Power boaters, check it out

[JV]

Click on interactive overview on the left hand side of this page.

If you have the Science Channel, you can see it demonstrated on Beyond Tomorrow, Episode 7. They do a comparo with a conventional stern drive boat, really cool technology.


The screws point forward, pulling the boat as opposed to pushing it, and the rudder, exhaust and propulsion are all co-located, so it gets a true horizontal thrust. Best of all, the entire unit turns in unison, so the boat can do a 360 and turn on a dime!

They rolled out this technology last year, but it's really hitting the market now.

JV

[alpac]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[Chris F.]

That's very cool! For the boaters out there, what have you guys heard about this technology, have there been any reviews yet?

How are Volvos engines considered in the industry? I've heard of Johnson, Evinrude, Mercury, Yamaha, etc...Who's making the best ouboard these days?

[JV]

I should add that according to the show I saw, the system is available for boats 38-53 feet long and costs 300-600K! It is 30 % more efficient than a conventional stern drive (in output and consumption). They raced 2 identical boats, one with the new propulsion system, one with conventional and the conventional drive had a 250 hp advantage and the new Penta driven boat kicked it's ass and had a 50% smaller turning radius. The exhaust is vented out underwater into the wake, so no fumes either.

I feel we are on the cusp of some cool auto/aviation/marine technology within the next 3 years or so. There is more money being thrown at it than ever before.

JV

[Thunder22]

I'm not a Volvo fan myself, and while this "outdrive" looks cool, it appears that there are a lot of turns in the power band to get the power from the engine to the prop, which is sometimes a problem.

That being said and not having seen it yet, I could be talking out of my ass

Give me a pair of big merc V or direct drives any day

[UCrewX5]

I read a review of that in PMY (Power and Motor Yachts), a magazine that I get, and it is indeed quite impressive. I suspect it won't be long until this configuration becomes much more mainstream

[Juanted]

Very nice! We'll look for it on my next boat! (yeah, right... in 3 - 5 years, it will "only" cost $100K ) Still... very cool, though!

Juan

[ylwjacket]

All the reviews on these have been very good. More power due to horizontal thrust, meaning smaller engine to move a comparably sized boat, meaning much better fuel economy.

There was a concern with these about what would happen if they hit ground. One of the mags was testing the engies, I think in a Tiara (which was the first to use these), and they - you guessed it - hit ground. Evidently, they bent the props, like you would a conventional, but didn't do any great damage beyond what you would normally do to a sterndrive.

They say you can turn much tighter circles.

Everything I've seen on these has been double thumbs up, and their applications are spreading as more boat makers design around them.

Gresch - you don't want a pair of big Merc Vdrives unless you have connections in Venezuela or the Middle East. Trust me, I have huge MErcs (8.1L 370's) in a V-drive, and they eat gas like there's no tomorrow. When a tank of gas cost about $400 (2 years ago), it wasn't so bad. Now that that same tank is about $1100, it makes for an expensive day on the water. I'm about a tank and a half from Key West, and I can fly my family of 5 there and back cheaper now.

[stef]

Really interesting,
Thanks.

;o) Stf.