jcwads
Active member
When I purchased my current boat, there was a bit of chatter on my post in respect of IPS drives as well as quite a few other posts on here that have been a little unfavourable to IPS drives. I thought it would be helpful to give my feedback as an IPS boat owner, after 16 months of having it. Granted I have my comparison to outdrives as I have not owned a shaft drive, but hopefully its of interest.
Pro's
Con's
I think that pretty much has everything that I can comment on in there. Overall I am very happy with my choice, and if you are considering a boat with IPS, don't be put off by those with perhaps more traditionalist points of view. I am sure the mechanical simplicities of owning a shaft drive will always be the overarching reason why it is the favoured choice of propulsion and understandably so. However with so many modern boats on the market with IPS, it would be a shame for anyone to discount it as a viable choice if a) the boat has a solid maintenance history and b) will be meticulously maintained.
For reference my boat is a 2015 Fairlane Targa 48, IPS 600.
Pro's
- Using the joystick is great. It makes a lot of manoeuvring very simplistic and is very convenient in an array of situations.
- The joystick hasn't de-skilled me at all, as I spent the first 7 years of my boat ownership on outdrives and in tidal waters. I alternate how I close quarter the boat from the joystick to the sticks and wheel, to keep a sense of traditional manoeuvring.
- So long as you follow a proper and thorough maintenance schedule then you should not be running into major problems. Having just serviced my boat in its first major service, the oil drained out clear and not emulsified. I took note with my engineer that there was a very tiny mark on one of the shafts, so we may change that next year, but its not in danger of causing issues in the next season. We have also decided to change shaft seals next year, as a precautionary measure.
- One of the benefits of having IPS over outdrives is that you can check the oil from the engine bay, so regular checks to see if there is any emulsification. This is helpful given that you can catch any issues nice and early should they arise.
- Servicing is nice and simple, without all the hassle of removing the drives, changing bellows, shift cables etc etc etc.
- A med related benefit to me is the fact that the props sit well forward on the boat (similar to shafts in a sense) in comparison to outdrives. If you are berthing med style you see all too often the lazy lines are all over the place in some marinas, and if you then factor in you have no boats either side of you and a nice side wind, then its quite hairy not to get a line round the prop. The outdrive props are so far back you see a lot of owners at some point calling out the divers. I all too often it will spin the prop off its bush and its ££££££.
Con's
- Fouling does drastically effect the performance of the boat. This is most likely an issue related to boats of my size and power range, rather than just IPS - 50 foot with IPS 600's. Any fouling will run your speed right down. We were getting max 18 knots at one point last season. A mid season lift helped that, but it fouled up again quickly in the med heat and slowed down again. This year I have painted the pods and put Velox Plus on the props. I am hoping this may well solve the issue this season, so we will see
- Volvo Penta IPS oil is eye wateringly expensive. And you need much more of it than you do on outdrives for the IPS units. This was a big chunk of cost this year, that stuff must be made out of liquid gold.
- I can understand the theory that those new to boating and who get an IPS boat could not skill up enough. If you learn off the joystick then it could land you in trouble. I find that the joystick is fine in benign conditions, but as soon as you have a bit of a gust, its not great for berthing, and if it kicks up a wind, its definitely not good. You have the option of high mode, but if you are wanting to get into a gap, its going to be kicking up water and rocking the boat. You could use high mode if say you wanted to turn in an aisle and abort if you had nasty conditions, but not for parking.. You would need to use traditional methods to get into your berth, and that is where it could easily catch out those who rely on just the joystick
I think that pretty much has everything that I can comment on in there. Overall I am very happy with my choice, and if you are considering a boat with IPS, don't be put off by those with perhaps more traditionalist points of view. I am sure the mechanical simplicities of owning a shaft drive will always be the overarching reason why it is the favoured choice of propulsion and understandably so. However with so many modern boats on the market with IPS, it would be a shame for anyone to discount it as a viable choice if a) the boat has a solid maintenance history and b) will be meticulously maintained.
For reference my boat is a 2015 Fairlane Targa 48, IPS 600.
