Petzold said the most common problem he sees with pods is owners not maintaining the corrosion protection. They dont cavitate and they dont ventilate. Zincs every year, costing a few bucks, a new Cutless bearing every once in a while, and a couple of brushfuls of paint for the struts and rudders. Thanks to all.just the practical advice I was looking for. The IPS-drives fit well in our boats, and our owners love their maneuverability, Pared says, and he has customers who can back up his word. We do a lot of high-speed trolling for wahoo at around 16 knots, and all the exhaust is under the water, so you dont smell diesel fumes.. Ill bet everyone whos read this far is asking, How much does all this cost? Maintaining pods is a lot more involved than maintaining conventional running gear, and therefore more expensive. As you will find by reading the articles on this forum about prop load and engine life, the resulting need to swap out your props with the Pods is expensive when compared to regular shafts and props. (Stranded in Guaymas, Mexico, I watched a guy true up a dinged prop using just a single jack and anvil. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. Eager to fish with them, I was along with Ed Szilagyi, then Volvos boatbuilder installation liaison and company captain, on that same Tiara demo. We raised several white marlin, and caught a couple for our junior anglers that were fishing with us for the day. are zeus pods still being manufacturedbest air quality cities in arizona 27 avril 2022. are zeus pods still being manufacturedaluminum upright bass for sale 16 avril 2022; are zeus pods still being manufacturedwooden postcard postage 24 mars 2022; But tick them off and its hard not to conclude that the trend is undeniable: More boaters prefer them every year, and while theyll never completely replace inboards, they are the future of boating. Hes also got a lot of applications engineering in his background. Zeus and ZF have only a few thousand pods in use. Fashioned out of high quality aluminum, the Zeus ArcPods are designed to hold up to 0.3 grams of dry herb and work perfectly with the Zeus Xtruder which directly connects to, fills up, and automatically ejects the pod once the optimal amount of dry herb has been loaded. If I could afford em, Id get em. With a shaft and strut inboard, you can pretty much pull up to any marina in the world and get it serviced. Zeus Pod Drive Transmissions. And often, pods do have less torque than shaft-driven boats. What does a shaft-type propulsion system really need? Autor de l'entrada Per ; Data de l'entrada ice detention center colorado; https nhs vc hh cardiac surgery a are zeus pods still being manufactured a are zeus pods still being manufactured If you seem to be going through zincs quickly, call an electrician, Fessenden warned. The pods require yearly maint that is beyond what regular trans, shaft and prop systems require. Buckley dismisses the fear of forward-facing props. When pods shear off, their recovery might cost a huge percentage of their value. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Sure the stories are one-sided, but as an aggregate source of information, theyve led me to conclude that pods are no more prone to failure than inboards but that when a pod breaks, the repair bills going to be higher. However, most sport-fishers rarely operate at wide-open throttle. You need go no farther than your marina to hear a list of suspects. Nonetheless, pods are not going away and I hope more marine techs will learn them. Richard estimated an average annual cost of about $2,500 for scheduled maintenance on twin pod drives. Another benefit comes from counter-rotating props on the pods. Cabos sport-fisher benefits from Cummins Mercruiser Diesels Zeus drive. He ran the boat down to sell it down there. Yes, you need to be concerned about steering and propulsion fluids (lower unit) but you are not dealing with shaft irregularities, cutlass bearing maintenance, and thruster maintenance. The Zeus ArcPods are the convenient method of preparing, loading, and transporting your dry herb for use with your, Fashioned out of high quality aluminum, the Zeus ArcPods are designed to hold up to 0.3 grams of dry herb and work perfectly with the. Once hes inspected everything and put it all back together, Petzold paints the pod. Months later, Mercruiser and Cummins joined forces to deliver Zeus pod-drives to boaters. A little cheaper because it was in SoCal. In sum, with todays technology, the best combination might be a shaft boat, bow and stern thrusters, and the Cummins power plant with electronic joy stick controls. Yet the pod makers are quickly closing that gap, and captains who have run them for several years indicate that the reliability has been very good. Around here most mercury dealers wont take it on. Then with the joystick, it directs the transmissions to pivot or swivel. The downside is pod drives are way