Nick_H
Well-Known Member
There's a lot to like about this boat, but what possessed them to put measly 600 hp engines in it? It's fast cruising speed with a clean hull seems to be just under 20 knots, so with some late season fouling this thing will surely be falling off the plane at anything too far below WOT? As a result of the engines struggling the fuel consumption appears no better than a shaft drive Princess 60 with 900 hp engines, despite the supposed benefit of pod drives on the MC6 and a lower displacement.
Its top speed is a fairly dull 27 kts, but you only get that at over 3,000 RPM, and it drops quickly to 23 knots at 2,800 which is still 92% of WOT, and again that's with a clean hull, so if you want to travel in the 20's you're going to be stressing those engines. In contrast, the Princess is still running in the 20's at 1800 RPM (75% WOT), and has a top speed of 33 knots, and none of this comes at a penalty in terms of fuel consumption. There wont be any saving in maintenance costs for the smaller engines on the MC6 either, because you have the pods to service.
All of this assumes the MB&Y fuel figures are correct, and I know that has been questioned recently, but as both boats have fuel readouts on the dash it's hard to see how they could have got them wrong, and both boats had similar loads and conditions for the respective tests.
I wonder if Beneteau over-estimated the benefits they would get from pod drives, or maybe the Zeus have proved less efficient than the IPS used on other boats in the MC range. It would put me off buying one, not so much the outright speed but the idea of stressing the engines all the time.
ps. liking the new forum by the way, not major differences but a bit fresher and cleaner appearance.
Its top speed is a fairly dull 27 kts, but you only get that at over 3,000 RPM, and it drops quickly to 23 knots at 2,800 which is still 92% of WOT, and again that's with a clean hull, so if you want to travel in the 20's you're going to be stressing those engines. In contrast, the Princess is still running in the 20's at 1800 RPM (75% WOT), and has a top speed of 33 knots, and none of this comes at a penalty in terms of fuel consumption. There wont be any saving in maintenance costs for the smaller engines on the MC6 either, because you have the pods to service.
All of this assumes the MB&Y fuel figures are correct, and I know that has been questioned recently, but as both boats have fuel readouts on the dash it's hard to see how they could have got them wrong, and both boats had similar loads and conditions for the respective tests.
I wonder if Beneteau over-estimated the benefits they would get from pod drives, or maybe the Zeus have proved less efficient than the IPS used on other boats in the MC range. It would put me off buying one, not so much the outright speed but the idea of stressing the engines all the time.
ps. liking the new forum by the way, not major differences but a bit fresher and cleaner appearance.
