Input on V Drives vs Zeus Pods

B

bryan25rs

Member
Jun 30, 2011
154
Cape Cod
Boat Info
2008 Sundancer 310
Engines
Mercruiser 6.2 Liter V-Drives w/DTS
We are looking at a new to us Sea Ray Sundancer 45-50 feet in the 2008 -2012 range. Does anyone have any suggestions to me as to whether I should stick with v-drives that I am used to or switch over to the ease of docking that comes with Pods. I already understand the cost difference in maintenance, and that does not concern me. I do about 50-60 hours a season. Thanks in advance - Bryan
 
Bryan, my suggestion would be rather than rely on someone else's opinion of what is better, that you test drive boats with both types of propulsion and see what you like best.

I've driven 2 different Formula express cruisers, both with pods and both drove great. That being said, I'm a v-drive fan and now a straight drive fan and really like both of them.

Would I switch to a pod drive boat? Probably not. IMO the smoothness of the shifting is a real plus when maneuvering around docks or other boats and offsets the ease of docking with the joystick.
 
There was a thread recently started here by a forum member that bought a used boat with Zeus pods and ran into many issues. Search for it. There was a lot of good info.
 
straight inboard or V drive seem to be the better choice as far as cost is concerned.
Learning to operate a boat under all conditions would seem to be a better choice instead of relying on the easy of new gadgets. You still need to use common sense not a joystick.
 
Blkbird said:
V-drive and a bow thruster.
Click to expand...

+1/2... I have never been in a position where I wish I had a bow thruster....it might be a nice to have item but I don't think its necessary

The pods to me seem like a complicated alternative without much of a benefit to offset the initial cost and the on going preventive maintenance. Plus they are designed to break free when you hit something. That doesn't sit well.
 
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Gofirstclass - I own a v-drive and have driven pods on 4 different boats. However until you own it its hard to tell, I am looking for the quirks that people find when they operate them over long period of time.

We do have service places here, most of the bigger boats in this area are pods.

I know the cost to own pods is more
 
JimT do you remember the title, I searched and cannot find it.
 
Non-recurring and recurring cost aside - the pods bring a lot of neat features to the boating world.
I've had the opportunity to run the L580 triple pod and found it to be very friendly with desirable features a shaft boat cannot give.
The down side are - these systems are highly integrated and a small failure can leave you stranded without recourse.
Also if you travel to less developed areas (Bahamas for example) service, trouble shooting, and parts become much more difficult; at least for the next several years.
 
Going from your 310 to a 45-50 with v-drives and a thruster is going to be amazingly more easy to control while docking, easier and more controllable than pods. You can walk it sideways as the previous respondent indicated. People I know and have seen with the pods throw a lot of turbulence in the water, which tosses the guy on the finger receiving your lines and makes the boat jerk around. In my opinion, the ease of docking is not a factor in this comparison and I'd argue a positive for the v-drive. The difference in efficiency of pods is offset by the additional cost of maintenance. So, at best it negates the additional cost of fuel for a v-drive. The additional cost of maintenance of the pods and potential for leakage into your underwater gear cases puts a negative in the pod column. You can very easily spend more on maintenance on pods than you will on more fuel for the v-drive.

The best boat in that range 45-50', for the money, reliability, and value is the 48DA.
 
JV II said:
Going from your 310 to a 45-50 with v-drives and a thruster is going to be amazingly more easy to control while docking, easier and more controllable than pods. You can walk it sideways as the previous respondent indicated. People I know and have seen with the pods throw a lot of turbulence in the water, which tosses the guy on the finger receiving your lines and makes the boat jerk around. In my opinion, the ease of docking is not a factor in this comparison and I'd argue a positive for the v-drive. The difference in efficiency of pods is offset by the additional cost of maintenance. So, at best it negates the additional cost of fuel for a v-drive. The additional cost of maintenance of the pods and potential for leakage into your underwater gear cases puts a negative in the pod column. You can very easily spend more on maintenance on pods than you will on more fuel for the v-drive.

The best boat in that range 45-50', for the money, reliability, and value is the 48DA.
Click to expand...