more complex than conventional propulsion systems; consequently, pod-powered boats cost more to buy and maintain. They also dont have cutlass bearings or shaft seals to monitor and replace, nor separate rudders and steering systems to maintain, saving money on those items over the long haul. Check them just like you check zincs on a shaft, Petzold said: Swim down and have a look. Learn more about the 3rd Generation of Vaporizers is here: https://bit.ly/3xm5ASYThe patented Zeus ArcPod is a sin. A Valid Government issued Identification is required to receive product. The tank has a 24mm diameter (0.94 inches) and measures 50.5mm tall (2 inches tall). Once you go to 3 or 4 engines or pods, I'd rather have shafts as the fuel efficiency with triples is only 10% better and not worth the maintenance cost and in a 4 engine/pod installation they tend to burn the same amount of fuel AND much more maintenance of 4. You must be at least 19 years from Canada and 21 years from USA to buy and/or use this website. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Grant Bentley captains Home Run, a 60-foot Spencer. And often, they are recoverable and repairable. If your zincs are gone, your warranty might be gone too, Siebert said, so all his clients boats with pods are cleaned and checked monthly by a diver. Pods are designed to shear off without compromising hull integrity. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. He fished many tournaments with the boat, including the Mid-Atlantic at Cape May, the Pirates Cove tournament in North Carolina and several sailfish tournaments in south Florida. The bottom line is, while pods are difficult or in many cases impossible to retrofit, the boat really has to be designed for the pod from the beginning, although some V- and stern-drive boats can handle pods, too. Blades, pitch etc Read some of the posting by Tom Bartolomei about what he has been doing with his Sabre to tune the prop sets on his pods. However, the patent on forward-facing props a feature that Volvo Penta claims gives its drives better traction by letting the broad blades and narrow hubs of their counter-rotating props turn in clean water well below the surface was not utilized. When one of Sieberts clients hit a sandbar, it happened so smoothly that he didnt even realize hed lost drives until he revved the engines and the boat didnt respond, Siebert said. Volvo has one zinc hidden, but accessible, on the drive itself. Yet catastrophic groundings are rare for all boats, although again, the financial consequences for the pod owner are usually steeper. Pods from all manufacturers have proven reliable and trouble-free, when maintained correctly. Many boatbuilders have installed Zeus in existing designs as we did with the Sabre 42 Express. Yes, BM, thanks for all the info and posting your actual experiences always adds a lot of value to any discussion. Here at TVAPE we offer free shipping on every order above $100.00 inside Canada and USA. Initially, I too was surprised at the lack of trained techs in my area but once I realized you can use Mercury techs that have been to Mercury Diesel school, more options opened up. If one engine vibrates in gear and the other doesnt, its probably caused by fouled or damaged props. All told, figure $500 per engine annually, plus haul-out fees. And with good reasonthese propulsion systems offer several major-league advantages over traditional inboard power, so once a few savvy boaters got their hands on 'em . His company, Siebert Yacht Management commissions and maintains most new Sabre boats delivered to Palm Beach County, Florida, giving him considerable experience with Volvo IPS drives on Sabres 38- and 54-foot models and with Cummins Zeus drives on Sabres 42- and 48-footers, as well as those same hulls with conventional shafts. Cummins Marine Diesel Repower Specialists Forums Cummins Marine Engines Zeus Pods: Good, Bad, Ugly?? But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. At that time, the company boat was a 38-foot express cruiser with a pair of Volvo D6 370 hp diesels matched to IPS 500 series drives. Whats another three grand, compared to the cost of a boat big enough and upscale enough for pod drives? We backed around and spun both ways with speed I have only seen once or twice before. But I usually run at 32 miles per hour and get 1.5 mpg, he says. Comparing the Sabre 42 Hardtop Express, one with pods and one with shafts: At wide-open throttle, the pods horizontal thrust and contrarotating propellers increase economy (0.8 nmg for pods, 0.63 nmg shafts). That said, I have heard good things. Copyright 2023 Marlin Magazine. More interior room? Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. Savings on a long haul might disappear when slowing to navigate a tricky channel or speeding up to avoid a storm. Inboards props are angled downward, diminishing the power directed toward forward motion. