Which 50' pod drive coupe is best?

[Aquadome]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I took a Sabre express 42 from Florida to Maine last year. It had a full beam master stateroom in the bow, and was well built. You can't really put the master stateroom near the stern, due to the machinery. The boat wasn't designed to sleep on at speed, because the fuel tankage will not take you anywhere near 24 hours unless you slow down to 7 knots. The Mercruiser Pod drives were easy to operate, but they are going to be very expensive to maintain.

Thats why you need a 50' and a master stateroom full beam in the bow in my experience is not super comfortable at all as thats what I have now. Of course not in the stern I say a master stateroom full beam amidship is the way to go - can any of you confirm that? I find that doing an overnight cruise to the Bahamas is quite enjoyable at 8kts especially if you can sleep amidship True or False.

I find my current pod drives and engines and generators can be maintained at $3-4.5k year and I don't think that's overly expensive.

[Aquadome]

Originally Posted by lordgeoff

A stainless steel shaft with a prop on it is going to survive decades in salt water.
An engine and gearbox isolated from salt water is also
Going to survive decades.
Ask the same questions of any Pod?

Thanks but not looking to debate pod vs shaft as I like VP IPS pods and not many keep the same MY for decades.

[Aquadome]

Originally Posted by RichUSA

Here are a few to check out that have full been stateroom.
Prestige yachts
Cruisers inc
Tiara
Lots more, not sure of your price range?
Also look on boattest dot com as there are lots of mid ship staterooms now.

If you are looking at used you do not want an IPS boat built before 2010, verify it is a version 2 or 3 IPS600 there were issues with first version IPS pods, water intrusion into the pod and transmission away, sealing ring between hull and pod, sea strainer cover leaking, overheating issues. And very costly to fix. Annual maintenance is over 1k per pod if I remember reading correctly, Mercury Cummins Zeus pod is cheaper to operate and no issues of water intrusion into the pod. We have been looking at Prestige 550 fly great layout. I've been looking for a better quality built boat just can't do the jump to Hatteras 60 yacht.

Rich

Thanks for the good info. I have a 44' 2011 now with twin vp ips600 and they are trouble free and I've enjoyed them but would certainly check out Zeus pods. Now I'd be looking at a 2015 or newer 50' and I'm flexible in price. From my research I found the layout on the Cruisers cantius 50 really ideal for me but I hear that the Cruisers line is poorly built and with multiple annual Gulfstream crossings and the occasional getting caught in bad offshore seas I need a solid MY. Any feedback on that?