Stern thruster, yes or no

[DaleP]

As I'm new to this: I'm thinking of a 36' trawler. Do I need a stern thruster? I know I want a bow thruster. Right now I will be single handing. Please give me your thoughts and why. Also I want a single engine.

 

[Peter B]

As I'm new to this: I'm thinking of a 36' trawler. Do I need a stern thruster? I know I want a bow thruster. Right now I will be single handing. Please give me your thoughts and why. Also I want a single engine.

Dale, as an owner of a similar sized boat, single engined boat, with no thrusters, I could say they are unnecessary, (with practice), but in your case, if you are going to be single-handing her quite often, and you can afford the extra, I'd say go for the both, but bow thruster as a minimum.
Bye the way, I took the liberty of correcting your 'deliberate mistake' in the thread title.

 

[psneeld]

Start with a bow thruster.

Bet you find out that it may be enough.

If not..... adding stern thruster is much less of a fuss.

But a bow thruster will be night and day without one. Not saying they are necessary...but they can make some situations much easier.

 

[LaBomba]

Start with a bow thruster.

Bet you find out that it may be enough.

If not..... adding stern thruster is much less of a fuss.

But a bow thruster will be night and day without one. Not saying they are necessary...but they can make some situations much easier.

X2, I added only a bow thruster and don't find a need for a stern thruster. A big rudder and a little power moves the stern quite nicely without one. If you have "lots" of money then, yes, it could prove to be useful at times but I suggest trying it without first as others have said.

 

[garrobito]

nop... just practice a whole day and you're gonna catch the trick... and keep 4K on your pocket..

 

[Lou_tribal]

Inded like previous post mentionned it is more a nice to have. When I bought mine she had a bow thruster only... First thing I thought was ok I will add a stern one it will be easier to manage. Finally after some practice I found out that I don't need it and that even the bow one, while it may be useful, is not mandatory and with practice is becoming less and less used.

 

[markpierce]

My bow thruster moves my stern fine because the boat rotates somewhere near its middle. Typically thrust the bow to askew the boat to counter prop walk backing out of the berth. And for instance if wanting to shift the boat to starboard, I make port rudder with propeller at idle speed and bow-thrusting to starboard.

 

[DaleP]

Dale, as an owner of a similar sized boat, single engined boat, with no thrusters, I could say they are unnecessary, (with practice), but in your case, if you are going to be single-handing her quite often, and you can afford the extra, I'd say go for the both, but bow thruster as a minimum.
Bye the way, I took the liberty of correcting your 'deliberate mistake' in the thread title.

Thank you. I noticed my misspelling after posting. I also tried to correct it.[emoji106]

 

[Bruce B]

Our last boat was a 38' sailboat and we opted out of any thrusters at all. We did just fine 99% of the time. That last 1%? We opted to spec our new boat with both bow and stern thrusters...
Just sayin,
Bruce

 

[markpierce]

In my past sailboat, it wasn't unusual to just sail into the berth, and never saw/expected the need for thrusters when using the auxiliary engine.

 

[Jetstream]

Dale like many modern items on boats you don't NEED a stern thruster. Some old salts will tell you you should be able to single handed bring your single screw boat along side any berth in a force nine gale with just the mearest hint of a squeak of the fenders allowed. We own a 48 foot boat with a lot of windage and have to get her into and out of a fairly tight berth. We could do it with the twins screws, but call me a wuss, the bow and stern thrusters make it a lot easier and less stressful and I use them both almost every time.

 

[Xsbank]

No.

 

[cafesport]

In that size range no. Just look for a left handed prop then always dock starboard side to. Goose the engine in reverse after at least a 5 second pause in neutral and voila you'll have a stern thruster.

 

[Peter B]

In that size range no. Just look for a left handed prop then always dock starboard side to. Goose the engine in reverse after at least a 5 second pause in neutral and voila you'll have a stern thruster.

Yup...that's what I do also. Works well coming bow in anyway.

 

[O C Diver]

Part of the discussion will hinge on the boat, the rudder, and the maximum rudder angle. My boat (45' Cherubini) has a large foil rudder and after reprogramming the autopilot stop limits, can turn it 45 degrees in each direction. Simply, what that means is that I can set the rudder hard over, put the boat in gear (forward), engage the bow thruster, and have the boat go sideways with almost no forward movement. My prop and rudder are my stern thruster.

Buy the boat and learn to handle it. If you feel you need a stern thruster, you can always add it later.

Ted

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Never had either but when we had a 34' single I considered a stern thruster. Could pretty well get the nose where I wanted it but at times the stern had a mind of it's own...

 

[78puget-trawler]

Already have a stern thruster, called a prop and rudder! I do like the bow thruster though for sure with a single screw. Comes in handy.

 

[O C Diver]

Greetings,
Never had either but when we had a 34' single I considered a stern thruster. Could pretty well get the nose where I wanted it but at times the stern had a mind of it's own...

Considering the operator / avatar, that's not surprising.

