Outboard engines power on

This article originally appeared in the March/April edition of Boating Industry.

“If you go back in time, you would see inboard and sterndrives with a lot of share in salt water, but that changed a couple of decades ago due to the viability of outboards,” said Ben Speciale, president of Yamaha Marine. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, in freshwater, outboards replaced a lot of applications on the larger freshwater boats too.”

OEMs are continuously working to enhance the boat ownership experience for new and returning consumers, and the outboard motor segment plays a role in achieving this goal. The power solution can offer several benefits for interested boaters; it can increase deck and storage space, extend the boating season, and reduce the stress of maintenance and winterizing.

As the outboard motor continues to power boats in freshwater and saltwater, the consumer is asking for more than just increased horsepower. Consumer demand for connectivity continues to grow, electric and hydrogen power solutions are working into the market, and reliability remains top of mind.

Honda Marine and Yamaha Marine are working to address these topics, along with changes brought by industry regulations and sustainability eff orts.

“We have a great market share in commercial already, but from an opportunity standpoint, our greatest opportunity to grow is with the recreational side,” said Russ Stevens, national sales manager of Honda Marine.

At the Miami International Boat Show, Honda shared that its outboard segment is trending positively, despite overall marine industry sales having declined in 2024.

“The outboard power solution in the industry will continue to grow to a higher percentage, especially as we continue to develop these systems,” Yamaha’s Speciale said. “It’s common to see a 40-foot outboard boat. Now, you’re seeing them move into freshwater with outboard power.”

Adding more horses

In the next three to five years, Honda expects consumer demand for horsepower to remain in high.

“It’s horsepower, horsepower, horsepower,” Stevens laughed. “More and more boats that have traditionally used inboard propulsion or sterndrive propulsion are now going outboard. That means that 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-foot boats now use outboard as propulsion… I think American consumers want big, fast, fancy, cool. That seems to be where the market is going.”

Larger boats, including those in the 30-foot range, are now being designed specifically for outboard power. The added horsepower capabilities of modern outboards make it possible for manufacturers to offer larger vessels with multiple outboards instead of inboard or sterndrive configurations. Pontoons and deck boats integrate high-horsepower outboards to cater to performance enthusiasts as well.

In 2023, Honda released its first V8 engine, the BF350. This year, Honda revealed the McLaren Performance M300, developed in collaboration with McLaren Engineering. McLaren is also performancetuning base models of Honda BF250 high-power engines to enhance top-end power and mid-range torque. Yamaha’s largest outboard motor is the XTO Offshore, offered in 450 or 400 horsepower variations.

Smarter, smoother sailing

Integrating systems and using digital architecture to connect the outboard engine to other onboard systems is a growing demand according to Yamaha Marine consumer research.

Stevens said that large companies like Brunswick lock other OEMs out of certain businesses, so Honda is focused on partnerships with digital integration suppliers. “That’s Honda’s greatest opportunity – to find those partnerships,” Stevens said. “We’ve got good resources and it’s a part of the job that I most enjoy.”

Yamaha also views connectivity as an important area of growth in the segment and is focused on increasing this throughout the boat in the next few years.

“We see Siren [Marine] products, connected products, moving way down the product line,” Speciale said. “Over the next year, we’ll be rolling out more of those solutions because we find that even though the big boat likes it, the people on the smaller boats have just as much passion, or more passion, in their products. They want those big boat products moving forward.”

This year, Yamaha introduced tiller handles on its larger 150 and 200 horsepower platforms. This Spring, Siren Marine’s Siren 3, based on the flagship Siren 3 Pro, will be available for all outboard powered boats, including small to mid-sized, allowing boaters to monitor, track, control and maintain their boats through the connected app.

A Wireless Control for the Helm Master Ex boat control system was released at the Miami International Boat Show, offering full joystick control when away from the helm. Anchoring, autopilot, depth monitoring and other functions are now possible anywhere on the boat.

Honda is also moving digital integrations down its lineup. First introduced in 2014, the Honda Marine Intelligent Shift & Throttle (iST) plug-and-play system is now available on the BF350 flagship motor all the way down to the BF115 model.

At the Miami International Boat Show, Honda showcased a new iST Concealed Side Mount Control on the BF350 engine and L4 and V6 outboards, offering features like cruise control, auto tilt, and trim support. The OEM has also released a larger seven-inch display that allows for expanded monitoring of Honda engines and includes features such as setting trim/tilt limits, cruise control, and trim support profiles.

