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Volvo Penta has no new gasoline engines to report, but it is incorporating a new feature called Electronic Vessel Control (EVC) into its current gasoline and diesel offerings.

In a nutshell, EVC is a communication system that allows your boat’s engine, controls, and gauges to interact. EVC was born out of closely examining automotive CAN-bus technology, says Volvo Penta. The CAN-bus system uses numerous processors to receive data and provide an appropriate response for the vehicle and/or information for the driver. For instance, when the accelerator is depressed, the CAN-bus processor acknowledges the need to increase the fuel supply to the engine, and the car goes faster. The same idea applies to boats. The throttle goes forward, and EVC’s engine’s fuel-system processor determines the need and sends the message. The response is instantaneous. EVC reduces the number of cables running through your vessel and is designed to easily add other ship’s systems to completely integrate the craft.

If you’re looking for information on any of your boat’s systems connected to the EVC, it can be displayed at the helm as text. In addition, your local technician can plug into the system with a handheld computer called VODIA (Volvo Diagnostics) to retrieve engine data and performance history and examine fault codes. The result should be a quicker diagnosis and repair if a breakdown occurs.

Volvo Penta Phone: (757) 436-2800. www.volvopenta.com.

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