Few innovations have changed boating in recent years quite like IPS propulsion. The efficiency and maneuverability of pods, especially when paired with a joystick, have made docking feel like playing a video game. As a result, the technology ushered in a new, younger wave of boaters and allowed others to grow into larger vessels than their skills previously allowed.
It’s important to remember that IPS was not universally accepted out of the gate. The Inboard Propulsion System was met with widespread skepticism. Consumers wondered if the pods would be hard to work on or service. Could forward-facing props even work? And, what kind of damage could occur if you ran aground and sheared one off? In short, the industry held its breath thinking that Volvo Penta was, well, crazy.
The thing with boaters is that word gets out quickly if something works well. In the ensuing years, as IPS made docking heroes of everyone, the system took off.
Almost 20 years after Volvo Penta launched IPS, I found myself at the company’s test center in Krossholmen, Sweden, not far from Gothenburg. Volvo Penta Marine President Johan Inden joked with me that somewhere out there was a graveyard of sterndrives, parts and pods. “The first crash tests for IPS were done out here. They built a concrete platform and hit it at 25 knots to make sure that they broke the way they were supposed to,” Inden said.
I was invited to test what promised to be another game-changer for the company, its first fully integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system. Built in partnership with Groupe Beneteau, the system was installed aboard a Jeanneau NC37. The goal of the soft launch was, Volvo Penta said, to gather feedback from the press along with key dealers as the company moved toward serial production.
There, near a rocky archipelago, the twin 60-kW electric motors paired with 320-hp D4s and Aquamatic sterndrives slid the NC37 silently from its slip and toward the channel. My first observation of this system—besides its exceptional quietness—was that the joystick maneuvering seemed even more responsive than the builder’s IPS joystick thanks to the near instantaneous torque that electric propulsion offers.
The only aspect of the hybrid system that Volvo Penta does not produce in-house (yet, at least) is the MB battery bank with eight lithium-ion subpacks (weighing 1,322 pounds) that lend the boat 67 kWh of capacity. That capacity gives the NC37 test boat a reported three-hour, or 15-nautical-mile, range at 5 knots and a top speed of 10 knots.
After navigating a slow zone, simply pushing on the throttles in hybrid mode and bringing the engines to 1500 rpm automatically engaged the boat’s diesel power and gave us 37 knots of speed. Pull back on the throttles, and the motors shift to silent cruising at 1200 rpm. There is also the option for “electric boost.” In that mode, propulsion is delivered from diesel and electric power to get you up to speed faster. The mode worked as advertised, helping the 37 reach planing speed a few seconds faster than diesel alone.
One feature offered with the hybrid system is DPS (Dynamic Positioning) in electric mode. With it, you can hold position silently while jigging or quietly waiting for a bridge to open.
The calling card of this hybrid system might be its charging options. You can charge with shore power and while underway (up to 80 percent of the battery’s capacity). The most time-efficient method is to charge from the boat’s diesels while stationary in a slip or on the hook; with this option, operators should be able to restore a full charge from nearly empty within the hour, and then power all the boat’s systems, including the A/C, for days at a time.
The company has yet to release pricing for this system or a date when it will be available to consumers, but you can expect to see this hybrid-powered NC37 on the boat show circuit this fall in the United States, as both Volvo Penta and Groupe Beneteau look to bring this product to market.
Joystick Driving
While hybrid propulsion was the star of this test event, it overshadowed another impressive advancement from Volvo Penta: joystick driving. I’ve used joystick docking on various IPS-powered boats over the years and have thought it really couldn’t get much better. Therein lies the genius of Volvo Penta in creating a culture of innovation, where good is never good enough.
As I settled in at the helm of a boat built by Prestige, the company captain engaged docking assist, which ensured that, with the help of the joystick, I wouldn’t inadvertently kiss the bulkhead beside me. I maneuvered the boat into open water with the traditional joystick functionality. I then touched a new button in the top right corner of the joystick, which was in the armrest of the helm seat. That button engaged joystick driving, which allowed me to shift from neutral into gear, throttle up and then turn by leaning the joystick to port or starboard. I could also make course corrections via the autopilot by turning a couple degrees with a simple twist of the wrist. I was never very good at video games, but in a matter of minutes, I got the feel for joystick driving. The boat felt like an extension of my hand.
Pulling back on the joystick reduces speed until you land back in neutral. If you continue to pull back, you’ll shift into reverse. If you release the joystick when it’s in reverse, it defaults back into neutral. That’s a smart safety feature. On our test boat, the wheel and throttles had largely become redundant.
What could this joystick technology mean for the future of the helm? It’s kind of crazy to think about a wheelless boat, but, believe it or not, I’ve already seen a Fountaine Pajot 67 with a lower helm that had just a joystick and a pair of multifunction displays.
Culture of Innovation
In between test sessions, I found Inden casting a watchful eye over everything. We chatted awhile about my experience testing the hybrid system and joystick driving before I was able to flip the interview back to him. “So, what’s next?” I asked.
Inden smiled and said, “We’re always trying to think 20 years ahead. In January at CES, we shared what we call our ‘boating for everyone’ vision, where we outline everything from how we think people will go boating to how we solve charging.”
One of the visions is for a floating island/village where boaters can dock, charge their boats, walk around the perimeter and get a meal. “It got a fantastic reaction,” Inden said. “We got calls from builders asking when we plan to build it because they wanted to be the contractor. It was fantastic. And boaters were saying, ‘Couldn’t you build the first test island just out here in the archipelago so we could start playing with it?’.”
Standing on the docks and taking in the surrounding archipelago and the hybrid NC37 I’d tested hours earlier, I wondered what the boating world would think of the hybrid system. Would it be a major step toward the future? Would people see the value in being able to power a boat on the hook without a generator? Or would folks take one look at the boat’s range at speed and scoff?
When it comes to hybrid tech, you can come to your own conclusion, but I will say that most impactful innovators were once called the same thing: crazy.
This article was originally published in the September 2023 issue.
