When I first got my boat, before I was ready to dig into a service manual, I bought from Mercury an owners manual for my engine/outdrive. It lives in the boat's glove box, and while pretty much everything in it duplicates what could be found in the service manual, it is pretty handy at times. It has operating instructions, basic maintenance info, specs on the engine and fluids, etc. Sometimes if I'm puttering around in the boat and can't remember something, it's easier to pull out the little owners manual than to fire up the computer and look at the service manual. (Although, I'm gradually amassing many printed pages from the service manuals, as I like to print the pages when I'm doing major work.)
If you contact Merc with your serial numbers from the outdrive and engine, they can make sure you get the correct one.
