Maybe you own an older boat and don’t want to replace it but would love some “new boat” features such as assisted docking or a Dynamic Positioning System? Or maybe you’re selling your boat and think it will sell quicker and for a higher price if it offers newer systems, such as joystick steering. You simply might desire a “glass helm” with touchscreens in place of older gauges. Or maybe lightning struck your boat, killing the current system, and an all-in-one replacement sounds great. If your boat is powered by Volvo Penta, you might be able to accomplish these things by upgrading the current Electronic Vessel Control system aboard your boat to a newer version.
There’s another consideration for an EVC upgrade: A potential lower price for the repair and/or
replacement of some features. Because Volvo Penta compiled the parts necessary for the EVC upgrades—things such as steering modules, circuitry, control boxes, joysticks and such—into kits, upgrading to a newer EVC version might result in a lower cost than replacing any one of those parts as an individual item. Plus, you’d get an upgraded operating system, which comprises the latest engineering advancements/improvements that have been achieved over the years. The boat would be ready for future software add-ons as well. Individual situations vary, but Volvo Penta-engine owners should know to ask about this when in need of service.
Volvo Penta is leading the way with this industry-first operating-system-upgrade program. The following are some details gleaned from a discussion with Kevin Arnoux, business development and territory parts manager for Volvo Penta.
The EVC upgrade will take boats to EVC-E4, Arnoux says, and is available for all marine-diesel engines going back to 2003. It is available only for vessels with EVC generations EVC-A to EVC-D. For reference, once a boat has EVC-E1, it does not need hardware to update to EVC-E4. The D3 diesel engine, and all gas engines, did not receive the EVC system until 2008/2009. Older D3 and gas engines cannot upgrade.
When you perform the upgrade, the boat moves from whichever version between EVC-A and EVC-D automatically up to the “base EVC-E4” system, according to Arnoux. At that juncture, you’ll need to decide how much additional software you want. For reference, the base EVC-E4 operating system comes with the software’s Trip-Meter/Cruise-Control/Single-Lever-Mode and PowerTrim Assist (where applicable). If you want Assisted Docking or DPS, you would then have that ability, but those require additional software on top of the EVC system upgrade.
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The Volvo Penta website offers a database into which you can enter your engine’s serial number to determine the version of EVC in use, and thus which upgrades are available to you. (Visit volvopenta.com/marine/leisure-boating/upgrade-your-experience.) As for price, Arnoux cautioned that it varies by model year, EVC version and number of engines, but offered a range of between $5,000 and $15,000.
With this EVC-upgrade program, Volvo Penta offers boaters a new way to refresh and elevate their boat-ownership experience, save money on repairs, and potentially make the boat more attractive to prospective buyers.
