IPS Drives

[westernman]

Are the maintenance costs ridiculously high still?
What about V drives? Is there anything which makes them more complex, expensive or difficult to maintain compared to straight shafts?

 

[Portofino]

Yes .
No .

 

[ShaneAtSea]

Yes .
No .

Do you know how many hours you can put on IPS drives before you need to service them?

 

[Portofino]

Do you know how many hours you can put on IPS drives before you need to service them?

No I do not know the theoretical hrs interval as 4 boats who’s owners we got to know on our marina on the same pontoon never made it .
Annual would be prudent as with anything with oil esp if water ingress is a real risk due to leaky seals .

If you are a newby contemplating a boat do your research .eg ......

volvo penta ips 500 problems - Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum

 

[oldgit]

Chum of mine has recently bought a 2006 Rodman 41 with the MK1 ??? IPS. 700 hours on the clocks.
Its service history is a mystery to say the least but they seem to have water and oil in the correct places and it goes like stink.

 

[TonyR123]

i get mine serviced every year. all service history is stored with volvo themselves. last servicing costs have been €1700, €1600 & €2800 (dont have to hand what the extra costs were for this).

 

[westernman]

IPS repair costs and even regular servicing costs seem scary. Also, not having any keel or anything in front of the props is very scary as well. It must be a disaster in waiting driving across a partially submerged line or a fishing net. You could take out both drives at once.

So I am coming to the opinion that they are to be avoided for an older secondhand boat despite the efficiency gain.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

...
Also, not having any keel or anything in front of the props is very scary as well. It must be a disaster in waiting driving across a partially submerged line or a fishing net. You could take out both drives at once.

Surely that's true of any twin screw mobo. Shafts, outdrives, IPS. Not waterjet though

 

[westernman]

Surely that's true of any twin screw mobo. Shafts, outdrives, IPS. Not waterjet though

It depends on the keel in front of the prop(s). Shaft drives often have a little bit of protection. Some have a decent keel in front so you can run over a rope without too much worry.

Also, if you get a line around a shaft drive, you can probably just hack it off and there is no further problem.
An IPS drive will shear off. That does not sound cheap!

Forward facing IPS drives have no protection at all. There are placed in "open" water for the best possible efficiency and there is nothing to deflect anything which happens to pass by.

I am of course biased - but from what I have read, IPS drives seem pretty scary.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

It depends on the keel in front of the prop(s). Shaft drives often have a little bit of protection. Some have a decent keel in front so you can run over a rope without too much worry.

Also, if you get a line around a shaft drive, you can probably just hack it off and there is no further problem.
An IPS drive will shear off. That does not sound cheap!

Forward facing IPS drives have no protection at all. There are placed in "open" water for the best possible efficiency and there is nothing to deflect anything which happens to pass by.

I am of course biased - but from what I have read, IPS drives seem pretty scary.

Yes I'm not defending them. TBH I've never seen a twin keel mobo with the keels below the props, but maybe such a thing does exist. Shafts no doubt much simpler. My boat has outdrives, good solution in terms of space efficiency and fuel consumption, but costly to service as I think I'll find out next year when the first service is due.

 

[westernman]

Yes I'm not defending them. TBH I've never seen a twin keel mobo with the keels below the props, but maybe such a thing does exist. Shafts no doubt much simpler. My boat has outdrives, good solution in terms of space efficiency and fuel consumption, but costly to service as I think I'll find out next year when the first service is due.

This Swift Trawler 44 has a bit of a keel which would provide some protection:-



But obviously not as much as this (a Nordhavn something):-



With that you could probably get something nicely hooked on the stabilizers.

 

[kashurst]

I have had outdrives (briefly), straight shaft and V drive shaft boats.
Outdrives are great for economy and speed and are well understood. Worth it if you do a lot of miles or tear around like you are on fire.
V drives give more space/packaging options and I would have another V drive no problem.
IPS - works brilliant - until it doesn't. Then it can get scary.
For me the fuel savings don't come close to the extra potential costs.
Handling and mooring - it's really not that hard is it?

