a 557 horsepower outboard produced by Seven Marine. The inventer, Rick Davis, who cut his teeth as an engineer for Mercury, graciously explained to me in detail his outboard, and its genesis.  The heart of this new outboard is a horizontally mounted, fuel injected, 6.2 L supercharged GM V-8 small-block engine that has been “marinized.” It delivers 557 horsepower at the prop shaft!

Obviously, it is a high-priced outboard with a time-tested engine for a niche market. Its other features include a closed loop cooling system (no salt water near the block), an easy access door for maintenance, a ZF marine transmission with roots from inboard technology, quick change gear ratios, and precise high-speed steering. As you might think, the engine is no light weight at 1,100 pounds. My guess is that its marketing attraction to big boat operators who like high speeds is the fact that this outboard can replace the twin-outboards configuration, which is common practice on many Florida sporting and commercial vessels.

At high speeds there is a clear advantage in fuel efficiency and reduced drag when compared with two 300-hp four strokes on the transom. Oh, yes, one other unique option on the Seven Marine: your own personal color scheme, colbalt blue of the Caribbean or the iridescence of a billfish.

Price of this powerful new outboard? Don’t quote me, but my recollection was somewhere between $80,000 and $90,000.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He isalso a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM  101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected] and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”