IPS 600 5 yr service cost?

Here’s another tail of woe .
Maybe 2015 ish new Azimut 43 .
Couple , the blokes a U.K. businessman, a bit time short .Always gravitated to St Trop area .Never had a boat , thought about buying an apartment, but had already charted a skippered boat a few times out of Cogolin/ Port Grimaud......and fancied a boat .
Got all RYA , d up back in the U.K, did Cannes bought the Azi 43 .
To be fair from a living , design pov it worked fine as a floating apartment .
The first year under warranty it had niggles with the IPS .Being a bit green with manoeuvres and time short he was disappointed by the actual down time stuck in Cogolin....typical French dealer lax getting back .
Of course “ under warranty “ sos not so much as a cost issue more of wasted quality down time .In the first season they were too worried and inexperienced to go any further than the bay of St Tropez and round the corner to the beaches .
Second season time to spread the wings so to speak .
“ Come over to La Nap “ I spout !

it’s a good hr cruise , we arranged a berth 2 two boats down from us ( friendly FL dealer with brokerage berths ) .
Sets off 11 am arrives 3pm !
Requests the marinaros with a rib to push him back into the berth .

Turns out approx 1/2 way alarms go off and it drops to limp mode on one engine , and is making a horrible noise .They switch it off .
On the second day ( All VP guys busy the first ) , the VP guy says he’s hit a underwater object that’s smashed something and it’s not a warranty repair and anyhow it’s needs lifting for him to further investigation.
2 days later ( my berth contact is very patient btw ...mid August ) the boats towed round to La Rague for a lift .
Over the phone ins Co ok this .....we are thinking UW strike damage .

Once out , with a VP agent and ins accessor they fall out can’t agree on a course of action .
The insurance guy says it not a UW strike so nought to do with us , the VP agent say broken shaft(s) are because it’s hit something , so not a warranty claim here’s an estimate for fix , and there’s a leaky seal on the working pod - wrapped in fishing line = milky oil , a provisional est btw subject to stripping the pod down .
One pods broken , the other has milky oil with the line wrapped up .

We never got the bottom of the buck passing exercise btw , or understood the nuances of each sides argument for not funding a fix ....so don’t ask we couldn’t find out .

So the boats put back in , towed back to our marina while my “ friend “ is spending his down time on his MOB , stuck in the middle with the inc Co and Vp refusing to fund the fix !

I think he ended up forking out for a fix inc the two lifts ....to be fair the ins co eventually reimbursed the first lift only .

Sold it at the end of the 2 nd Season , and bought an apartment on Port Grimaud.

I,am not knocking IPS just factually passing the two encounters I have had with friends boats with them .

Yard I little nervous wanted €10 K up front before the 2 nd lift btw .Perfectly understandable .
 
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Porto,

You have many tales of doom on these drives.

Firstly to admit I have nil first hand knowledge other than once seeing a boat in Ibiza churning the sea such that a large school of piranha fish in a bond movie would have been proud of themselves and all it was doing was a 90 degree pivot.

The only person I know who did have first hand knowledge was a VP dealer in Mallorca ( he is on here) who said they cause few problems.

However ... this forum is full of people who mostly come here to solve a problem. The number of "my IPS is broken" threads is minimal ( I can't actually recall one - but no doubt there have been several), indeed several owners have been on to say " I have had no issues".

They were launched in 2004 - so 16 years ago and are now as I understand the defacto standard on many boats in the upto 45-50 feet range. As such there must be a lot of them out there.

So if there many out there and not much on here I can only conclude that in general they work pretty well.

I do absolutely concede that should they have a problem the bill is probably going to be big, and it can probably only be fixed by a VP dealer - but outdrive replacement is not a bargain either ( or anything in boating for that matter) .
 
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Fair comment J ,
The op was interested in service costs of IPS which I don't think the base regular are too bad in the bigger scheme .
Problem is they are not really DIY so you are trapped into the VP network .

Appreciate those working probably do not have the time to research and dabble .....if it were
possible to DIY drop a pod , remove the gears , replace out of spec and rebuild it , re seal it yourself ....dunno ??

Its the potential unknowns of not really knowing what’s round the corner .That point still holds in fact as they age increases .
Additionally with the Mutt 43 owner the lost time chasing up repairs .How important the turn key bit is varies for each owner , and in some ways hard to put a price on .
VP have been diligent in R+D arguably the punters are the guinea pigs .Not sure what Vs they are on , they are lettered A to I think last I heard E but would not be surprised if it’s further up the alphabet.
Obviously in the used Mkt if you buy say a D knowing there’s already a E out ( or what ever ) then it may occur to diligent folks to find what mod / upgrade the E has over the D etc etc .
Worse if you buy new and 6 months later your Vs is now 2nd in line compared to the latest....” what’s been the matter “ ?

Theres very little is anything , version / development wise to worry about with a shaft , shaft seal and rudder + its hydraulics.
Parts are relatively cheap compared to VP IPS stds ubiquitously any yard wrench can fix with shafts , Or competent DIY er .
Not saying a shafty won’t have issues just saying they will be few and for between and easier to fix , as the ownership years slip on by .


The point about 40/45 ft or even larger “ there’s nothing with shafts out there “ I disagree .Plenty @ Genoa show .

As far as the forum reporting goes on or the lack of IPS woes , I dont think there’s enough representation or basically honest reporting .Apart from the guy ^^^ and one ot two others that’s it .
Psychologically blokes go silent with problems , the fear of “ we told you so “ .There has been a lot on here with new IPS and gone silent like the guy who liked cooking with the big iirc Jeanneau 65 who took it to the Almalfi coast .
3/4 years ish ....love to know the service experience ....

