Input on V Drives vs Zeus Pods

Bryan, I had a 420 Sundancer with shafts as my previous boat and yes it was very easy to control and dock.
When I purchased my 540 which came with pods, I was a bit skeptical and nervous.
All the things that have been written here are correct. The turbulent water, the fact that you can replicate the same maneuverability with shafts etc.
The one thing that no one mentions is situations where you need the boat to do something very quickly and how amazingly responsive pods (joystick) are.
I was in a very windy situation and found my boat being blown onto other boats that were moored. The wind was very strong as it was the end of the boating season here in the North.
In my haste I leaned on the joystick and was out of trouble instantly. I did not have to think about shifting, bow thruster, throttle and the rest. It was very natural.
Most manufacturers are offering pods because its a great technology that ANYONE can use to dock and maneuver a boat.
Most people are creatures of habit and they like what they have grown up with (shafts).
If you can make a switch from a Motorola flip phone to an iPhone, then you can move up to pods and a joystick.
Yes, there is some extra maintenance but you will love the features and flexibility it will give you.
I boat alone a lot of times and its only possible with Pods and Skyhook.
Give it a try, you will love it.

We own a 2010 450 DA with Zeus pods. If you search for threads created by me you'll see the issues that we had in the past year that we've owned the boat. Despite all of the issues we've had, we still love the maneuverability and performance that the pods give us. The only thing I wish I had done differently is to find out more about available Zeus mechanics in our area. As it turns out there is only one certified Zeus mechanic in the entire Seattle area. He's great - Lake Union Sea Ray - well, they're growing on me. We had a bumpy start (issues with customer service) but all has been okay for a few months now so I'm hopeful that I'll have fewer issues with them going forward.

Pod drives have been used in commercial applications for years, but it's only been since around 2008 that they came to the recreational market. Mercury Marine introduced their pod drives after Volvo introduced their version (IPS drives) so I've come to learn that many of the issues that the Zeus pods have are from having to work around patent/design issues.

I would expect that going forward, pod drives will be much more reliable and better supported. Yes we've had issues however my husband and I have discussed it and agreed that despite everything we've been through, we would purchase a boat with pod drives again.

We have over 15 years of boating with a twin screw and no thrusters so the difference of maneuvering with pods is pretty remarkable. We tried to dock one very windy afternoon at Port Ludlow. The marina sent over 3 dock hands to assist us with docking. As we approached the dock they quickly realized that we didn't need much assistance. All I said was "pod drives" and two of the dock hands nodded and walked away. Friends of ours who own v-drive boats had a chance to drive our boat once and they were amazed at how much more control we had and how smooth the boat runs when on plane.

I can only speak for our boat and we do love it.

Sandy

Steve36 said:

Bryan, I had a 420 Sundancer with shafts as my previous boat and yes it was very easy to control and dock.
When I purchased my 540 which came with pods, I was a bit skeptical and nervous.
All the things that have been written here are correct. The turbulent water, the fact that you can replicate the same maneuverability with shafts etc.
The one thing that no one mentions is situations where you need the boat to do something very quickly and how amazingly responsive pods (joystick) are.
I was in a very windy situation and found my boat being blown onto other boats that were moored. The wind was very strong as it was the end of the boating season here in the North.
In my haste I leaned on the joystick and was out of trouble instantly. I did not have to think about shifting, bow thruster, throttle and the rest. It was very natural.
Most manufacturers are offering pods because its a great technology that ANYONE can use to dock and maneuver a boat.
Most people are creatures of habit and they like what they have grown up with (shafts).
If you can make a switch from a Motorola flip phone to an iPhone, then you can move up to pods and a joystick.
Yes, there is some extra maintenance but you will love the features and flexibility it will give you.
I boat alone a lot of times and its only possible with Pods and Skyhook.
Give it a try, you will love it.

Click to expand...

I noticed that the Sea Ray 540s of your vintage equipped with straight shafts come with Cummins QSM engines, but with Zeus pods they're typically a QSC 600. Does the QSC 600 in a pod give about the same performance as a QSM with regular shaft and prop?

I am currently stuck on Lake Barkley in Kentucky with a 48' pod boat (QSC 600s and Zeus Drives) due to a steering actuator leak. We take this boat back and forth to Florida each year through the river system so it get use but it seems like every 70 - 100 hours there is a design flaw in the pods or transmissions. The boat is basically inoperable and had to backtrack up the Ohio river on one engine. The good news is the entire drivetrain minus the engines has been completely replaced over the last two years, mostly because of their design flaws.

On the trip down last fall the Gear Lube started mixing with the transmission fluid, this time the power steering and trim fluid is mixing with the gear lube. The repair on the trip down was to replace the transmission because they are not able to be rebuilt - 14k. Pod has to be removed and rebuilt this time and the trans has to be raised up to access some seals. These pods were both replaced in the fall of 2014 - 300 hours ago.

All of this is very annoying to say the least but the worst part is there is nobody in the area who is certified on the pods. Mercury has gone out of their way to help but they are definitely going to draw the line in the sand eventually. So far they have covered all parts at their cost but the owner has had to pay all labor, still lots of money but a drop in the bucket compared to the parts costs.

A late model almost 1 million dollar boat should not have these issues, if it were shaft drive the boat would be flawless. It's impressive with a 31 mph cruise at 2400 rpm and 66% load but is that speed worth the headaches?

Great post and timely... I am going to look at a 540 this weekend. Wanting to move up from my '06 44da

Steve36 said:

Bryan, I had a 420 Sundancer with shafts as my previous boat and yes it was very easy to control and dock.
When I purchased my 540 which came with pods, I was a bit skeptical and nervous.
All the things that have been written here are correct. The turbulent water, the fact that you can replicate the same maneuverability with shafts etc.
The one thing that no one mentions is situations where you need the boat to do something very quickly and how amazingly responsive pods (joystick) are.
I was in a very windy situation and found my boat being blown onto other boats that were moored. The wind was very strong as it was the end of the boating season here in the North.
In my haste I leaned on the joystick and was out of trouble instantly. I did not have to think about shifting, bow thruster, throttle and the rest. It was very natural.
Most manufacturers are offering pods because its a great technology that ANYONE can use to dock and maneuver a boat.
Most people are creatures of habit and they like what they have grown up with (shafts).
If you can make a switch from a Motorola flip phone to an iPhone, then you can move up to pods and a joystick.
Yes, there is some extra maintenance but you will love the features and flexibility it will give you.
I boat alone a lot of times and its only possible with Pods and Skyhook.
Give it a try, you will love it.

Click to expand...

Just about everything said in this thread is correct, on both the pro and con sides. Frank is absolutely correct about asset value, but remember to add the value of your time on board to that. Most of the annual maintenance is fluid and filter changes so if you do it yourself the price is ok. If something major happen then you need a factory tech and that is expensive. The Zeus pods do not shear off like the IPS. Zeus boat have the pods in tunnels where the keel is level with the "torpedo" of the pod so small to mid size objects should bounce under. Large logs should also bounce under and may shear the replaceable skeg on the bottom. The IPS are forward facing props and the hull and stick out completely so even the smallest object may get jammed and they are designed to shear off on big hits.

Fuel savings can add up if you put enough hours per season. I burn just about the same as I did on my 48DA and this 540 is a much bigger and heavier boat. maneuverability is un matched with the pods. Sky hook is a blessing while waiting for a bridge opening or fuel dock spot. Sit and read your Kindle while you wait.

Rich