When it comes to marine propulsion, a lot has changed in 60 years. Six decades ago, the sterndrive was still a new idea, a 100-hp Kiekhaefer Mercury was the most powerful outboard money could buy, and a diesel inboard often belched soot that coated a transom with an oily film. By comparison, today’s engines are cleaner, quieter, more efficient and would be unimaginably powerful to a boater in the early 1960s.
Two factors have influenced the evolution of marine propulsion: intense competition between key players in the market and the government imposition of exhaust emissions regulations. In fact, the technology created to control auto emissions has enabled the development of today’s clean, easy-starting and very powerful gasoline and diesel marine engines. And in the future, the investments auto manufacturers make in hybrid and electric vehicles will likely trickle down to marine power, fueling the next evolution in propulsion. As we anticipate that leap forward, let’s take a look back at 60 years of marine engines and celebrate the developments that have shaped today’s powerboating experience.
1964 KIEKHAEFER MERCRUISER II
The modern sterndrive was introduced as the Volvo Penta Aquamatic 100 at the 1959 New York Boat Show. It paired an inboard 100-hp Volvo engine with a transom-mounted outdrive that was steerable and tilted “to combine inboard efficiency and safety with outboard flexibility and speed.” The Aquamatic also offered 30 more horses than Mercury offered in an outboard. Kiekhaefer Mercury countered in 1961 with the
