Last week I had the opportunity to demonstrate Zeus® to a reporter who was not a boater. We used a 2010 47 Sea Ray Sundancer which has been designed to take advantage of all Zeus has to offer. We worked out of Burnham Harbor, a marina at the base of Soldier Field in Chicago, on perfectly calm day. Lake Michigan was flat and glassy. When I think of Zeus, I tend to focus on the ability to maneuver in any direction, including sideways, at low speeds using the joystick controller, or ability to engage the Skyhook® feature and cause the boat to stay in one spot on the same heading for as long as one likes. In this one-hour demonstration I was reawakened to the cruise and top-speed handling capabilities, as well as the fuel efficiency, provided by Zeus. A boat equipped with Zeus can achieve up to 15 percent greater speed at both cruise and full throttle, and up to 30 percent greater fuel economy, than a boat equipped with normal inboard drives. In today’s economy and with today’s fuel prices, these efficiencies may be even more important than the maneuvering capabilities joystick controls provide. However, these are all matters of the brain when one thinks of Zeus, and while they are important, there is the matter of the boater’s soul and emotions when on a boat. Running at top speed with a 47’ Zeus-equipped boat and turning as hard as the wheel allows and feeling the boat lay into the turn with the gunnels on the inside of the turn barely above water’s edge with no skidding – that feeds the boater’s soul and creates emotions no other drive or handling system can imitate.

We are now two weeks into a concerted effort to create publicity about Axius and Zeus. We have been conducting events to demonstrate these products to boaters for several months, but this recent effort has been to go beyond the normal boating media and reach non-boaters. We know when people experience Axius and Zeus they are astounded, and their interest in owning a boat with the joystick controls Axius and Zeus enable is very high. Awareness then becomes the first element of reaching both boaters and non-boaters, with actually experiencing joystick controls being the second element. Our efforts in creating awareness are having immediate success. Although there are many examples of great media coverage in the last two weeks, you should listen to Mike Shedivy’s live interview on the Johnny Brandmeier show out of Chicago last week as being especially enlightening. Mike works at Brunswick’s Mercury division and his great conversation with the radio host is indicative of the level of interest joystick technology creates. Mike’s interview can be heard here. I also had the opportunity to appear on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street last week and that can be seen here. The technology is revolutionary and it creates excitement with awareness. Much more to come!

Boating is a special recreation activity, full of fun, excitement, unsurpassed scenery, beautiful machines and a never-ending sense of adventure. Misty sunrises and sunsets without horizons are among the many secrets we boaters share with our kindred. In addition to the fact that boating is special, boaters as individuals are also special in two ways. First, boaters are friendly, outgoing and unusually social. Each of us has hundreds of memories of an evening in a marina shared with long time friends and people we met that day who feel as if they were longtime friends. Or the times we rafted up with other boats for a day of fun. Second, boaters have a strong sense of family. We see it in the wife and husband with all the kids on their boat, each smiling almost constantly. (I have a theory as to why boating families are close: when you are on a boat with your children, you have to interact because you are in close proximity with no place to hide.) We also see it in the “empty nester” couples spending leisure periods on their boat enjoying each other’s companionship.

So . . . why doesn’t everyone boat? There are many reasons, most of which are excuses at best to those of us who boat, and I won’t dive into them here. But there is one reason which I find to be unique to boating (and flying). Many people are frightened and intimidated of the physical act of piloting a boat. This is especially true of larger boats, with the fear level reaching highest with twin engine boats. If we reflect, this intimidated feeling one gets when considering how to dock a twin-engine boat is understandable. Each of us has our own embarrassing memory, which we don’t share openly, of an attempted docking at a crowded and tight marina, or at a waterside restaurant, with wind and tide seemingly coming at us from all directions as every human being within 10 miles watched us.

But now this issue has been completely neutralized. Axius and Zeus, with their joystick handling controls, give the pilot of any boat equipped with them complete and intuitive control of his or her boat in any docking or slow-speed manuever. The fabulous videos with boys and girls handling large boats with skill and confidence (note also the smiles on these kids) show a once-in-a-generation leap forward with a practical technical advancement which changes everything about handling a large boat. The Axius or Zeus boat is actually easier to handle than a car.

Have you seen a boat with Axius or Zeus? Or, more importantly, have you tried one? If you have, let me know what you think. If you haven’t, go try one! I have been lucky enough to follow the evolution of these technologies from their inception and got to experience their eye-popping capabilities in their development stages, and I am sure you will not be anything but wowed. Let me hear what you think, and give me your thoughts as to how we use these incredible technologies to get more people to discover the boating experience and lifestyle.

Dusty