At high speed, the Sundancer generated significant G-forces when the helm was thrown hard over. The Zeus drives enabled the boat to carve a full 360-degree turn within approximately two boat-lengths. Outside the inlet, the seas had built to more than four feet and the northeast winds were blowing steadily above 20 knots, which made for a good test of the Skyhook position-holding system.
Skyhook had no trouble whatsoever holding the boat within a few feet of the initial position, even fully beam-to against seas and wind. Watching the propwash coming out from under the boat at bizarre angles–and different angles port and starboard simultaneously–was a little disconcerting, but that's how the system works. And on our test, it worked very well indeed, as the chart plotter confirmed our position.
Back at the docks, we opened the cockpit sole hatch to look at the engine installation. On the 44 Sundancer, there was a remarkable amount of room in the engine compartment. Our captain stepped down into the compartment and demonstrated the ease with which daily fluid checks and routine maintenance could be conducted. Perhaps even more remarkable was how far back the whole installation was in the hull. The forward edge of the engines was less than seven or eight feet from the transom, offering designers more freedom and flexibility.
ADDED SPACE
Tom TrippAn IPS500 installed on a mockup boat hull shows how compact the installation is. Total fore-to-aft length is less than six feet.
In fact, that very issue of design flexibility brings us back to our early adopters, Silverton and Grand Banks, two companies that would not be expected to employ leading-edge technology without good reason.
Silverton Marine Corporation makes family-friendly cruising and fishing boats in the value-driven portion of the market. They are well-made and comfortable but not overly expensive. Grand Banks is the grande dame of the trawler market and its boats exude old-world saltiness. They are extremely well-crafted boats and their higher price tags reflect a level of fit and finish not universally available, but you are more likely to still find mechanical engine shifters and throttles on a Grand Banks than on many other designs, because they are simple and reliable systems that have been counted on by cruisers for many years.
Now, throw both these pictures out the nearest porthole because both companies are offering pod drives on certain models.
Grand Banks will be one of the first companies to offer a Zeus-equipped boat. The new 41 Heritage EU will debut in mid-2008 with a pair of Zeus drives hanging below its newly-designed hull. Topside, the 41 Heritage will reflect the best of Grand Banks tradition, but underwater she will sport the latest in propulsion technology. And in this case, the designers will offer a full second stateroom, made possible entirely by the compact Zeus installation.
Silverton chose to go with Volvo Penta's IPS. The company debuted its new luxury brand, called Ovation, at the Fort Lauderdale show. The 52 Ovation is an elegant, sedan bridge design coupled with three IPS500 or IPS600 systems. I managed to get a look at the boat at Fort Lauderdale and climbed down into its engine compartment, which was under a hatch in the aft cockpit. A brief examination revealed the same compact installation, again well aft, with a surprising amount of room left over for a compartment housing three big diesels.