“Digital integration is one of the biggest opportunities for growth in the industry,” said Ryan Martin, product planning director of Honda Marine. “The increasing adoption of drive-by-wire, steer-by-wire technologies, the convenience, the enhanced safety, all the diff erent advantages that it brings to the customer, these operations allow the customer to enjoy their time out on the water and spend more time interacting with friends and family because the boats are easier to use.”

The OEM seeks partnerships to increase the integration of technology. To advance partnership integrations, Honda outboards are NMEA 2000 certified, which Martin explained is the communication backbone infrastructure that many integration systems use.

“From a consumer standpoint and from a boatbuilder standpoint, ease of installation, fewer switches to install, having everything controlled through a single device… It’s a huge selling point,” Stevens added.

Power solutions emerging

The electrification of marine products is underway, but adoption barriers like battery range and power are directing the market.

“Electric has a lot of really good things going for it,” said Martin. “In general, they’re quiet, they’re environmentally friendly, and they’re pretty easy to take care of.” But he addressed that electric power density does not yet compete with internal combustion engines. The cost and weight of batteries are also pressing factors.

Stevens stated that the industry is “a massive technology development away” from the electric solution powering larger boats due to range, horsepower and battery weight restrictions.

“Right now, the strongest [consumer] for electric is in the smaller stuff,” Martin agreed. “The 2 kW size engines are where the most potential is at this point.”

As boaters requiring smaller engines continue to adopt electric outboards, the power solution may be increasingly considered by larger boat owners, for certain application uses, setting the industry up for success as it approaches the electric technological advance on its way.

Speciale addressed that the industry must invest in multiple technologies as it works to increase sustainability.

“There’s no one solution for power plants in our industry because boats need to run nearly wide open throttle for long periods,” he said. “We’re looking at a number of solutions. One, sustainable fuels could be dropped in to reduce the carbon footprint. The other, we’re doing a lot of work around the hydrogen outboard concept. Electric is part of the solution – it will probably be on the lower horsepower side.”

Hydrogen power

In 2021, Honda announced its initiative to achieve carbon neutrality for all its power products by 2050.

“When it comes to hydrogen, there are two major components to it,” Martin said. “One is the availability of the fuel – the infrastructure around transporting hydrogen. And two, the hydrogen fuel cell. Honda has done a lot in the past year to really make a lot of technical advancements on the hydrogen fuel cell technology on the automotive side of things.”

He explained that while expense has been a factor, Honda has made advancements in hydrogen power technology to reduce the cost of this power solution. “Honda is coming out with some CRV hydrogen vehicles in the near future, so I think watching how automotive progresses with that will give us some things we can do in different areas of our business,” Martin said.

In 2024, Yamaha revealed the world’s first hydrogen-powered outboard for recreational boats. Built on Yamaha’s 450-horsepower XTO Offshore platform, Yamaha Marine is testing its H2 hydrogen outboard concept on the water now.”

A reliable future

Martin stated that market trend studies place reliability as a high demand for consumers. “The division is striving to deliver what all customers desire – maximum time on the water,” he said. “And building engines that not only supply that reliability, but that are also high performance, quiet, reliable, fuel efficient and easy to take care of.”

As an exclusive four-stroke engine manufacturer, Honda also offers its VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) system, which enhances power and efficiency while maintaining durability. BLAST (Boosted Low-Speed Torque) is a Honda technology designed to improve acceleration by advancing ignition timing, which helps maintain performance even in rough conditions.

Both Honda and Yamaha use multi-layer paint processes and aluminum alloy components to prevent corrosion.

Yamaha launched a promotion at the beginning of the year for its four-stroke outboard engines, offering customers who purchased eligible new Yamaha outboards in the 30-to-450 horsepower range two years of Y.E.S. coverage in addition to the Yamaha Limited Warranty coverage, a total of five to seven years of coverage protection.

Yamaha also offers a Shift Dampener System (SDS) to reduce noise and vibration when shifting, extending the life of the gear case and propeller, and Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) for smooth operation, improved fuel efficiency, and reliable starting in all conditions.

Keeping a weather eye

“Our biggest challenge has nothing to do with products in the industry, it has to do with unintended consequences from a legislative point of view or regulatory point of view,” Speciale said. He used vessel speed and recreational fishing restrictions as examples of challenging policies.

“Boats are a tool to go recreate or fish,” he added. “Whenever we limit access, those are the biggest challenges or threats in our industry.”

Yamaha, like other OEMs, is involved in federal and state-level advocacy to help shape policies that impact the boating industry voice. And despite regulatory challenges, OEMs remain committed to pushing the boundaries of outboard innovation, ensuring that boaters can continue to explore the water with more power, efficiency and reliability.