When Cyclone Pam devastated Vanuatu last year, adventure tour operator Nautilus Watersports lost three of its boats.
Luckily, Senior Skipper/General Manager Peter Phillipps knew there was a second-hand Marlin Broadbill dive vessel for sale which he bought the next day to keep his business afloat as the country recovered.
“It’s a good boat but the engines were pretty tired so I’ve just repowered with a pair of 115hp Mercury SeaPro outboards and the benefits have been amazing,” Peter said.
“My fuel consumption is now approximately half of what I was using before.”
“They are also extremely quiet – so quiet I need to double check they’re running – which has really improved our customers’ experience as they can now easily converse while we’re cruising to and from the dive sites.
“There are no fumes at all and they are very smooth and responsive.”
Peter’s happiness came to light when he wrote a testimonial praising Roger Pinerua and his team at Vila Marine, who recommended and fitted the new SeaPros.
“I wanted to go on record to say thank you. I’ve just had the first service done by the Vila Marine team and it’s a pleasure dealing with Roger as he’s constantly looking for ways to save on our expenses yet do everything by the book,” Peter said.
A mechanic by trade, Peter appreciates the thinking that’s gone into the SeaPro engines.
“We’re a commercial operator in a tropical environment so outboards are under a lot of pressure,” Peter said.
The Marlin is in use daily, routinely making three trips a day to the local diving spots.
“SeaPros haven’t been over complicated. They’re built to perform well and perform every day.”
Commitment to commercial operators
SeaPro engines reflect Mercury’s commitment to create the most durable, most reliable four-stroke outboards for commercial applications that are also easy to maintain and deliver outstanding fuel economy.
Along with Mercury’s exclusive multi step paint process, SeaPro FourStroke engines come standard with an anodized driveshaft housing, further decreasing the opportunity for corrosion and improving performance and life in harsh saltwater environments.
SeaPro FourStroke engines come packaged with full SmartCraft compatibility which allows operating metrics and diagnostics to be displayed on Mercury’s latest range of industry leading digital gauges, giving drivers a clear window to engines performance data.
