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Cummins Power South engineers play behind-the-scenes role in launch of ground-breaking yacht Triple-pod Zeus engines a first, adding space, reliability and efficiency For Immediate Release “Lazzara challenged us to assist them in bringing the latest innovation in marine propulsion engineering to the new LMC76,” explained Mark Goosic, CPS Marine General Sales Manager. “With this unconventional arrangement of triple engines they were able to free up six additional feet of living space, allowing for design of another stateroom, crew quarters, whatever the owner wants. And the Zeus propulsion means that the Lazzara 76 can be moved in ways that are virtually impossible for a boat equipped with conventional straight-shaft inboards.” The Lazzara 76 is the first vessel to incorporate CMD's Zeus Pod system in a triple configuration, with the three QSC8.3-litre, 600-hp engines installed side-by-side in the aft engine room. The LMC76 will also feature all of the award-winning Zeus functionality that yacht owners have come to expect in twin-Zeus setups: intuitive joystick control for docking and other low-speed maneuvers; Skyhook® station keeping, which holds a vessel's position and heading, even in the presence of wind and current; and an advanced, fully integrated autopilot system that provides autoheading and waypoint tracking. “Cummins Power South has a long history of working with its customers to engineer Cummins engines into boats, on and off-road vehicles, equipment, and generators,” noted Lee Trexler, CPS Director of OEM Sales and Engineering. “The great challenge in the LMC76 was that we did not have another triple-powered yacht to model against and we had the additional complexity of a joystick driving three independent pod units.” The Zeus drive-by-wire system controls steering, throttle and shifting electronically and independently for each drive/pod unit, allowing a simple movement of the joystick to automatically effect complex combinations of vectored thrust that allow the operator to spin the boat in its own length, travel diagonally or even move dead sideways, without the use of bow or stern thrusters. In fact, the Lazzara 76 is not even equipped with bow or stern thrusters, though it does have stabilizers. And since the pods are tunnel-mounted, the gearcases and propellers are largely protected from strikes, and the draft of this 110,000-pound yacht is just 51 inches. In the unlikely event of a collision, grounding or mechanical issue, the boat is capable of returning to port on the remaining two or even one engine. CPS VP Sales and Marketing Alan Fairgrieves explains, “Zeus is revolutionary marine propulsion technology, offering maneuverability, efficiency and safety that are unmatched in the marketplace today. Cummins Power South played an integral role in the installation and application engineering associated with the Lazzara/CMD project. Having demonstrated our ability to successfully apply the first-ever triple-pod Zeus in the Lazzara 76, we are confident there are other midsize yacht builders that will want to offer their customers the advantages inherent with this propulsion system. In addition, as Cummins MerCruiser Diesel's largest recreational marine distributor, and one of two Zeus training centers in North America, Cummins Power South is well positioned to provide outstanding customer support after the sale." About Cummins Power South About Lazzara Yachts About CMD For more information contact Sheila Monardo, Manager of Business Communications, Cummins Power South at: sheila.monardo@cummins.com High resolution photography of CMD products can be downloaded from the CMD FTP site: www.cmdmarine.com/ftp. |
ATLANTA (March 17, 2009) — When Lazzara Yachts and Cummins MerCruiser Diesel (CMD) announced the world's first triple-pod-propelled motor yacht, the Lazzara Motor Cruiser 76 (LMC76 or Lazzara 76), at the recent Miami International Boat Show, among the invitation-only crowd of yachting enthusiasts, marine industry press and current Lazzara owners was a team who played an important behind-the-scenes role: the technical and application engineers from Cummins Power South (CPS), the exclusive CMD distributor in Florida, Georgia and much of the Caribbean. Powering the Lazzara 76 with three CMD Zeus® 3000 Series propulsion drives brought new challenges to the experienced CPS engineering team, who worked closely with Lazzara's designers and engineers.