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There may a good reason to use a "long leg" Mercury engine even if you could get along without one. On the six cylinder Mercury Verados in particular if an operator inadvertently shifts from forward to reverse while moving forward at even a moderate speed the engine can ingest sea water resulting in catastrophic engine failure. The long leg engines seem less inclined to have it happen. I have not read about the same problem plaguing the Four Stroke Mercury 150.

With electronic shift and throttle it is very easy to shift to reverse when intending to shift to neutral, especially when trying to slow quickly to avoid a large wake or other hazard.