You won't find it on any map, but In a secluded part of rural Florida, where tourists have not yet invaded the calm and natural habitat, a road winds leisurely through farm land, cow pastures and open fields. At a dead end, a chain link fence and barbed wire, ward off uninvited visitors. Only a security code will permit admittance through the gate, which could harbor some top-secret, military intelligence. As the pine-lined road continues past wild turkey, strutting sand cranes, and deer bounding through cypress and magnolia trees, the visitor finds not military secrets, but sleek power boats, harbored behind a large plant facility.

This is Lake X, Mercury Marine's intensely private testing, service and research facility. Not everyone gets entry—it is a privilege, enjoyed only by top Mercury customers, respected race teams, approved government and industry groups, and an occasional reporter, like myself, who literally jumped at the invitation to visit, to watch Twisted Chyx, APBA Offshore's new female race team "dial in." When a boat achieves this prestigious feat, the boat receives a "Dialed-in at Lake X" sticker that Mercury Racing's director of sales and marketing, Tony Esposito, calls, "The most coveted 6" of space on a boat." While sponsors pay for visibility, and racers and boat owners proudly point out the logos of contributing companies, the Lake X sticker makes them beam—the few, the proud, the visitors of Lake X.

While the mere location is impressive--12,000 acres of pristine nature preserve, surrounding a 4 x 5 mile body of fresh water, its history is even more so. Lake X was "found" by Mercury Marine's founder, Carl Kiekhaefer, back in the 1950's. He needed a controlled environment for testing hush-hush new product, and after flying over broad tracts of Florida land, spied the site that fit the bill. He accumulated the adjoining parcels and developed the facility which has remained a private domain for Mercury since 1957. After Carl Kiekhaefer's death, his family, motivated by dire times in the boating industry, sold the property to the Kirchman Corporation, and now has a long-term lease with an agreeable landlord who seems to share the goals of the original owner. In fact, the landlord is said to remind many of "Mr. Kiekhaefer, or Mr. K, as he is respectfully called by employees. It seems most everyone here is a long-timer—and has nicknames. "JD", Jim Emmerson, has been on board for 40 years, while several share 20-year status. Ten years is not uncommon, and a 5-year veteran is still considered a "newby" at Lake X. They all function smoothly as a team, counting their blessings for going to work everyday at a place any marine-a-phile would give eye teeth to even visit. "There is so much history here," says Jaquie Sheets, a 10-year office worker who keeps everyone else in line. She fondly recalls anecdotes about Mr. K, referencing stories told in a book, Iron Fist, written about his life and business style. Though tyrannical, with a quick temper, he is revered by most and respected by all. He created an empire from a bad batch of motors, and not only his engines, but an entire racing legacy, lives on because of his tough and demanding work ethic. His son, Fred, now president of Mercury Racing, reportedly refutes the title of "Mr. K," stating, "I'm not my father," but carries on the traditions and business in his name.

"You can't have a bad day here," says Lake X operations manager Robert Moore, with a smile—a perpetual smile. "This is a dream job—this is a toy store," he beams, telling of his progression from Mercury international sales, to U.S. service, to his current position. "When they offered me the job, I asked how much would I have to pay them to take it!" Then reality set in. Moore came to work at the 40+ year-old plant and saw years of wear and neglect. With the focus on product, facility upkeep had apparently taken last priority, and years of weather and rust had taken a toll. "When I first came here, people used to think I was crazy. I just walked around and around the place looking at it and wondering what I could do with $100,000, wondering what I could do with $200,000. He finally put construction estimates together and went to headquarters with a proposal to renovate the facility. Much to his, and everyone's surprise at Lake X, Mercury agreed to invest over a half million to bring its testing base up to the standards expected of its dealers. The result of a year's work, with more to come, has impressed everyone who walks through the doors. The marine Mecca has become nirvana.

Inside the main building, bays filled with assorted race and pleasure boats, all awaiting attention from the crew of seasoned "go-fast" specialists. Proprietary parts, props and engines fill the walls and shelves, which are used for testing on customer boats, to determine exact speed, gear ratios, RPM's, prop size, and a wide array of performance specifics evaluated by the technicians. Over $900,000 in propellers are available, so boat owners can determine which are right for their needs, before they buy the wrong thing, making what can sometimes be a $7,000+ mistake. "Boats are like children," explains Moore, "They come from the same mold or parent, but they are each different individually and have special needs."

