Yamaha’s Offshore V6
The team at Yamaha Motor New Zealand was clearly chuffed to demonstrate its 2021 big-bore V6 Offshore outboard range on the very day of its worldwide release.
Beating out many countries around the world, Yamaha Motor New Zealand put a pearlescent-white 300hp Offshore through its paces for New Zealand dealers and marine media in late January.
The new engine, the most powerful in the new Offshore range, was bolted to the transom of an Extreme 795 Hardtop, supplied by Inders Marineland in Gore. The boat had been transported to Auckland where the Yamaha Motor team undertook commissioning the new engine and its associated electronic systems over a few busy days prior to the launch.
Yamaha’s new V6 Offshore range, which comprises F225, F250 and F300 variants, is developed from Yamaha’s previous V6 Offshore generation. Yamaha has built on the success of those popular, ultra-reliable engines by keeping everything that was good, but adding improvements, refinements and new features. Yamaha says the 2021 Offshores are the most featurerich V6 outboards the company has ever produced.
All three new models use the big-bore, 4.2-litre V6 block. Instead of conventional steel cylinder sleeves, the new V6 Offshore engines boast motorsport-derived sleeveless cylinders with super-hard plasma fusion coated cylinder walls.
A sleeveless design results in larger cylinder bores for more displacement, giving more power and torque from the same overall cylinder dimensions. Other benefits include less weight, better cooling and reduced friction from micro-textured cylinder walls. The new engines perform better, are more fuelefficient and even more robust.
The new range incorporates many features previously only available in Yamaha’s flagship 425hp V8 XTO Offshore. These include built-in Digital Electric Steering (DES) – available in F250 and F300 only – and Thrust-enhancing Reverse Exhaust (TERE). There’s a newly-styled one-piece top cowling with water-draining air duct moulding, a new Xto-style bottom
cowling and apron shape, and eye-catching raised chrome graphics (DES only).
The new V6s are available in traditional Yamaha grey or pearlescent white with colour-matched lower units.
DES provides smooth, fast and precise steering control, but draws amperage only when actively in use, reducing battery loads. DES is less complex than hydraulic systems and easier to service and rig. There’s no need for steering pumps, hoses, hydraulic lines, nor for bleeding procedures – and it won’t clutter your transom or bilge. Steering effort is user-adjustable, as is the number of turns lock-to-lock.
There’s also a bolt-on version of DES for conventional F225, F250 and F300 DEC Offshore V6 models.
Yamaha’s Thrust Enhancing Reverse Exhaust, another XTO legacy, ejects exhaust gases above the cavitation plate at lower engine speeds. When reversing below 2500rpm, the propeller operates in clean water, resulting in much improved reverse thrust and superior control – great when backing down on a fish. Above 2500rpm, exhaust gases exit through the propeller hub as normal.
TERE was demonstrated to good effect aboard the Extreme 795, where Yamaha’s DES integrated with Helm Master EX to provide superb low speed manoeuvrability via joystick control. You can add Yamaha Autopilot, as fitted to the demonstrator, and Helm Master EX DEC control brings advanced features such as speed control, trim assist, Fish Point, Drift Point and much more.
Helm Master EX works well with all DEC outboards, but it works even better teamed with Yamaha’s new V6 Offshores equipped with DES and TERE, noticeable even with the singleengine installation we experienced. The boat backs better and holds position more easily using fewer revs.
New LED cowling lights flash a warning whenever Helm Master EX is operating and a new side-mount DEC is designed to make Helm Master EX available to a broader array of boats.
Also new is Yamaha’s exclusive Totaltilt function. This allows complete tilt up and complete tilt down from any position with a double press on the tilt-up or tilt-down button. The built-in trimtilt limiter helps prevent inadvertent damage and DES models also tilt higher to ensure the lower unit is clear of the water.
An Xto-style flushing grommet in the rigging tube provides another engine flushing option (requires a flushing kit), ideal for boats on marinas or those with suitable onboard freshwater supplies. Improvements to the lower unit include more durable components and a more streamlined design.
The ride is smoother, too, thanks to larger, softer lower motor mounts borrowed from the XTO, while rigging options are flexible, including different ignition keys (with great security features) and wireless fobs for single or multiple installations. Display options include CL5 colour display, analogue gauge options or interface options for a variety of third party MFDS. The Extreme demonstrator was fitted with a pair of fully interfaced Garmin MFDS.