Hello folks
New member here.
Thought Id post some info on the Mercury Quicksilver 470 HD, as theres not much out there with respect to its capabilities.
Last summer, I was looking for an inflatable for use on our large (cold) northern lakes, as my 20’ freighter canoe isn’t the best for lake travel. My requirements for the boat were that I wanted the largest/beamiest craft whose boat and floor board packages could be easily moved around by 2 people, and it needed to be able to safely carry on step 4 people, fuel, lots of camping gear and a dog. It also had to be able to be able to carry this load whilst powered by a Yamaha F25C. This motor was picked as the largest 4 stroke that was still realistically portable. In a 20” shaft version, it is that. I can move it about and with 2, its very easily loaded into the back of a pickup bed. There was no information available on whether the 25 would be enough for this boat with the expected loads, so it was a bit of a gamble.
In the end, we decided on the Mercury 470HD. My brother has the SeaMax Ocean 470T, and I liked the size, although his is powered by a Tohatsu 30, which is most definitely NOT a portable, so his boat remains on a trailer all summer. Other friends have the same model boat in the 430 which felt a bit small for my purposes. I would have purchased the Ocean 470T but SeaMax was out of stock and was not planning on bringing any more in. The Mercury ticked all the boxes however, and I liked the fact that it had larger tube diameters and wider beam than the SeaMax. That, and a dealer in Edmonton had them in stock.
The motor came stock with an 11” pitch 3 blade prop, which was fine for break in purposes with just two of us and fuel.
After break in, our first trip was a 5 day trip with 2 friends, so it was a good test to see whether it would meet my initial requirements. For the trip I had installed a Solas 11” pitch 4 blade, but brought along both the stock 11” and a new Yammy 10” 3 blade. The Solas would not get us on step, which was disappointing, and I was beginning to think I was asking too much of the F25. I swapped to the 10” pitch Yammy, and we were up on step easily. Ive since purchased the 9” pitch Yammy 3 blade, which I imagine would step even more weight. Its not a speed machine with the 10” pitch, but moves the larger load very well even when throttled back and gets quite good mileage. If one reads the specs on the Mercury 470 HD, you might get the impression that it would be under-powered with the F25C, but thats not the case. Certainly a larger motor would allow you to take advantage of the 470s potential capacity, but youre not going to be taking a larger 4 stroke off and on easily.
After a summer of use Im quite happy with the 470HD. No issues with the build, and while its not a Hypalon boat, for the price, Im happy to give the PVC the care and maintenance it requires. Like all soft hulls, it can occasionally capture air pockets, but Ive found that with proper load distribution and keel pressures I can mitigate this issue, and honestly, it doesn’t happen very often. That being said, Ive never been in an inflatable that didnt experience this from time to time, the exception being a Zodiac Futura with the speed tubes. Like all inflatables in the price range, Mercury does cut some corners. The paddles (not oars) it comes with are toys, so I carry some proper laminated wood canoe paddles. Also, the storage bags are rubbish, but Ive since purchased some raft storage/transport bags from NRS in the US, and they’re very robust.
Hopefully this post will be of use to anyone looking for a similar sized inflatable/motor combination.
Cheers.