Drive shafts, gear cases and entire engines are inspected, disassembled and rebuilt, while each of thousands of moving parts are examined for wear, effectiveness or replacement. A Magnaflux machine uses magnetized solvents and a black light to find microscopic cracks that could cause serious damage or disaster while on the water. Broken engines and pieces are repaired or replaced and engines and boats are tested, using computer programs to analyze the center of gravity ,and every efficiency, so the engine can be tweaked for optimum performance. It could take two days to a full week to completely work out a customer's problems or individual needs, but knowing the boat is in the hands of the best of the best, warrants the time—and price tag. The shop is a service for customers, Esposito emphasizes, "We charge only for time and parts, and these guys charge a fair price—there are others out there who charge more and can't offer the level of expertise here." One long-timer, "Big John," VanderStel, is identified as having rebuilt at least 1,000 engines, and while he is at work surrounded by hundreds of minute parts, gears, screws and clamps, his fingers are equally nimble at the keyboard, tying all the elements together in a customized computer program that finely hones the measurements that guide his precision.

The Mercury Racing Trailers are also headquartered here--rolling hardware shops, filled with nearly a million dollars of parts, fittings, couplings, hose clamps and race paraphernalia of every conceivable shape and size. A full inventory of propellers is also being stocked by Jim Emmerson. This is his domain, the rolling shop, and its counterparts in the Prop Tour and one soon-to-come for the Drag Tour, will be at major races throughout the season, serving racers and their engine needs.

Another garage-type building acts as a special engine room, where boat builders can find secluded work space and a Hydrodynamics building houses a fully equipped prop shop and wood shop. Between the adjoining work areas, boat builders and mechanics can fine-tune boat bottoms or buff and polish propellers to cutting-edge sharpness.

And speaking of Cutting Edge, a new aptly named race team has a prototype new Factory 4 boat at Lake X, created by surf board designer Doug Wright. It is hoisted out of the water by a crane to make room for a customer test run, and a big Skater catamaran is eased into the water. From the viewing tower on the edge of the Lake (next project on the renovation list), we watch the boat slip slowly out into the water, where John Tomlinson, of TNT Custom Rigging in Miami, a frequenter of Lake X, takes his customer's boat to full throttle, slicing the water and solitude with a growling, guttural roar. The boat flies across the lake, unimpeded by water skiers, pleasure boaters, jet skiers, or manatees, and after achieving record speeds, boat owner David Scott gets ready to return to Lake of the Ozarks, with a set of Mercury engines he knows can take any other boat out there at the Outlaw Run. He also proudly sports a huge smile and a "Dialed in at Lake X" sticker.

At the same time, on another part of the lake, former Tunnel Boat racer John Sherlock doggedly running a new fuel efficient, low emissions engine that Mercury is perfecting for the 24 Hours of Rouen race in France next month. Sherlock occasionally takes a break from his back and forth, quick turn runs, to ruminate over something that is not just quite right, then returns after some fine-tuning to put more hours of testing on the engine.

Later in the day, the Ultimate Warlock race team comes to test some propellers, in preparation for the St. Cloud race. New team owner Richard Granville, sponsor of the APBA Factory Class, wants his fleet to be competitive, so the crew is taking advantage of their premium status in the Mercury hierarchy—since Mercruiser engines power all the Factory Class boats.

After roaring back and forth, trying several new props, the team pulls the boat out of the water, making room for the next candidate. The Twisted Chyx. Some crew members from another team marvel as boat owner and throttlewoman Teresa Ostrander, and driver Jaci Travers wash and ready the boat for its trail run. "She owns the boat, she's throttling it," they're overhead to say. They Chyx are here to stir it up--they too, are testing props and readying for their first race. Their crew, including Ostrander's fiance, Bob Eubanks owner and driver of the Twisted Styx Factory 2 boat, looks on with pride.

The Factory 1 boat roars to a start, and cruises out of the dock, low, lean and clean, its Mercury carbureted engine chortling as it takes to the lake for a run. The women have not spent a great deal of time in the boat together, but seem to find their groove, making turns and tracks around the lake. "It's fast!" they chime having taken stock of their fully-loaded weight, and comparing speeds and RPM's with the Lake X technicians. Ostrander, a former chemistry teacher and physics major, talks tech with ease and says she has finally found a fun outlet for all her training. Travers, who was brought up on boats and owned her first Scarab at the age of 19 (when finding someone who would sell her one, was her biggest challenge), gets comfortable with the maneuvering of the boat. They are invigorated and ready to return the next day for further testing, while a competing team crew member goes to get another propeller, shaking his head and saying, "I can't bet beat up by those Twisted Chyx girls!" The Lake X team just gets ready to hand The Chyx their coveted sticker—it's an equal opportunity testing facility, and this was just another day in paradise.