Are you saying pods are more fuel efficient than shafts ?
 
Blueone said:
Are you saying pods are more fuel efficient than shafts ?
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In general, yes. They have less drag with underwater gear. You'll see anywhere from 10% to 30% better fuel efficiency with pods.
 
I very seldom see anyone in these discussions consider or even mention the overall value of investment in their considerations. Some even argue that a boat cannot be considered an investment. My view is that you are exchanging one asset (i.e. your money) for another asset (i.e. a boat) and at some point, you will do the reverse exchange when you get out of boating, when your sell your boat and move up or when you trade your boat in for another. When that time comes, the yardstick of measuring the value of your asset (boat) is money, so it is short sighted to not consider the value of the investment.

I got the Boat Show issue of one of the larger boating magazines last week and in scanning the Sea Ray ads in the broker's section, I see a large broker with listings for 2 nearly identical 2014 510DA's, both in Florida, both with 100-125 hours on them, identical options but one had Zeus power packages with Cummins QSC engines; the other v-drives with the same QSC engines. The Zeus package is a $115K option and one boat was priced $125K higher than the other. Which one was higher?

Not so fast........it was the V-drive boat. So, as you are considering the Zeus or V-drive question, it seems that a key factor in the decision matrix has to be future demand for or the value of your next boat.......irrespective of what your salesman or broker may be telling you.
 
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fwebster said:
I got the Boat Show issue of one of the larger boating magazines last week and in scanning the Sea Ray ads in the broker's section, I see a large broker with listings for 2 nearly identical 2014 510DA's, both in Florida, both with 100-125 hours on them, identical options but one had Zeus power packages with Cummins QSC engines; the other v-drives with the same QSC engines. The Zeus package is a $115K option and one boat was priced $125K higher than the other. Which one was higher?

Not so fast........it was the V-drive boat. So, as you are considering the Zeus or V-drive question, it seems that a key factor in the decision matrix has to be future demand for or the value of your next boat.......irrespective of what your salesman or broker may be telling you.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Frank wholeheartedly here. It seems that the entire boating industry right now is pushing pods. Heck, there are new models being built by various manufacturers where they don't even offer a shaft option! But a LOT of experienced boaters prefer shafts. And I think the preference for shafts is only going to get stronger as these boats age. I find it very hard to believe that there will be a strong market for a 20yr old boat with pods. Which means we are heading towards the eventual situation where there will be an incredibly strong used market for older boats with shafts, and potentially a very soft used market for older boats with pods. As Frank pointed out with his example, it's already starting in some markets with some models. Taking Franks example; 2014 510DAs. If the shaft boat is $125 higher right now when those boats are only 4yrs old, can you imagine the price difference between those boats when they're 15yrs old? Plot that depreciation curve and the pod owner will want to vomit....
 
I think dealers are pushing pods to entice new boaters to go bigger due to the enhanced manuverabilty. I remember twin disc had a shaft joystick system. Have not head much about that lately but that seems to me to be the best of both options.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
My current boat has a Xenta joystick that incorporates the wheels and thruster to spin, walk sideways, and maneuver through the fairways. I prefer not to use it. The biggest problem is that when you are backing into a slip and you want to correct the position of the bow, a joystick only gives you the option to spin or walk the boat sideways. The joystick does not allow you to keep the stern stationary and swing the bow. So, your only option being to spin or walk sideways causes the stern to whack the finger or swing away from it. I imagine pods do the same. The other thing that is annoying is all the seemingly random mechanical changes going on with the shifting and bow thruster on/off. Using the shifters and a bow thruster, everything is smooth and predictable. The machine is much more calm. I can walk this boat and my 48DA sideways, using only the shifters and bow thruster, out of a fuel dock with a boat on my bow and another on the stern. Xenta is more convenient for that, because it just eliminates the forward and backward shifting you'd do manually. That and holding position while waiting outside a marina are probably the only times I will use it. That's a lot of cash and complexity for a the convenience of not having to shift levers a few times.
 
Thanks, that was exactly the type of input I was looking for.
 
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