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. Were still trying to sort through the answer to that one. Down sides were in the San Francisco Bay Area there is only one person that can work on them. Within a year or two, Paul Spencer built a 43-foot express with IPS drives that we fished in a tournament. When pods vibrate, propellers or jack shaft bearings are the likely causes. You dont have to redesign it to get our joystick maneuvering system. Caterpillar also offers a pod configuration with its CAT Three60 Pod 650, which is essentially a pod-drive married to a C8.7 engine. Today, 250s are middle of the road: Triple and quad 300s are common, and 400s built for everyday use are available, too. In addition, I enjoy the added efficiencies Tony mentions above. Sea Ray sells the 460 Sundancer with twin 550-horsepower Cummins diesels, with either V-drive or Zeus drives; the Zeus option adds $113,333 to the $1,004,768 price, according to Sea Ray. Stephen Smith is the southwest sales representative for Caterpillar. The biggest difference between IPS's and Zeus pods is the position of the propeller. Ongoing maint costs and difficulty of changing/replacing props over time. By continuing to browse this website, you agree to the use of cookies. Some could be rotated 180 degrees and run adequately facing either fore or aft. IMO, Zeus, or any POD drive, would not even be a close 2nd. Martin Meissner of ZF Marine says engine makers still dont have a handle on the potential volume. On Zeus drives, check the steering oil reservoir dipstick, and check the clear reservoir for lower-unit gear oil for any signs of water seeping into the drive. The bill to undo the resulting carnage came to $46,000, a figure that couldnt have been much worse if pods had been involved.). These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. I am looking for one that has been treated well and run as close to the ideal as possible. (A complete maintenance schedule, including annual and longer-term items, is in the owners manual, so pay attention to it.). To me the unit as a whole is way to complex than it needs to be. It seems that the Zeus pods have evolved over the years and later systems are more reliable than earlier ones. Review Images (jpg, jpeg, png) Max 3MB file size allowed. Their hull speed is usually 8 to 10 knots, and the power and efficiency of pods dont kick in there much, even though they benefit from the added maneuverability, less vibration and less smoke. And if they dont want them, I cant talk them into it.. The counter-rotating propellers and large rubber grommets the engine is mounted on means reduced vibration and engine noise. And what of resale? The noise and smell from a diesel goes away with pods, said Bentley Collins, Sabres vice president of marketing and sales, and with joystick control, you dont have to worry about crashing into the dock.. Having the ability to move sideways, spin and dock raises the comfort level, especially for an inexperienced boater who wants to weekend but doesnt want to train on an 18-foot vessel, Meissner says. (Power & Motoryacht once had a company boat powered by inboards with which the publisher at the time rammed a sunken fuel barge at a healthy clip. You get a little cavitation but nothing close to the noise from shaft-drives, he says. The counter-rotating propellers and large rubber grommets the engine is mounted on means reduced vibration and engine noise. But, the lids. Both throttle and steering. The vaporizers displayed on this website are not intended for or made to prevent, treat or diagnose any illness. Pods require drive-oil changes every 250 hours or annually. Zeus Transmissions are available at ZF Marine! In fact, shafts and struts have been driven through the hull by groundings and collisions with floating debris. Over time, fishing line will damage the seal, and it can score the shaft, too. If so, does anyone know whether they will continue to produce replacement drives/parts? Most new boats developed in the 35- to 45-foot class were pods. If you arent happy with the local dealer, you can call the concierge and get a tech in Tennessee. Sophisticated diagnostics go with every engine now. Featuring a patented design that provides the simplest solution for vaping on the go with your Zeus 3rd generation vaporizer. Petzold pulls the props annually to grease the shafts, and to remove any fishing line or other foreign matter on the shaft or wedged into the seal. The 390 with Volvo 600 IPS drives was absolutely one of the most fun and outrageous-performing boats I have ever driven. . It wasnt so long ago that a pair of 250-horsepower outboards was as much power as any non-raceboater could hang on the stern. I can do a 180 in about a second and a half. Allow $450 per IPS pod, $350 per Zeus. International service is also a concern for pods. 2875 Jupiter Park Drive Suite 1700, Jupiter, FL 33458, All the Benefits of a Garmin Yacht System, 5 Romantic