Sea Ray introduces Zeus on the 38 and 44 Sundancers

standers said:
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I had the chance to operate the 44 with Zeus at this year's Sea Ray Yacht Expo. It was pretty impressive - joystick is functional up to about 1800 rpm's. It was pretty simple and comfortable to operate, although it's easy to juice it too much the first few times one handles it. More impressive than the tight quarter maneuvering is the purported 30% fuel efficiencies with the pod system. Time will tell on that. Turning radius was much tighter than on our 44/420. If you happen to be out on one and the captain says "Hold On," trust me, hold on! We made a hard turn to port (I was sitting starboard) at about 28 knots and I felt like I was on an amusment park ride staring straight down at others on the port side. My only negative on it was noise - I found it to be pretty loud.

I'll say this with more than a wink - I've offered my services to sea trial and critique the Zeus system on the 48. Should be back down in March/April. Cummins is working on a QSC engine to increase HP for the 48 by about 10-15%. This is interesting as the actual HP on the 44 with Zeus was reduced about 10%.
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It's pretty simple why the power was reduced. It because of the push/pull effect of a Bravo type drive system which the Zeus uses. Talking with the designers at the Expo, when they finally build a hull from the keel up for the Zeus instead of retrofitting an existing hull, the real benefits will be seen. In regards to the maneuverability of the system, they were saying that they actuall achieved 18* on a turn with this boat which put the rub rail in the water. Pretty scary for a 44 ft boat. The production boats will be limited to 10* for safety reasons.
 
I see nothing wrong with putting the rub rail in the water and letting others inspect the Hull on the bottom, while your going back to get your hat that just blew off.............

The want is there for this boat, but the need......not quite there yet......I'll wait for the production hull designed for the Zeus......Maybe in 2009.
 
boltman said:
I see nothing wrong with putting the rub rail in the water and letting others inspect the Hull on the bottom, while your going back to get your hat that just blew off.............

The want is there for this boat, but the need......not quite there yet......I'll wait for the production hull designed for the Zeus......Maybe in 2009.
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Rob,

I completely agree. I bought a 44 Sundancer at YachtExpo and the up charge for this system was $35k and based on the issues they are still having with the system (not having Skyhook on the original release) I will wait as well. The benefits are there. I really want to see how durable this system is. I know there are dealers that are a little hesitant in ordering this. Get the bugs out first!
 
A couple of random thoughts from an IPS owner. I can't help but think that the Zeus will perform better in a hull designed expressly for it . Anything else has to be a compromise. I'm sure performance will be adequate in a hull designed for V-drives but it seems Sea Ray is rushing the boat to market to compete with the IPS offerings out there. It will be interesting to note the performance differences between the two hulls.

As far as the extra's like Skyhook, those are for the most part software related and I'd be surprised it they weren't offered later as an upgrade. My boats been out of warranty for several months and Tiara and Volvo recently made several engine modifications to include a software upgrade to the boat at no charge. I bought my boat w/o a joystick as they weren't offered when I purchased the boat. I had one installed. It wasn't cheap but I felt it was necessary for re-sale when that time comes. And it was money well spent. I understand Volvo's version of Skyhook (I can't remember what it's called) will be available as a software upgrade.

I too was concerned about "being the first on the block" with new technology. I found both Volvo and Tiara extremely responsive to questions or concerns regarding my boat and powerplants. Quite honestly, I've had no problems whatsoever with the drives and several small problems with the engines. All have been handled expeditiously as I believe both Tiara and Volvo are committed to IPS. The last thing they want out there is bad publicity that will impact their sales. I trust Mercruiser/ Cummins and Searay feel the same.
 
Good words - Thanks for the perspective. Nice boat.
 
So, I had a thought (happens on rare occasions);
Both the IPS and Zeus systems seem to be designed "around" particular engines.
What kind of flexibility will there be-for both gas and diesel models- for the owners to change either manufacturer or engine model down the road at repower time? Ten years from now I can guarantee you they won't be making the same engines they are today...
Does this pod drive technology limit repower options unlike a conventional shaft drive setup?
 
