The patrol-craft PTA80 set off from Gothenburg, Sweden on 16, June 2011 to prove itself over a twenty-nine day trip around the Baltic Sea propelled by the latest inboard pod-drive from Volvo Penta, the IPS1050 twin. Seven ports in five different countries are to be visited by the test boat in the course of the 2,096 nm odyssey, including a highlight week at St. Petersburg in Russia for this year’s International Marine Defense Show (IMDS) where PTA80 will join an international fleet of some forty display craft of various sizes. PTA80 Patrol Craft: Photo credit Volvo Penta Pod Drives The pod drive is a relatively new innovation for recreational and work boats, so a brief explanation may be in order before continuing. In a sense like their big pod relatives, the azimuth pods that are commonplace in present-day cruise ships, these systems for much smaller vessels consist of pods with propellors slung below the craft (driven by inboard engines) and computer controlled to produce... [More]