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Engines
Volvo IPS 850
August 8, 2007 - 4:52pm — Dick Aarons- Boat Handling
- Diesel
- Propeller
The Volvo Penta IPS system is now offered by more than 60 builders worldwide and is installed on approximatley 450 different models. There will continue to be naysayers who gripe that having a forward facing prop will expose the propellers in case of a grounding or water debris. However, this magazine has conducted several tests (See “The Future of Power,” April, 2007) and has concluded that the benefits far outweigh this one issue. In fact, we’ll be following up with a story of a boat with IPS hitting a log in New York Harbor. Yes, the boat had to limp home on one engine, but chances are that log would have damaged a conventional boat as well. However, the best part is that the next day Volvo service changed the entire unit within two hours! No struts to remove, or shafts to align.
I Could've Had a V-8 : Yamaha Introduces a 350 hp outboard and model years are eliminated
June 15, 2007 - 3:52pm — Bob Stearns- MAY 2007
- Outboard
Is the boating world ready for a 350 hp 4-stroke V-8 outboard? When I first heard about this 804-pound heavyweight, I had some serious doubts. But the growing ground swell of comments and observations trickling down the information pipeline in recent weeks has chiseled away at my personal reservations. Many of the larger boatbuilders have already expressed serious interest in the 350, including Grady-White, and one dealer has ordered 160 engines. Availability is expected for July.
Out with the Old In with the New : Most Popular Re-Powering Diesel Engine to be Replaced by New Electronic Model
May 2, 2007 - 2:47pm — Peter Swanson- Diesel
Say goodbye to the most popular re-powering engine in history. The Yanmar LH series four-cylinder engine has earned a reputation for quiet running, but it’s making its exit with a bang. The last ones off the assembly line are expected to sell briskly—as you might expect for a motor often described as “the sweetest,” “bulletproof,” “dynamite” or just plain “unbelieveable.”
Blowing Your Own Horn : Diagnosing the early warning sign on your outboard pays dividends
May 2, 2007 - 2:39pm — christine- Maintenance
- Outboard
Anyone who has owned an outboard for more than a year or two has almost certainly heard this intrusively annoying sound at least once. It’s highly unpleasant blare is designed to wake the dead, but necessary for the health of the engine. The hot horn is part of a warning circuit that detects too much heat in the powerhead due to the partial or complete loss of cooling water. The other part of the circuit is designed to slow the engine down immediately, which it does by shutting down a cylinder. This insistent message cannot be ignored; one minute you’re happily zipping along; then the horn goes off and you’re immediately almost dead in the water. The good side of all this is that if the overheat circuit failed to do its job your outboard’s light aluminum powerhead would be cooked beyond repair in just a matter of a few minutes. So you learn to live with it.
Invasion of the Pods : Cummins Mercruiser Diesel gets set to Introduce its Long-Awaited Drive System
April 25, 2007 - 4:49pm — John Brownlee- Engines
In 2004, Volvo Penta introduced its revolutionary new IPS drive system, which coupled diesel engines to lower units mounted on the bottom of a boat’s hull instead of on the transom. The IPS has been in service for some time now and is finding its way into the production boat market. This new drive system offered substantially increased efficiency, since it enabled builders to achieve desired speeds with smaller diesel engines, and increased maneuverability, since the entire thrust from the propellers could be aimed, as with an outboard engine. Since the introduction of IPS, Volvo Penta has had the market for this drive system all to itself.
The Big Lightweight : The Suzuki DF 300 is put to the test by our experts
April 25, 2007 - 2:40pm — Bob Stearns- Engines
- Outboard
I have a fishing friend who readily admits “I never met a horsepower I didn’t like.” And yet in years past I also periodically received letters from older anglers stating that “any outboard with more than XX horsepower just does not make any sense,”—or words to that effect. The size of XX pretty much depended on what part of the U.S. the letter came from. Coastal anglers were always more willing to accept larger engines on the transom than their inland brethren.
4 Wide: Powered with 4 Volvo IPS Drived, The Lazzara Quad 75 Scores
April 24, 2007 - 7:13pm — Chuck Husick- Engines
There are lots of boats that qualify as Sport Express cruisers but none I have seen that equal the combination of features and benefits provided by the new Lazzara LSX Quad75. Propelled by 4 Volvo Penta IPS600 drives, the yacht combines Lazzara’s innovative design, advanced manufacturing technology and the performance obtained from the total of 1,740 hp, efficiently delivered via four sets of contra rotating propellers. The LSX75 will be a standard of comparison for yachts in its category.
The Turning Of The Screw: Understanding Propeller Fundamentals
January 7, 2007 - 8:00am — Peter Frederiksen- JANUARY 2005
- Propeller
When all is said and done, it is the propeller that turns engine horsepower into speed. Despite this critical point, many myths exist in the world of propellers sometimes creating an aura of mysterious black magic. To the contrary, propeller selection and overall performance is really black and white. A boat can only go so fast based on its shape, horsepower and ambient conditions. It is all about physics. So, no matter what anyone promises you, a new propeller will not turn your 15-knot cruiser into a 35-knot power racer unless it is on a trailer being towed down the interstate.
4-stroke v. DI 2-stroke
January 7, 2007 - 8:00am — Bob Stearns- NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005
- Outboard
Yamaha's 300 hp VMax is a 2-stroke engine popular with boaters looking for a higher horsepower package.
Repower Guide
January 7, 2007 - 8:00am — George Sass Jr.- DECEMBER 2004
- Engines
It goes without saying that one of the most important components of a powerboat is, well, the power. During the boat shopping phase you may overlook a certain model because it does not have the best power package, or the engines have too many hours for your comfort level. And for some boaters, they may already own the perfect boat and love everything about it, but after several seasons the maintenance of the aging engines becomes excessive. This is when you may want to consider a repower.