I asked the service manager at our dealership this same question. His answer was a smile followed by "We haven't done it yet, but would really love to do our first right about now while the technicians are playing solitare and looking at each other........and at $100/hour, I'm sure we'll get your new Zeus drives installed"

From what I understand, the pod drive system seems to work best when the hull is designed around the drive system. I guess we'll see with the first few 44DA's Sea Ray produces with the Zeus system in them since they did not redesign the hull for the drives. If later hulls are redesigned for the drives, that may mean a limited repower market for the whole drive assembly.

The base engines for the Zeus.....I have not followed Volvo close enough to know....., however, appear to be the same as those used with other power transmission methods. A QSB or C Cummins is still a QSB or C Cummins. While the base engine may be the same, the configurations for ECM and fuel system for the Zeus application may be different than a regular inbgoard QSB or C.

But you do raise an interesting point.....is it feasible to consider repowering an older boat with this technology? We get regular questions from late 80's Sea Ray owners about repowering gas boats to diesel. Just how practical....or even possible would it be?
 
Generally speaking, I wonder what happens when a manufacturer designs a hull specifically for Zeus or IPS? Does that mean that inboards or V-Drives won't work well in that design or maybe would work well in a different design? Maybe that's why we are seeing Sea Ray take the approach they are and not comming out with hulls dedicated to pod drives. Anyone have any thoughts on that whole issue?
 
Dave ,
searay will have a hull designed for the zeus . They just dont have em out yet. As someone said it looks like a rush to the market in the 44 and 40. Back in 03 searay offered the 34 with V drive and io versions . I was told ( salesman ) that they were two different hull's . Is there any truth ?


I dont think its cost effective to have two different hulls .... But u cant have one hull do both .

Rob


Rob
 
Some Zeus pics for u guys on a 44 DA
 

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Rob

Sea Ray also has a picture of a Zeus drive in the gallery for the 44DA on their web site. It looks like they put some type of cover over the unit.

Zeus.jpg
 
Sea Ray will have the Hull for the Zeus Drives in 2009, so I've been told, tunnel and all. I'm more apt to wait and see, I will not rush out and buy the first model of anything, not even the lastest and greatest new pots and pans...... I'll wait til they find a quality defect and biuld off of that.all Good things come to those who wait......Grasshopper
 
tobnpr said:
Without rudders and a tie bar- what autopilot is going to work with this?
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Probably something similiar to what Raymarine and others offer for the IPS. The IPS is steered with electric motors and if I recall correctly the Zeus uses some sort of high speed hydraulics. In any event, the control head (read interface) is similiar to what you are used to on a ram steered boat. Quite honestly, the autopilot on my IPS boat works flawlessly. When you push the track button to re-engage while following a course you'd better be close to your your original track as it will steer you there (towards the track) right now. If I'm too far off the original track because of having to dodge debris or other vessels I've learned to push a button on my E 120's to make a new track to the next waypoint before re-engaging. No more lazy "S" turns when changing course. You make the turn and the autopilot locks on the new track w/o wandering back and forth. Turns are crisp and the boat tracks true in heavy seas. And, you can dis-engage the auto pilot merely by turning the wheel. No more stabbing for the dodge or standby button.

Probably more info than you wanted or needed but it's a lazy rainy day in the PNW.
 
The zeus autopilot will probably be a proprietary box from Merc as part of their smartcrap system. Since Brunswack sold Northstar and Navman, they'll probably have little interest in an open system.

On the other hand, Volvo's system is a bit more open. A buyer can choose from either Raymarine or Simrad for an autopilot. Volvo's engine data interface has a NMEA 2000 interconnect available as an option. With Merc, a buyer is stuck with the proprietary smartcraft. They never even heard of NMEA 2000.

Best regards,
Frank C.
 
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