If the owners were women then that’s a different story :)

As another barometer in the local Yard in the SoF ...typically 20 boats out those with IPS ...always had a pod off in there engine shop .Obviously many outdrives having there bellows as well and others in bits as well .
In 15 years regularly in the yard ( great short walk restaurant next to it for us ) I saw a lot of snap shots , well enough to form my view .
I had an account at there shop was always popping in for stuff ....you know polish , jubilee clips hoses etc .

So if you are contemplating buying a high end car ....pop up to Derby and visit a firm calked “ Chartwells “ google it .
Talk to the guys which have the most problems . In fact save the conversation just pop your head around the workshop door .
Yes I did see the odd shaft drawn and rudder stock bearing ....but old boats .
 
I can't help think that as long as water stays out, they get serviced properly and one don't hit anything hard underwater they should be ok.
 
A_8 said:
I can't help think that as long as water stays out, they get serviced properly and one don't hit anything hard underwater they should be ok.
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They are supposed to break off clean when you hit an underwater object, to protect the hull from damage, it’s one of the main tricks of IPS. However, I think I’ve read (possibly on this forum) that some early hulls weren’t strong enough to resist the shearing and the hull gets damaged (and I presume sinks). It’s worth researching to see if this is a true story and if it is, whether it affects any boat models you’re looking at
 
Bouba said:
They are supposed to break off clean when you hit an underwater object, to protect the hull from damage, it’s one of the main tricks of IPS. However, I think I’ve read (possibly on this forum) that some early hulls weren’t strong enough to resist the shearing and the hull gets damaged (and I presume sinks). It’s worth researching to see if this is a true story and if it is, whether it affects any boat models you’re looking at
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I am aware and all the newer models I have looked at are significantly reinforced with stringers around the pods.
 
Bouba said:
They are supposed to break off clean when you hit an underwater object, to protect the hull from damage, it’s one of the main tricks of IPS. However, I think I’ve read (possibly on this forum) that some early hulls weren’t strong enough to resist the shearing and the hull gets damaged (and I presume sinks). It’s worth researching to see if this is a true story and if it is, whether it affects any boat models you’re looking at
Click to expand...
Isn’t this a none issue ? Surely you would want it to sink .....quick easy ins payout and and more importantly a 2 nd roll of the dice ?
A sudden “ incursion of water leading to a total loss” has gotta be a better place to be in than lengthy yard repairs / insurance accessor rows / lack of use / broken boat / wetted boat / latent electrical defects ...etc etc .....blighted residuals and so forth ?


Oh and next time you go out ? Does lightening strike twice ?
 
A friend of mine recently bought an IPS boat. I did the sea trial and am now helping him learn the ropes - it’s his first boat.

Despite having driven far more boats than most people, I’ve no IPS experience to speak of before this.

I have to say I am rather impressed.

It’s a beamy 44 ish flybridge and underway at speed the handling is sharp like a sport boat. It’s fun to drive, something I left behind when I went to shafts.

Displacement speed handling is all about the wheel. The pilot will steer it accurately at tick over.

Manoeuvring needs to be done like a stern drive. All about the wheel, one engine at a time, steer before gear. On shaft boats I very rarely touch the wheel on IPS I never stop.

I don’t think much of the joystick as clever as it is. But if you use it as you would a bowthruster, ie do it all on the wheel and gears, click the Joystick on, pull the bow in (or whatever) and then back on the throttles and it’s a useful tool. As soon as you touch the throttles the joystick turns off so it is easy to use it like this.

The problem with the joystick when overused is twofold.
If you don’t appreciate what you are asking the joystick to do, you can be on the edge of the envelope of the possible. It also means there can be a lot of noise and strain of the gear if you ask for something difficult.
When you turn the joystick on, the pods may be in the right place to do as you asked, or they may have to move a long way. There is no way of knowing. And thus the delay between command and reaction varies which can be nerve racking if it’s windy and you’re relying on it.

All in all though, as a user experience, I am really impressed.
 
Interesting thank you.
I have never been on a boat with it let alone driven them but I assumed all low speed manoeuvring was done using the joy stick. They seem to do this on the magazine reviews.

I didn’t expect wheel and throttle !

the other interesting point is the time for the pods to move which I could appreciate may cause issues and for people to become more ham fisted trying to make it do something that would then kick in with quite a surprise.
 
Portofino said:
Isn’t this a none issue ? Surely you would want it to sink .....quick easy ins payout and and more importantly a 2 nd roll of the dice ?
A sudden “ incursion of water leading to a total loss” has gotta be a better place to be in than lengthy yard repairs / insurance accessor rows / lack of use / broken boat / wetted boat / latent electrical defects ...etc etc .....blighted residuals and so forth ?


Oh and next time you go out ? Does lightening strike twice ?
Click to expand...
Porto

do you really want a boat to sink with the wife and kids aboard in the middle of a crossing from Mallorca to Sardiana for the sake of an insurance claim !

further there would probably have been one usable drive left post impact to get you home.

it is not all about money
 
My concern with IPS now is not that they will break down all the time, but if you do get water in them its a serious bill.
Our local VP guy is pretty happy with IPS as long as they are made after 2008. The first ones could be trouble.
Is it possible to get an insurance policy just for the pods?
 
For me, IPS drives are just so much more vulnerable than an outdrive. Forward facing props compared to an outdrive leg that has rear facing props behind a skeg. Plus an outdrive will in theory pop up in the event of an impact (which is less likely anyway as an outdrive boat has a smaller draft).

Also, wreck an outdrive and you can have a refurb one tomorrow for under £5k courtesy of IVSS or Coastal Rides. Have it delivered and any marina in the UK / Med will have someone who can fit it. Try doing that with an IPS drive.

As for handling, if you're that incompetent then get a stern thruster and joystick.
 
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