April Boating Magazine

[Rich122]

Has anybody read the article "The wheel is Dead"? What did you guys think of that dash?
The hub says "Genuine Mercury" but that is a Sea Ray wheel. Probably their test boat. But that is a futuristic looking setup!

Also anybody have a new 44 with the Zeus system? I would like to hear your comments on it.
I tried it on a simulator, and it's amazing. I would love to test it for real. A marina neighbor has a Tiara with IPS, and I might just have to ask outright this season for a test drive.

Rich

 

[Rondevue]

I drove the 38 Sundancer with the Zeus system at the Miami show last month, this system is amazing and scary!

It does everything they say it will do, it's incrediable that they have figured how to controll a boat simply with a joy stick. The system is also linked to what they call Sky Hook, this will allow the boat to hold an exact postion and heading while the boat is running and it really worked! This would be a nice feature while waiting for a bridge or lock opening.

The scary part, they are explanning this system as "anybody can drive this" I don't agree with that. They told me I wouldn't need any boating experience to drive this boat, wow! that scares me.

Handling and performance were great, the boat was a little loud though, it had a lot of drive noise.

The 38 we were on was a 2007 and had 1200 hours on it, they told me it has been being use for testing and demonstrations around the country. The captain said they have put the system through a lot of abuse, and were told by engineers to try to break it and have not done so yet.

 

[Sundancer]

The 38 we were on was a 2007 and had 1200 hours on it, they told me it has been being use for testing and demonstrations around the country. The captain said they have put the system through a lot of abuse, and were told by engineers to try to break it and have not done so yet.

If they haven't broken it yet, they aren't trying very hard! Just a few minutes alone with it and I'll bet I could find a weakness!!

 

[Rondevue]

I'm not saying I believe them, I do agree it's breakable, I think they were just saying under normal use of shifting forward to reverse, side to side and so on. I witnessed some pretty rough driving abuse on our sea trial, I wouldn't drive my 38 like that.

Find a rock pile and you can break anything.

 

[Stray Cat]

That's quite a dash alright....futuristic looking to be sure, but toggle switches with no boots? It will be interesting to see how well the current technology works after 10 or more years in a marine environment. I'm not sure what you would do if it locked up while you had your hand on the not so joyful stick!

 

[Kameroo]

Just the other day I saw a video of the Zues system on YouTube. Absolutely amazing technology! I, too, wonder what the fault protections are and how much of a handful you'd have if it did the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I was at the helm of a new 340DA years ago when a set-screw came loose while docking. Long story short I couldn't shift out of neutral and the anchor found a new home in a dealer's 250DA transom. Makes me wonder on the new ones how long it would take to recognize and react to a malfunction.

 

[boltman]

I do not believe that this was the dash of the 44, though we will know today, we're going to look at one in our dealership today. Thay called me and tld me they finally have one in their showroom.....and I cannot wait, I'm just waiting on the wife to get ready to go.....always waiting..

 

[Rondevue]

That is not the dash of the 44 Sea Rays I've been on, I don't think that it is even a Sea Ray at all.

I wonder if Cummins is putting this system in boats by different manufacturers???

 

[boltman]

Your right it is not a dash for a 44 dancer, was there today and enjoyed seeing this boat completely

 

[Rich122]

I agree. It's not the dash of a "production" 44DA but that is definitely a Sea Ray wheel and the bow rails sure do look like Sea Rays. Must be Mercury's test boat and that dash is their set up. Cool looking but not so sure about the SR navigator down by your feet