ZZZZZed Drives?

There is no difference, The Z bit denotes the route then the power from crank to the prop. Probably a yankism. Outdrive is just that engine in drive out.

Bet someone comes along and say diff tho.

Regards BarryH
 
the engine it boat right? uses up a load of space. So, they put engen to the back. Lots of space BUT driveshaht pops out too high up the transom, not in the water . So, the Z shaped bits out the back get the prop in the water. They also have to turn (no props) cos the if there were any rudders they'd need to be behind the props- not feasible

Outdrives (=zdrives) on a boat make the boat harder to manoevre - with no rudders ther boat is literally rudderless when out of gear. generally find these on smaller boats where space v important . There's a limit (300hp) to the amout of power you can put through outdrives.
 
When Noah was a lad there was a difference. A 'Z drive' lifted and bent sort of sideways whereas a 'Leg' lifted straight up and down. Over the years common useage has made them both mean the same thing. Except for old Duffers like me who instantly think of an old Perkins Z Drive instead of a modern Leg.

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I think there is a difference between Z drive and outdrive, outdrive, as rightly described here and seen on many power boats, is a sort of inboard out board mix that we all know and love/hate, also they are often I think reffered to as Z drives.

I beleive that a Z drive is really an installation found in some rag and stick type boats prior to the saildrives we see today (well you do if you go snoopy round boat yards looking under rag and stick type craft) where there was a desire to have the engine very far back such that a conventional shaft layout would not work. In these cases, the engine was mounted, if you like back to front, with the gearbox forward, the shaft then was sent forwards under the floor and into a bevel drive transmission box where it exited back aft through the hull in roughly the same place as a conventional set up.
 
Z drives = sterndrives = outdrives = I/O drives = inboard/outboard drives

leg = the drive unit and prop outside of boat. The terms above are slightly interchangeable between meaning just the leg, or the whole package of leg and engine.

You'll find Brit magazines mostly using the term outdrives but ads will use anything. Sometimes they don't identify at all but if you see mention of Aquamatic or the letter A (as in AQ, or AQAD) at the start of engine model for Volvo Penta, or Alpha or Bravo in conjunction with Mercruiser then you are looking at outdrives.

Associate Publisher ybw.com websites kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com
 
Re: Perkins = Enfield?

Think you'll find the Perkins was identical to the Enfield which has had a chequered ownership history but is still made and and sold today as the Enfield Z-Drive by Bob Knowles. Had one on my Norman 32 which was a bit vulnerable for shallow water and canal work but only just beginning to realise how simple and serviceable it was as I now get to grips with twin Volvo 270 legs...money, money, money....

TonyR
boatone@boatsontheweb.com
www.boatsonthethames.co.uk
 
Re: Z/V/S Drives

Burgundy ben, what you describe is a Vee drive (as someone else said) also found on sunseekers and lots of italian swanky boats, incl LS23. Rare on a sailboat. However, there are many sailboats fitted with S drives, which are like Z drives (stern drives) except the leg is fixed and comes thru the bottom of the hull not the transom. Just to confuse things....
 
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