Ted

 

[North Baltic sea]

A big YES! I was lucky when I bought my tug was in that both ends of the assistance propellers. I'm trying to learn how to use them without being, but using them is as easy doging or drive to a narrow point where the flow tease. Invest your money stern truster, hmm it saaisi a lot of different toys for your boat, but when you hit a strong windy day and you want to doging you can be satisfied that you have a stern truster and bow truster, you do not have to feel nervous to drive your place of people when watching the performance, but you can drive as the master.

 

[BruceK]

Can`t see a reason not to have bow and stern thrusters, either may stand you in good stead often, or very occasionally.
But it`s good to be able to use the non thruster handling tools,like prop walk and power bursts. Thrusters can fail you when you need them. They may be powered by a dedicated battery, how the battery is kept charged or maintained is important.
Our maritime authority ran a campaign a year or so back, about being able to handle the boat if the thrusters went out.
You kind of raised the single vs twins question, you`ll find plenty on that in the archives by doing a search using the "search" facility tab, but if you go for thrusters both ends, that helps with handling, a major reason for preferring twins.

 

[stone beach]

With twins its less important than for a single engine boat....but its always nice to have stuff to help when you need it.
If you do end up with a boat with thrusters you should always try to berth without them imo. That way you learn basic boat handling and you have an added safety margin.

 

[Bacchus]

I'm in agreement w/ most of the replies...
Consider a stern thruster optional
Find the right boat and don't fret if it has a stern T or not - give it a year of practice and then decide whether you want to add a stern thruster

When we were looking to upgrade to our current boat I figured a bow thruster was high on my list if the boat was a single - previous boat was a twin and I was more than comfortable w/ twins w/o thrusters.

We liked the MS 34T's and the one we found happened happened to have the optional stern as well.

 

[Ski in NC]

I ran my single screw with no thruster for a few years. Added bow thruster and that was a big improvement. Necessary? No. But in some situations it is VERY handy.

Never felt the need for a stern thruster. Can maneuver back end of boat with prop, rudder and alternating fwd/rev.

I'd figure bow thruster is about 4X as valuable as a stern thruster.

 

[dhays]

Stern thruster, Yes.

Unless of course you have better things to do with your money. Most of us coming from sailboats never had thrusters at all and got along fine due to our lower windage and highly effective rudder. Most of the older trawler operators have lots of experience driving single engine boats with no thrusters.

When looking at a trawler to buy, I wanted a bow thruster. The boat I found also had a stern thruster. I like it. I don't "need" it, but I like it.

So unless money is simply not an issue, I would compare the stern thruster to other things that you may want to have in a boat, updated electronics, new dink, powered crane etc...

 

[BandB]

The boat I found also had a stern thruster. I like it. I don't "need" it, but I like it.

So unless money is simply not an issue, I would compare the stern thruster to other things that you may want to have in a boat, updated electronics, new dink, powered crane etc...

I always think when someone asks "Do I need?" when you don't "need" any of it, not the boat, not the thrusters. So, no, you don't have an absolute need, but they're still nice to have. You may also come across the rare situation in which you're very happy you have one.

 

[Bacchus]

The other reason I do like having both is...

In those situations where I rely heavily on the thruster - hi winds & currents - I can alternate between the bow & stern to maintain momentum w/o risking oveloading / overheating either one and it quitting on me

Would I have added it for this reason - NO - still nice to have!

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

As my and wife and I have gotten older ( less nimble and more careful ) we both find it much easier to stop the boat and hold it hard against the dock while one of us gets off and secures the boat.... I'm sure we have all experienced a Chinese fire drill type of docking event, I'll use what ever tools are available to make boating more safe and less exciting...

 

[jleonard]

I
Never felt the need for a stern thruster. Can maneuver back end of boat with prop, rudder and alternating fwd/rev.

I'd figure bow thruster is about 4X as valuable as a stern thruster.

I used to think that also, but my current boat came with a hydraulic stern thruster.
I would say a bow thruster is only slightly more valuable than a stern thruster in my experience.

 

[JCieh]

I think it is mostly a question of reliability. Electric thrusters are likely to fail respectively to be underpowered.
I do have both bow and stern thrusters but powered with hydraulics. This makes more sense due to the "unlimited" power hydraulics provide.
Having it on battery I would prefer a stronger battery on a bow thruster instead of an additional stern thruster.

 

[eyschulman]

Not necessary but since I have been single handing with both for the last four years I can tell you it is real nice to have. The ability to actually move sideways or resist a cross wind is real nice. Then there is the issue of overheating a lone bow thruster and a automatic shut down at a critical time. With the two thrusters you are unlikely to overheat one and the redundancy if you should have a thruster prop jam or similar problem with one unit is also nice. In higher winds with single engine one thruster can be taxed two will do the job better. My take from actual experience with all three systems single engine no thrusters-one thruster and two thrusters if I can afford two thrusters on a boat over 35 feet LAO and it fists on the boat I am going to have it. I don't think people who have both would be first to say don't do it.