 

[jrudge]

IPS comes up on here a lot.

Age seems the big issue. The first gen ones have issues, the newer ones seem ok.

For first hand advise ( much on here is second hand) I would join Volvo Penta Victims on facebook. You have a global audience with lots of first hand knowledge of IPS.

 

[ShaneAtSea]

IPS comes up on here a lot.

Age seems the big issue. The first gen ones have issues, the newer ones seem ok.

For first hand advise ( much on here is second hand) I would join Volvo Penta Victims on facebook. You have a global audience with lots of first hand knowledge of IPS.

They cant be that bad because most of the major manufacturers use them......some of them like Absolute use them exclusively.

Its an incredible system if you want the glass cockpit, joystick, trim stabs and dynamic positioning system all integrated.

Yes you may hit a log or a crab pot but life is full of risk

 

[Sticky Fingers]

They cant be that bad because most of the major manufacturers use them......some of them like Absolute use them exclusively.

Its an incredible system if you want the glass cockpit, joystick, trim stabs and dynamic positioning system all integrated.

Yes you may hit a log or a crab pot but life is full of risk

This is right, but equally it's very much the 'new' vs 'used' argument. Buying new maybe you have few concerns about later maintenance costs. And you / your significant other might well be attracted by the benefits (technical or domestic) rather than alarmed by the drawbacks.

For buyers of older boats, the reverse is true. Maintainability and reliability become ever more important.

 

[Portofino]

The sea can be a cruel place .

Marketing folks will gloss over this .

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

IPS comes up on here a lot.
Age seems the big issue. The first gen ones have issues, the newer ones seem ok.

The big problems are gearbox seals made of bronze now replaced to steel, and the other where the clutches not designed for the pressure the joystick and software change of direction communicate.
Both have been solved around 2012. Possible the seals was around 2014. Someone told me the seals had a recall not sure if it is true or not, as I have clients who had to fork them them from there pockets.
The gearbox seals was a big problem as they could make you rebuild or change the gearbox cost of about 10k. Clutches cost just over 3k.

Beyond these two it is not like IPS had a total redesign. It is the same from the first IPS500 and 600.

As for fuel most captains will tell you that once you go beyond 50 hours the fuel savings versus shaft will start to make up for the servicing.

 

[Elessar]

The sea can be a cruel place .

Marketing folks will gloss over this .

railings around your foredeck will improve your safety way more than worrying about your propellers.

 

[westernman]

As for fuel most captains will tell you that once you go beyond 50 hours the fuel savings versus shaft will start to make up for the servicing.

My understanding is that at low speeds there is little difference in fuel efficiency. It is only at 20knots+ that the fuel savings become significant.

 

[MapisM]

As for fuel most captains will tell you that once you go beyond 50 hours the fuel savings versus shaft will start to make up for the servicing.

I already wondered in other occasions, but never got any explanations: what sort of maths are those captains basing their reasoning on?

Mine is very simple.
I take a latest and greatest IPS powered boat similar to my mine, originally designed in the early 90s, powered by archaic mechanical engines on shafts, and I compare the numbers.
Like for instance the Absolute 58 fly, a very modern boat built by a yard that always designed their hulls strictly for IPS.
Now, aside from the nominal difference (58 vs. 56 of my boat), the Absolute is actually a bit shorter and narrower.
And also lighter: 20% less, a helluva difference which you would expect to reflect on lower fuel burn regardless of IPS or shafts.
On top of that, she can hold 25% less fuel and 35% less water.
She's IPS 800 powered, which means 1200 ponies in total vs. 1600 of my boat, which is in fact 3 kts faster.

BUT, in spite of all this, the fuel burn numbers in the test I just linked are practically identical to those of my boat.
Bottom line, I can only see one reason why most IPS boat owners/captains pretend to be saving fuel.
And it's that in dock talks that sounds much better than admitting to have fallen - hook, line and sinker - for the Swedish marketing BS.