Destinations for the perfect Valentines Day, A Buyers Guide to the Intellian v240MT Satellite Antenna, Extended Warranty for Your Marine Leisure Products, Follow These Best Practices for Safe Boating, Essential Navigation Equipment and Tech for Your New Yacht, Keep Your Yacht Secure with a State-of-the-Art Security System, 3 Pieces of Tech Every Yacht Owner Should Invest In. Theres no free lunch, so there must be a hidden cost that no ones factored in.. Todd pauses thoughtfully before answering: We didnt run into that problem., While nobody can predict the ultimate size of the pod market, as more and more people experience them, the polarity between love and hate is apt to change. Instead, Zeus pods came with traditional aft-facing props and the traditional exhaust-through-hub design. Reply To: Cummins QSB Low Battery ECM Voltage, Marine Age the REAL age of a Marine Diesel Engine, Propellers Move Boats, Engines Just Turn Them, Everything you Need to Know About Marine Exhaust Systems, Continuous Duty A Different Perspective, This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated. A couple of tanks of fuel? But downward-pointing conventional shafts lift sterns, negating, or even reversing, that fuel-economy advantage at slower speeds (0.92 nmg shafts @ 15.9 kts. I worked on a boat with Zeus pods for about three years. Controlled at low speeds by a joystick rather than wheel, shifts, and throttles, pods take most of the angst, the apprehension, and, sometimes, the sheer terror out of close-quarters maneuvering. The result is a perfectly consistent amount of dry herb in each of your ArcPods each and every time, meaning you get the same great results with every session. They have the only tech here that will work on them. The sport-fishing world has seen builders such as Spencer and Winter Custom Yachts introduce several pod boats. There is definitely more maintenance with pods, said John Siebert. And the Zeus pods also came with a joystick. Pods also increase fuel economy and decrease vibration. However, I think the best application I have run to date was a 39-foot SeaVee with pod-drives. The pod version of the 42 Sabre, for instance, adds a queen bed and more stowage to the guest stateroom, as well as the option for a washer and dryer. by | Jul 3, 2022 | small rosary tattoo | Jul 3, 2022 | small rosary tattoo You get similar handling advantages to pods, but with less maintenanceand its easy to find a mechanic certified on Yamaha, Evinrude, Mercury, and other brands. However, the 48 Fly is offered with the engine you mention or with the IPS 700. Thats pretty good., Buckley also likes the IPS investment and isnt concerned about the sticker shock. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us . I can do that on 200 gallons. Short term fun, handling / high end features, and higher speeds vs. shaft drives at the same total (no too heavy) weight Mostly yes to these parameters, ZEUS would come in 1st. Not cool to open two threads on similar subjects, yup, definitely my bad, rookie mistake, thought I was posting in the forum the first time around. But how much more, and how complex is pod maintenance? Our white marlin came in hot on the teasers we fished up close to the boat. Pods operate independently of one another to provide vectored thrust in any direction, which makes the vessel incredibly maneuverable. Arrogant factory leadership, poor parts fill, and high parts prices scared me off. Long term cost of ownership based on 5- 10+ years of use, cruising long distances at economical wine & cheese hull speeds, ease of service (or just getting service or support) any time/any place. Heck, Mercurys Verado 400R comes with a two-year warranty, even though its got Racing painted on the cowl. Still, many boaters werent convinced. A failed shaft seal lets water into the pod, with unfortunate and expensive results. What customers are choosing is maneuverability. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Volvo uses SAE 75w140 oil for both the transmission and lower unit. To start with, Zeus and IPS boats have to be hauled after their first 25 engine-hours. . The inboard has simplicity and ubiquity. At first no one trusted them; now you can hardly sell a car without one.. are zeus pods still being manufactured. Care should be taken prior to using a vaporizer, as vaporizing will not necessarily eliminate any and all toxins found in vaporized blends. But who cares, really? Okay, the last bit is trueas if running over a submerged jetty or grounding hard on a shell bank wouldnt damage conventional props. If you get to know these pods and keep regular checks on fluid levels, they will treat you well. I have personally ruled out any boat with PODS, IPS or ZEUS, for those 2 main reasons. Pod access aboard the Riviera 43 is through the cockpit sole. Cummins QSC 8.3 Zeus pods long term