Forward-facing Volvo Penta stern drive
 

It appears to be aimed primarily at competing with inboard shaft drives on wakeboarding boats, but you have to give these guys points for creative thinking.

New Volvo Penta sterndrive

Apparently, the IPS-style lower unit bolts on to existing Volvo Penta midsections.

Safer swimming around the back of a boat, thats for sure.

Great for channel dredging...

Even if it's a 100mph faster or what have you, it may be a bad idea with all the rocks we have here in Lake Winni.
LOL.

Will be interesting how it works out.

Had an interview with Volvo Penta about it and their direct injected V-6. Volvo had 3 FWD facing drives boats in the water at the Miami show. They had a Four Winns, a Regal and a Bryant. We test drove the Four Winns and Volvo filmed all of it during our runs for their Marketing center.

backing the boat up is such a breeze and planning times were cut to a blink of an eye. The huge benefit for wakesports is you can fine tune the wake to either side by trimming the drive and waketrim tabs.

Volvo had IPS for 10 years on their diesel side and now want to bring the gas sterndrive back in numbers snce it is hugely lacking for them and Mercruiser but a lot more so for Volvo Penta in the US. Volvo does not own any boat lines like Merc does to hang their product on

Volvo is marketing all of this as a rec boat that do all and compete against the true wakeboard boats. I will post info later.

Is there anyone in the r&d department @ Fond Du Lac ?....seems like they let Volvo come out with something
and a couple years later, or after patents expire, they come out with their version.

The last truly unique thing that I can remember them coming out with is the Blackhawk....and that's been 20 years ago.

Apparently designed for use in front wheel drive boats. :drink:

ive seen that concept on ships and yachts, called pods. Might need a skeg foreward along the keel to push logs under the props. Would be cool if it rotated 360.

Interesting evolution of their IPS unit, or so it appears. Missed you at the show, C_Spray!

Matt, I think its an evolution as much as it is a byproduct. There were DP290's that had their lowers rotated 180* that helped get them to the final IPS product more than 10 years ago.
Like BUP, I had the chance to run a FWD a year or so ago and was quite impressed. Sure would like to be the first to have one on a CC.:D

That's the one. Thanks for the visual aid

I'd advise against raising the X dimension....

A great write-up by Marlin Mag.

http://www.marlinmag.com/files/image...07/pods_01.jpg
http://www.marlinmag.com/boats/boat-...uture?page=0,0

Be more efficient I'd think, but the article states otherwise.

A little info and installed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRn8mzNZxTo

here is exactly how and what Volvo penta along with the boat builders using Volvo's are going after. They want to grab as much away from the big selling true wakeboard / wakesurf market.

If you are truly a rec boater and want to do all the watersports - the drive really is a hit for this type of boat & boater. A do all Rec boat in which a wakeboard boat can not do especially in rough water plus this outdrive offers even less emissions behind the boat than true wakeboard boats.

Anyways video below. The drive does work as everything they mentioned in the video. I had my time playing with it out in the ocean plus it was rough..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsyaQ_cxZY

Wonder if they warranty running over floating debris such as small limbs, chunks of 2X4 and 4X4 floating at or just below the surface?

I think it is a great implementation of existing technology. Those Swedes have long, cold, dark winters so they have nothing to do but work on new projects/ideas.

That being said for most of us who occasionally boat in shallow or rocky water not an option. I can drag my skegs through the sand in the Bahamas at 40 mph and just trim up and hammer down to get clear of it.

That will really effect the x dimension vs. a standard outdrive. The props are almost 2 feet further in than a standard drive.

I'd be interested to see how that effects the running attitude.

Basically this type of boat using the Volvo facing drive has positive results across the board from planning, tracking, acceleration, and docking. Top speed I can not say because I had no apples to apple comparison. I will say it seem the boat was more planted and seemed to handle rough water better than this type of boat using the standard sterndrive. The big negitives are trailering and clearances while trailering. Next one is impacts in the water of the props and drive.

If you really look at it, not much worse than the current wakeboard boat with impacts in the water plus trailering clearances. I do see possible higher repair costs depending on impacts with the Volvo. I would wonder if the boat builder adapted a fin or fins like a lot of wakeboard boats have midship if that would help avoid impact damages to the props and drive as acting like a deflector. Just saying.

keep in mind a lot of wakeboard boats are getter bigger and deeper plus carry a ton of ballast plus those apps always have a lot of people aboard. The prop under the hull sits pretty deep in the water as well.

