New "Mercury Marine Zeus Pod Owners Group" on Facebook

Capt Mark Rinker

Capt Mark Rinker

New Member
Jan 17, 2022
8
Boat Info
Former owner of 2000 Sea Ray 410, 2011 Sabre 40/42 Zeus
Engines
CAT 3126, Cummins 5.9
Hello all - I was formerly a member of Club SeaRay from 2010-2016 and a Silver Sponsor. At that time, I owned a 2000 Sea Ray 410 with twin CAT 3126s. We moved that vessel from Lake Superior to Seattle in 2013, trading for a 2011 Sabre 42 with Cummins / Zeus in 2016.

We still have the Sabre, recently replacing and resealing the steering kingpins and shaft seals, as is typical at 1200hrs and 11 years salt water soak.

I'm a broker and Captain, sold alot of Sea Rays over the years and many with Zeus. Hope to build a group on Facebook of many brand owners that have this one thing in common - maintaining, repairing, and learning the ins and outs of Zeus pod systems.

I hope that the Admins here will take time to read this and receive my message in good faith...i.e. not delete this thread.


Thanks!

Capt Mark Rinker
Seattle, WA
206.280.7635
 
Further fragmenting the ownership base doesn't make much sense to me. Why not get in touch with the owner of the Club Sea Ray site and ask him to put a new heading up for Zeus owners. Personally, I don't spend much, if any time on the SR group on FB because as a content contributor it is very unproductive. Posters seldom provide even basic information needed to answer their questions. I just don't have the time to ask 3-4 qualifying questions then wait for answers to try to help. On CSR we do at least have that basic info available to us which are restrictions/requirements to post.
 
jmauld said:
Hey, we agree on something. Facebook is a shitty medium for owner groups.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Very difficult to compartmentalize topics that you want to go back to. Searching is a beatdown and gives you SO much junk. Posters are often not as invested in the group as a site like this so you get so many trash posts and internet dumb***es.

I would love to see a Zeus sub-forum on CSR. I am extremely suspect of this system but keep being drawn back in because so many SR's that I like in the 2010-2014 range have them so I'm trying to get a real read on living with them.
 
What I’ve seen and heard about Zeus is that they are like German cars. They’re fantastic as long as you have a warranty.
 
Hey Frank - thanks for your input, you were helpful with questions that I had on my Sea Ray 410DA back in 2011 or so. Not certain what you mean by 'fragmenting the ownership base', but I think adding a Zeus heading would be a great idea as well.

Agree that this format is more productive than Facebook, but the two are not mutually exclusive and will provide different value to users.

My thought is this: There are many brands / models in service that use Zeus propulsion, but to date there has not been one place where Owners can share their common experiences and best practices. You might describe looking for that information online today as fragmented, and this Zeus Owners Group as a step in the right direction.

Additionally, many certified techs are now working on multiple brands and the Owners Group gives them a way to reach Zeus owners, regardless of brand.

Again, thanks for your responses and consideration of my intent, which is 100% to unite, inform, and help.




Regards -

Capt Mark Rinker
Seattle, WA
206.280.7635
 
Last edited:
Capt Mark Rinker said:
My thought is this: There are many brands / models in service that use Zeus propulsion, but to date there has not been one centralized place where owners can share common experiences and best practices. You might describe looking for that information online today as fragmented, and this Zeus Owners Group as a step in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Would you be interested in setting up a forum instead? It's not that difficult to create one, and then you're not subjecting yourself to the tyranny of facebook.
 
Last edited:
jmauld said:
Would you be interested in setting up a forum instead? It's not that difficult to create one, and then you're not subjecting yourself to the tyranny of facebook.
Click to expand...

Certainly. I was a moderator for many years on a GM diesel forum and am familiar with the advantages.


Capt Mark
 
I use these guys to host a forum that I run: https://vervehosting.com/ (no affiliation, just using them as an example)

It's $8/mo which is easily covered by a single advertiser. There are probably better/cheaper options available now. I can help you get it set up if you need assistance.
 
All sh*t talking aside, I really wanted a newer express cruiser with a full glass windshield, but it seemed like most of the ones I saw for sale were pod boats. There was not enough helpful user information available for me to take that risk. This is a good idea, especially with the age these boats are getting now.

Could probably use a similar Mercruiser Support forum.
 
jmauld said:
All sh*t talking aside, I really wanted a newer express cruiser with a full glass windshield, but it seemed like most of the ones I saw for sale were pod boats. There was not enough helpful user information available for me to take that risk. This is a good idea, especially with the age these boats are getting now.

Could probably use a similar Mercruiser Support forum.
Click to expand...

For those of us invested in Zeus, the next few years will be important for rebuilders and part suppliers to emerge, as Mercury won't be in the business of stocking and selling every bit and part, forever.

The Zeus pod is the BetaMax in a VHS world... the technology is more robust, props less prone to damage, hydraulic vs. electric steering, and separate fluids...if you get a wet gearcase your transmission clutches aren't subject to saltwater emulsion.

IPS service and parts are prevalent but suffer from fragile forward facing propellers, electric steering subject to overheat in autopilot in following seas, steering failure due to low battery or charging problems underway, etc... IPS is a disaster waiting to happen in the Pacific Northwest with our logs and kelp beds.
 
Capt Mark Rinker said:
For those of us invested in Zeus, the next few years will be important for rebuilders and part suppliers to emerge, as Mercury won't be in the business of stocking and selling every bit and part, forever..
Click to expand...
We made a few prototypes for Zeus …. Then production parts the first two years they were in production…really low volume. Those parts went to Cummins direct… they went thru so many revisions and redesigns it was a full time job with negative roi. We stopped when we pushed back with price increases. Those patterns and machining fixtures are long gone.
I haven’t seen an oem stop supplying service parts without some demand. When it did happen once in a while the oem would buy 10 more years of predicted demand…. Like 10 parts. So I doubt merc would abandon the spare part business…. Especially with the maintenance they require and the fact the thing is designed to break off :eek::D
Plus the manufacturers are not setup to deal with the public or would want to with the low volume
 
Capt Mark Rinker said:
For Sea Ray owners, yes! Seen many Sabre 42 or 48 owners here getting information? There are literally hundreds of Sabres with Zeus drives in service. Meridians? Prestige? Monte Carlo?
Click to expand...

I do know of a couple of VERY active sabre/zeus owners-members here. While it is clubsearay, we are quite the welcoming bunch. What stops them from posting/joining? Why not just point out on the FB page this site?
 
Shaps said:
I do know of a couple of VERY active sabre/zeus owners-members here. While it is clubsearay, we are quite the welcoming bunch. What stops them from posting/joining? Why not just point out on the FB page this site?
Click to expand...

I'll do that!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,118
Messages
1,426,527
Members
61,035
Latest member
Lukerney
Back
Top