Ips

[BruceK]

Are there TFers with boats fitted with IPS drive systems? Or people with knowledge and experience of the system, especially maintenance, they could share? IPS seems to commonly accompany newer Volvo Penta engines.

 

[Comodave]

A friend of mine was crewing for a delivery captain on a Swift Trawler. They were to deliver it from Maine to Florida. They got there to take off and one of the IPS drives had an error code. Took 3 weeks to get it fixed so they had to go home until it was fixed. The next time they made it to Annapolis before the same drive went out again. They left the boat for another couple of weeks. The third time they made it into Florida and the same drive went out again. They left it there as repairs were predicted to take another 3+ weeks. The owner then called the dealer and told the dealer it was his problem to get the boat to Tamps. Never heard if it got there or not. Maybe Volvo support is better where you are. Each time they had to wait for a certified Volvo tech to come diagnose the problem with his computer. That would be a huge downside.

 

[Insequent]

No direct personal experience, but a couple of things I've picked up.

Firstly oil change needs haulout. Probably not a big deal as it isn't going to be that often anyway.

Secondly, seal replacement is very, very expensive as there is a lot of dis-assembly to do for it. At least for early models, not sure if this aspect has been improved or not.

 

[Ken E.]

Bruce, A few years ago there was a lot written on boatdiesel.com about IPS, mostly negative. You might check their archives.

 

[Seevee]

Never wanted one, just from the rumors I've heard. Couple that with a Volvo and there's no way.



There's an argument for simplicity.