Mainship 34 stern thruster

[Jimtrawler]

I am looking for recommendations to add a stern thruster to our 2005 Mainship 34 trawler. Someone also told me that there is a place that can match Mainship gel coat colors if you give them your HIN. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Pete Meisinger]

A stern thruster on a 34 foot boat is really un needed.

pete

 

[Bacchus]

My MS 34HT came with bow & stern thruster. I would have been happy with just the bow and learned how to handle it, I'm sure.
Having it to assist w the stern makes most maneuvering easy and a pleasure.
Many poo-poo thrusters but the presence of a tunnel and rather small rudder make MS singles more difficult to maneuver and thrusters make less stressful/ more enjoyable so worth it IMO.
I'm fine with those that would never have one or enjoy bragging about ability to handle their boat w/o "cheaters".

 

[Jimtrawler]

Thank you for your reply. I have only had the mainship for a couple of weeks and the wind grabs it easily. I have been working with a captain for training but we do want to reduce the stress of docking

 

[Duetto]

when we got our 34 pilot 12 yrs ago, i was a "real man" and not going to use bow thruster. that was then...now i love it and if you want the stern too go for it.

 

[Comodave]

We put on both bow and stern thrusters on our current boat and we put a stern thruster on our previous boat. Love them. I know how to handle a boat having taught boat handling for the CG for 30 years. But as we age we aren’t as able to push the boat around and also we don’t move as quickly. Having the thrusters makes boating much more enjoyable. We put a Sidepower stern thruster on our last boat. On this one we put SideShift bow and stern thrusters. I like the SideShift thrusters because you don’t have to drill holes below the waterline and no wires to run to the helm for the joystick. It has wireless joystick controls. And a wireless remote control.

 

[Crossroads]

If your stern thruster is like mine, you won't need any gelcoat repair. The affected area is below the waterlne and the area will probably be prepped with epoxy then bottom painted.