Me thinks I'd have a slight problem with this unit on my back-on lift.

Volvo clearly says that there is no performance gain versus a conventional sterndrive, just more adjustability to the boat's wake performance versus a shaft drive. There are over sixteen thousand (16,000) Volvo forward-facing IPS inboard pod systems out there, and debris strikes have not proven to be a major issue. When you're looking at replacing shafts and struts, those aren't cheap either.

Anyway - I just like to see creative thinking at work.

It's also kind of cool that it was introduced without all sorts of smoke, flashing lights and fanfare. Matt Trulio - Were you at the intro in Miami on February 11?

I agree. For what they are using/marketing it for I think it's a great option.

Compared to direct or V drives it should help with docking and trim. I see that.

My question is why would it be better then a conventional Outdrive? Is it just the clean water?

Wildman...Its a safety issue. Wake surfing with conventional is a no-no. I'm told actually illegal in some states.

I've got to wonder if this has a home in the twin engine I/O cruiser market ?

My v drive cruiser friends say the v drives are better around the docks than I/O's

Didn't know that. We grew up with straight inboards, the closest we would get was off the barefoot boom or when we would step off the swim with our trick skis.

you would never want to surf behind an outboard board or a sterndrive.. I will say some do with a sterndrive boat that has a very long extended swim platform on them or one that was added on.

Watch the vid as many of the surfers are only 3 to 8 ft behind the boat. Not good when props come into play. Couple of vids one right after the other. Wake surfing is the lastest craze. Seems like everyone under 40 all way down to kids want to wake surf and that's another reason why 100 K wakeboard boats sell.

Its not for me but I know - use to sell wakeboard boats. Not a hard sale especially if it is a darn Malibu. The way to beat Malibu for sales was big discounts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7axkSvrJU

I talked with the engineers at Volvo in great lengths about the outdrive cooling water intakes as the props are directly in front of them spinning creating air pockets / cavitation and or blow out. Asked them how well can you keep the engine cooled putting the outdrive thru all kinds of paces on the water ?

They told me not an issue at all as they tested with under water cameras to watch water flow from the props to the water inlet intakes in the outdrive plus they monitored water pressure and engine temps exclusively during many hours of water testing.

When I drove the boat I kept watching the water temp gauge and tried to see if I could fluctuate it by trimming and turning the boat hard lefts and rights along with all different throttle settings. The darn water temp never moved nor even in reverse. Anyways water / engine temps and cooling was the first thing that came to mind as soon as I seen the outdrive in person.

Just a little info about it but these are from Volvo IPS drives that have been out on the market for 10 years. Same concept and theory.

Its basically can be sort of like auto's with front wheel drive pulling the car forward compared to rear wheel drive pushing the car forward.

http://www.volvopenta.com/VOLVOPENTA...rd_facing.aspx

And this link

http://www.volvopenta.com/VOLVOPENTA...ardfacing.aspx

and last link

http://features.boats.com/boat-conte...uced-at-miami/

I have ridden in a barefoot boat with a stock dp drive f3 props that would practically rip a slalum skiier right out ofthier bindings and still run mid 70's . my ski pro with a mild vortec was still a stout peeformer and could be ballasted and trimmed halfway out and never missed a beat .other than a brutal rough water ride was a very fun boat .ill be watching vp on this one sounds very interesting.

This has been around for years
My dad had a boat in the late sixties early seventies with this type of drive.
I think it was an Italian design.

who has an idea of how much a normal duo prop compares to a forward facing drivee

One out performs the other.
Forward facing has less prop slip and rear facing is more efficient in top speed

R U asking about price differences between the 2 ?

yes sorry i was asking price. didn't pay attention to what i was typing.

Looks cool, Volvo has had some amazing drives over the years... I wonder how this would work in a bracket racing situation? Our One Desing boats love duoprops.

I doubt it would be too good for racing, to clear the props that has to be a deep drive I would suspect...

I do not know the price of the new Volvo fwd facing drive.. I do know its uses the exact same upper as the current drive so that price of just the upper is the same. (The outdrive that has been out since 2007 / 2008) - Volvo changed their drive designs and transom assemblies for model year 2007 for both the SX and the DP = duoprop.

They (SX & DP) are both 1 to 2 mph faster hydrodynamically plus use a intergrated speedo pitot like what mercruiser has been for years.