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It would suck to lose one.
I was thinking this season when I bent a prop.
Hit something solid in a dark canal.
Probably in little less than 3' feet of water.
If the IPS drive sheeared off, that would really suck.
They should have a safety chain that keeps it attached and allows it to drag past swim platform so you can retrieve it.
Whatever you hit would, at worst, likely have also only bent a prop on a pod or perhaps sheared off the sacrificial skeg on a Zeus pod (the lowest point of contact). And remember, nibral is less forgiving than stainless steel (used for pod props).
The common wisdom is - anything that would cause a pod to shear off, which would require significant impact, would likely take out a shaft and prop on a boat with traditional drives and more than likely cause hull damage as a result. You would not want a safety chain dragging a pod after an impact. That would almost certainly cause hull damage.
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Does the whole engine and pod turn together or just the pod (I think just the pod).
Not sure exactly what is meant by the question but the internal pod mechanism sits abaft the engine and does not move at all. Only the lower unit moves.
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We are GSB boaters, maybe you should be asking "who's run aground with IPS drives". You know that it's only a matter of time before you touch bottom with them around here. I've read up on IPS drives and they seem to be the greatest drives ever but all reviews are boats in blue water. I'm not saying don't buy them because they suck, I'm saying they may not be a good idea around here.
Definitely a good point and a worthy consideration and the same rules of due diligence obviously apply. I ran my Zeus driven boat throughout Florida over the winter, sometimes seeing only 3 1/2 feet below my keel with no issues at all. And there are a LOT of pod driven boats in in Florida where there is obviously a great deal of skinny, shoaling water. Pod driven boats almost always have a shallower draft than their traditionally driven counterparts.
After a full year of ownership all of my concerns were put to rest. Your mileage may vary, but I have been thrilled with the benefits of the Zeus system. It is truly revolutionary and all it is cracked up to be. There will always and should be skeptics when it comes to new technology and everyone is obviously in a different situation, but for me, I couldn't be happier and would do it all over again without hesitation.
It is a bigger ticket item with added maintenance over straight drives and other additional expenses so you are committing to that when you go this route.
Admittedly, I still have some concerns about the forward-facing props used for Volvo's IPS system but I don't know if that would keep me away from the technology altogether if Zeus wasn't an option.
