Zues and the Skyhoo

Ozzie-iv

New Member
Mar 27, 2007
289
Bilgola, NSW, Australia
Boat Info
Riviera 4700 sy
Riviera 37
Sea ray 400db
Engines
CAT C9 575hp
Diesel 6bta
Mercruisers 8.1s
My wife and I were thinking of upgrading to the new 44 sundancer with the Zues rig and the skyhook

Somethings that worries me about this is to be a guinny pig for all this electronic stuff

With skyhook you just lock in the GPS position and the boat will stay in its position no mater what the current, wind etc while you can go off and do other things like get your lines ready..

What if its looses its connection with the sat, bloody thing might just bolt off throughing you overboard..ok once it connects to the sat again it might come back and then run you over (HAHA)

Zues..well lots of complicated engineering there waiting to go wrong.. Maybe I am just a shafts and rudders guy noting to complicated..

Your thoughts
 
not to mention chop you up when you fall overboard and try to climb up your swim ladder. My dealer told me they deactivated Sky Hook until they figure out that one.
 
You are correct, it has bee disabled fo the time being, it's really not a good idea either, think about the idots that will try swimming while in Skyhook Mode....and they will try we just know it.
We are turning are heads on the new 44 this year, maybe next, maybe once the fuel stabilizes and comes down to a reasonble price...

For Now it's the 320 and Onward we go.
 
I had an opportunity to test drive the Zeus in December at the SeaRay event in Merrit Island, FL - it's brilliant. However, just coming out of a bad experience with a first year Sea Ray model and working out the kinks everytime we used the boat, I had no appetite for another year filled with troubleshooting rather than enjoying her and went with the proven technology.

What probably even more impacted my decision was a side comment that I should probably think about the potentially big hole in the hull in case I am hitting something ...

I have not regretted the decision a second, since the 44 with bow thrusters is really very easy to handle in tight querters. Great boat.

One of these days, I will probably have a Zeus drive, because the technology is too cool to resist.

Cheers, Heiri
 
What probably even more impacted my decision was a side comment that I should probably think about the potentially big hole in the hull in case I am hitting something ...

Hmm, I thought Zeus had the same breakaway feature on the pods IPS does.
 
Well, I heard and read this too (below what Cummins says) - but not exactly eager to be the first to try...on the other hand, what attracts me is the fuel efficiency and the maneouverability. I will eventually have one on my next boat.
Heiri


Worst Case Pod Test

The drive is designed to break away when it strikes a solid object. The drive and the transmission are independently sealed, so there is no water intrusion into the boat if the pod is sheared off. If it does detach, the drive can be retrieved and re-attached. The large trim tabs (20 inches wide x 22 inch long), which are positioned above the props, also protect the hull from damage. The drive and props will bounce off the trim tab rather than the hull itself. We have seen underwater slow-motion videos taken by CMD which show the test boat at speed driving over a fixed railroad tie to see what happens when the Zeus drive is hit at speed. As the torpedo of the drive hits the huge, stationary railroad tie, the bolts holding the pod shear off and the pod and duo-prop strike the large bronze trim tab which protects the boat’s bottom from puncture. We are told by CMD that a diaphram above the pod keeps water from getting into the engine room and that there was no water ingested by the engine through the exhaust during the test.
 
I also hope to have the good fortune of upgrading to a Zeus drive sometime. I won't wait for fuel prices to come down, but I will wait for the manufacturer to pass on the savings that spawned this technology. And don't believe it is for any other reason than to increase profit margins. It is existing techology, has the same design of mass produced duoprops, fewer parts than V-drives, and requires a fraction of the time to install. So, the only explanation for the $100,000 premium is the hype and cashe.
 
I think the Skyhook option would be FANTASTIC. It's a shame that all the misplaced liability and lawyers will kill it.

Have you ever tried to hover for an hour upstream while waiting on a bridge?
 

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