Mercury TDI powered McLay 755

With 20 years industry experience Ross Christensen knows a good thing when he drives it, and he’s very excited about his latest combination – an alloy plate McLay 755 hardtop cruiser powered by a brilliant 3 litre, 265 hp Cummins MerCruiser Diesel (CMD) TDI engine.

“We put it on the water for the first time a few days ago and it was outstanding,” said Ross, the man behind the popular Fish City businesses in Auckland and Hamilton, NZ.

“I powered the McLay 755 before with a 300 hp petrol engine and that worked well, but this CMD TDI is something else.

“We’re already getting better top speed and better acceleration than the petrol engine, and I don’t think I’ve got the ideal prop on it yet.”

It was the TDI’s ‘unbelievable’ fuel economy which first interested Ross.

“The fuel economy is just outstanding,” he said.

“I was getting 1.2 litres/mile out of the petrol engine, now I’m getting 1.2miles/litre – and that’s a huge turnaround.”

The TDI’s additional torque has also impressed Ross.

“We’ve lost a little bit in overall horsepower but it doesn’t matter because the top speed and acceleration are better, and there’s an extra 100ft/lbs more torque which is really what you need.”

When Ross put the McLay 755 into the water, it weighed about 2,300kgs with people, fuel and equipment and the V6 265 hp CMD TDI handled it with ease.

“We reached a top speed of 70 km/h (43.5mph) at 4200 rpm and it was unbelievably quiet,” he said.

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