Maybe I'm behind the times...

[gcarter]

But I just read about the new Volvo OceanX drive, released in October.
Intregrated hydraulic steering
Titanium/ceramic coating
Joystick control
WOW!
http://www.boattest.com/Resources/vi...px?NewsID=3470

[VetteLT193]

one of the things that bothers me about Volvo is the constant re-engineering of things. What happened to the composite drive they were making? How much more corrosion proof can you get than that?

As crappy as merc technology is when it comes to working on them at least they are consistent.

Anyway, looks like a cool drive. hopefully it sticks around for a while.

[BigGrizzly]

As most of us know Volvo has never rested on there laurels. They have always had the best corrosion resistance on the market. The composit drive was really expensive to make and had some issues. However I believe the 2990 is a mis print.

[Just Say N20]

I like Volvo products, and this looks like a good one.

The previous model had what many consider a design flaw. It had a tendency to eat the bellows because of close tolerance, and the way the fresh water hose is routed and compressed the bellows into the U-Joints when turning/trimming.

I suspect this is why the included a "water intrusion alarm" system into this new unit. There is a degree of frustration out there amongst the owners of that particular unit.

The $2,990 figure is the premium of this drive over the standard unit.

OceanX is available for the following gasoline engines: 5.0-liter GXi, 5.7-liter Gi-300, 5.7-liter Gxi, 8.1-liter GI and 8.1-liter GXi. It is also available with the D3-130, D3-160 and D3-190 diesels. The sensors are not available with the diesel packages. The OceanX package’s suggested retail price is $2,990 more than Volvo Penta’s standard V8 package, says Lee.

[gcarter]

I really like the joystick.
Anyone that's fooled w/an IPS knows what I mean.
The electronics does everything.

[Planetwarmer]

Throttle on the left, joystick on the right. It would be like flying an F 16. I wonder if you trim the drive up, by pulling back on the stick. That would be great for rough water. Your hands would never leave the controls for anything! Fly by wire.

[ChrisJ.]

look in to illmor's new drive... great product, bad time.....(Whats new!)

[MOP]

I think you guys are reading more into this then it is, OceanX has standard tiller steering, the ITS has the joy stick two separate product lines.

[gcarter]

My bad!
I went back and reread the 6 or 7 articles and found that the joystick is available on twins and apparently not on singles.

[zelatore]

A couple points come to mind.

Last year in an interview the president of VPNA was asked about their Ocean Series drives in relation to Merc's then new salt water drive (seacore?). His response was something along the lines of 'we were first, and what we did was the best available at the time, now that they've had our experience to work with they've got a new design. If we knew then what we know now we'd have done it differently too.' He basically stopped just short of saying the Merc product was better. (if only because it was able to use the Volvo experience and build on that) So it's no surprise that Volvo came out with a new drive to replace the Ocean Series.

We don't do a lot of sterndrive stuff, but I've only seen a few of them. I don't think they ever really caught on, at least in our market. Of course, may simply be indicative of the boats we work with more than market penetration.

The joystick control is sold by Merc and Volvo in sterndrives and is derived from their pod drive experience (Zeus by Merc and IPS by Volvo). It's a logical outgrowth from the pod drive technology as all they had to do was add separate electronically controllable steering systems to the drives....after that it was just a matter of adapting the software to deal with the different handling characteristics of the sterndrives.

The joystick control systems can only work with multi-drive setups. The key is that each drive can be steered and shifted by computer separately from the other. That's what makes the whole thing work. It's also only in use at docking speeds and is typically limited to fairly low RPM. With the diesel boats I've driven we usually set the rpm limit at 900 or 1000. It might be set a bit higher, maybe 1500 or 1800 on gas motors.

I've driven quite a few of the Volvo IPS boats and yes, they are pretty impressive, especially for beginners. There are some aspects I don't like, but there's no question it's big step forward. I haven't driven any of the sterndrive joystick systems but expect they handle about the same. Since I don't really like the way a big twin sterndrive handles around the dock compared to an inboard, I suspect I'd like the joystick more in this applicaiton than in the inboard setup.

[MOP]

Checked with a buddy that says at this point the Joy stick is only available with IPS, that is until February then it will debut at the shows. At first it will only be for dual applications, he says it does not match the IPS in maneuverability as the stern drives rotation is limited. He said the Merc hype is BS showing docking side ways with no yaw, he says only IPS can accomplish that.

[zelatore]

Checked with a buddy that says at this point the Joy stick is only available with IPS, that is until February then it will debut at the shows. At first it will only be for dual applications, he says it does not match the IPS in maneuverability as the stern drives rotation is limited. He said the Merc hype is BS showing docking side ways with no yaw, he says only IPS can accomplish that.

Believe it when your buddy tells you there's some hype. The joystick isn't quite as great as it's made out to be. In fact, in most situations I actually prefer a standard twin screw and bow thruster.

There's no question it's easier to learn the joystick, but at least on the Volvo version I find it's very 'digital' in it's feel. There's no grace to using it. It seems to really jerk the boat around. Also, with a traditional boat you can sort of glide up toward a dock at an angle, drop the outside motor into reverse to check your headway and at the same time settle the stern against the dock. Very graceful when done right. Nice and smooth with no drama. With IPS, you pull up beside the dock. Stop. power up and move boat sideways. Stop. Lots of noise and boiling water, and more of a straight line (even if the line is sideways) vs the more analog dance of moving a regular boat. I've found that the bigger the boat the better it behaves with the IPS; I think the added weight dampens the abrupt movement of the drives.

Also, I find that although you can program the drives to make the boat go exactly sideways, it only does it under perfect conditions. Normally, you get some rotation or for/aft creep. And although the joystick 'should' go diagonal, none of the boats I've driven did it well at all. Much better to move ahead/astern/sideways - one direction at a time.

That said, it's hard to overlook the other benefits of IPS such as the improved economy and interior space. If it was just the joystick I wouldn't spring for it, but with the other benefits, combined with the public's perception of the joystick as the greatest gift to boating since sliced bread (i.e. better resale) I'd probably go for it on a new boat.

Not that I need to worry about buying a new boat any time soon!