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Star Ship's Intrepid has a trio of 3.0 litre Mercs. The decals have been removed, so I can't say if they are the 250XS models (275 horsepower) or regular 200-225 Opti's. I've run next to 377' Intrepid equipped with triple Merc 250XS's (loaded down with 8 passengers) and I was VERY surprised at the top speed on this boat. The top speed on my PowerPlay is around 75 mph and I wasn't "running away" from this Intrepid.
Intrepid builds a solid boat, although they're a bit pricey. The performance of the boats are not exceptional, because they are on the heavier side of the scale. The performance is really a by-product of the Merc 250XS's. These are GREAT motors, that are under-rated by the factory. They are hand-built, ported and balanced, much like Merc's 2.5 litre race motors.
I've got a pair of the 3.0 litre 200 Opti's and they are *BY FAR* the best motors I've owned from Mercury. Fuel efficiency on the Opti 's is remarkable too. Although the 250XS models don't get the same gas mileage, their power output approaches many of Merc's high performance engines... but with increased reliability and gas mileage.
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