support, https://www.yachtforums.com/converszeus-pods-long-term-support.17232/#navigation, https://www.sabreyachts.com/motor-yachts/fly-bridge-sedan-48/fly-bridge-48-performance-data, (You must log in or sign up to reply here.). After the tests in Sweden, I then did a leg of the trip on that first Tiara Volvo demo boat, heading west in the New York State Canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. Superior to bow thrusters, which can drain your battery and leave you stranded - Zeus Joystick Piloting for Pods is integrated with the pod drives, without relying on battery power. The problem vs. Volvo is that the Zeus Cummins combinations are limited by Cummins engine sizes and that limits them on larger boats. Joystick control? If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. x 33 ft.), SMX Bronze Freshwater Flush Cap for Groco ARG Series Strainers, Bronze Tee Adapter and Freshwater Flush System, Military Style Top Post Battery Terminals, Heavy Duty Marine Grade 316L Stainless Steel Washers, Cummins Marine Diamond Performance Series Engine Sticker, ZF Marine Transmission Sales & Current Inventory, ZF 45-85 A/IV Shift & Troll Cable Bracket, ZF Marine Transmission Oil Drain Line Kit, Suredrive Coupling for Borg Warner & ZF 220A, Suredrive Coupling for ZF 301 & 302 VLD/IV with Vulkan L, Marine Flex Plate (Velvet Drive, SAE 11.5), Vulkan Vulkardan-E (2K3411S004) SAE No. No more packing on the go, just pop in and enjoy. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. That said, the pods are a bit more in annual maintenance. Its also hard to put a price on joystick control, which completely changes dockside handling. Inboard props slip in both forward and reverse. Most yards will repaint a pod for $300. The company didnt invent them, but it made pod a household word among boaters. Im a pessimist, however, and because of this Id budget $3,000, quite an upcharge from just replacing zincs. Along with Volvo, who now makes the IPS drives from 260 to 1,000 hp, Cummins and MerCruiser partnered to join the fray with their Zeus pod-drive system, complete with SmartCraft monitoring and system management that integrates the vessels electronics, propulsion and onboard systems. Here are both performance charts. Zeus ArcPods Lid pack filled with 50 paper lids for the Zeus ArcPods (sold separately). Boats do sink from that very thing. Plus, when we haul the boat, well catch problems a diver wont see.. In standard shaft and prop boats, props lose their bite in close-quarters maneuvering, Smith says. To get a good hole shot, Zeus countered with automatic trim tabs and matched the pods with tunnels to reduce draft. Regardless of prop orientation, the first drives were a far cry from the watchlike beauties brought forth by Volvo Penta and, later, Zeus and ZF Marine. "Cummins says you don't have to haul, but it takes a lot more time to suck that heavy oil out than to just drain it from the bottom," Siebert said. The boat had a set of outriggers, and fishing out of Beaufort, North Carolina, we caught the first billfish ever with an IPS drive system. All rights reserved. One described his skepticism like this: Its just too good to be true. Pivoting a boat is simply accomplished by twisting a joystick. Shafts, Props and a good ole thruster or 2 can have you handling your boat like a POD boat. Volvo Penta introduced the first pod-drive system in 2004. Better fuel efficiency? But how do you compare boats? The biggest fear boaters have is not about running out in the open water. Most pods require service after a short break-in period at 25 hours or so. With quad outboards, Id get about 0.7 miles per gallon. pathfinder kingmaker river's justice . Will Pod-Drives Overtake Conventional Shafts and Struts? You can also reach us at +1 (833) ZF WRENCH. The drive can be simultaneously connected to electric propulsion too. While it is possible to reuse lids to reduce your consumption cost, they will impact the flavor negatively, same way as a disposable cup will impact the flavour of your coffee negatively if reused. Is there some X Factor or Factors that negates the pods proven advantages? Other than checking anodes, Petzold said the most important thing to do is change the fluids per the maintenance schedule, and use the recommended gear oil, or oils. I'll also add that I REALLY like pods for the fuel efficiency (25-40% better) and maneuverability in a twin engine application. 2023 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved. How to Manage Boat Finances During a Recession, Gamefisherman 43 Express on the Drawing Board, Marlin Expeditions Offers Light-Tackle Paradise in Guatemala. Lets have a look. In the past decade, high-tech pod drives have changed the face of powerboating, and for the better. Zeus service includes changing 0w30 SAE transmission oil, hydraulic steering oil and filters inside the hull as well as 90-weight gear oil outside the hull. Mark their location any way you can, with a waypoint or a buoy, said Steve Little, president ofTowBoatU.S.