We have another player in the pod-drive market. ZF Marine LLC recently introduced its version, a 1,200 horsepower-capable ZF 4000. Who is ZF Marine? It’s the same company that worked with Cummins MerCruiser Diesel (CMD) a couple years back to develop the CMD Zeus pod drive. Boatbuilders are already eyeing this latest version for the future — which is upon us.
Volvo Penta began the craze four years ago with Inboard Performance System (IPS) pods sporting forward-facing props. Naysayers predicted their failure in spite of impressive performance and handling advantages. Some feared the forward-facing props were too vulnerable, so ZF developed aft-facing props for CMD Zeus and its own pods.
“We’ve sold over 12,000 IPS drives since we introduced them,” says Clint Moore, CEO and president of Volvo Penta America. Apparently, those forward-facing props weren’t to be feared after all. And, according to Volvo Penta, there are more than 135 new boats tooled for pod drives and virtually no new inboards on the drawing board in boats with lengths from the low 30s to 120-plus feet.
It’s easy to wonder if shaft drives have a future.
“There’ll always be a niche market for fixed-drive systems,” says Rob Mirman, product manager of CMD Zeus, referring to the ski- and wakeboard-boat market that has grown from serving strictly sports enthusiasts to general boaters and amounting to about 10 percent to 15 percent of the runabout market. But pods are definitely changing things.
“I think this is like the introduction of stern-drives in the ’60s,” Mirman said. “Back then, all boats over 20 feet were inboards. Then, nearly everyone went stern-drive.”
The pod manufacturers are selling boatbuilders on easier, more efficient construction of boats tooled for pods. Some, like Volvo Penta, even invest heavily in helping boat manufacturers retool for IPS drives.
But what are boaters buying?
Every pod manufacturer agrees that the draws are performance, maneuverability and ease of handling. Pods come with joystick maneuvering for docking, plus smooth electronic throttle and shift and silky electronic steering. Pods even have the ability to hold a boat in position in any current or wind with station-keeping systems such as Skyhook (Zeus and ZF) and IPS Dynamic Positioning System.
“I know a couple that were looking for a sport fisher,” says Martin Meissner, director of marketing for ZF Marine. “We directed them to a pod-drive 63 Bertram. After the husband sea-trialed the boat, we talked the wife into taking the helm. At the end of the trial, it removed the fear she had of having to take over in case something happened to her husband.”
All three engine makers have a stake in shaft-drive inboards, but they seem to agree with Clint Moore of Volvo Penta: “Shaft-drive boats are dead ducks.”
ZF Marine Pod 4000:
• Can be mated with any brand diesel engine
• Offers MerCruiser’s joystick system for maneuvering
• Includes Sky Hook station keeping
• Has aft-facing props
• Has through-hull exhaust, allowing for smaller gear-case bullet
