Harry Krause wrote:



Here's the interesting twist on this. The boat in the video has neither
bow nor stern thrusters.
The boat is equipped with the Volvo IPS drive system. (Forward facing
prop). Volvo has added a joystick that is operative under 1500 RPM, and
the joystick can direct the prop "pods" turn to essentially face one
another and make true lateral motion possible.



That makes it *much* easier to drive your prop blades right into that reef.

Better to lose a prop, or even a pod, than an entire boat.

The IPS system is so new that there can't be meaningful numbers
available yet,
but I would be surprised to meet very many experienced boaters without
knowledge of some twin engine inboard boat (with traditional
propulsion) that has gone straight to the bottom after striking a rock
with a strut and punching out a fair sized section of the bottom.
Striking a reef or a rock with any sort of running gear is potentially
catastrophic. You don't see me rushing out to buy an IPS powered boat,
but I'd rather lose a prop, or a breakaway pod, than open a four sq ft
hole in the boat three feet below the waterline.