Considering a bow thruster; best choices?

[sean9c]

When I did my thruster I contemplated a separate battery, couldn't make it make sense. Found it lighter and cheaper to buy battery cable rather than an extra battery, charger, box etc. Also figured that you're only using the thruster while the engine is running so your alternator would quickly add back the amps used.

 

[Gmwalley]

in my case there are some additional constraints.

In my boat there is a water tight bulkhead separating bow section from rest of boat. Similarly there is water tight bulkhead separating Lazarette from engine room (with a dog down door). So separate batteries mean not having to pierce the bulkhead any more than they already are. Install details would normally be boat design / construction dependent, just easier (safer maybe?) to have totally split systems.

 

[Poach]

SE 100 vote

I installed a SE 100, 24v on its own charger on my Sabreline 36. I have not regretted it. It has plenty of thrust to move the boat in all conditions. I would not go bigger. When I hit the joystick, the boat moves responsively. I am afraid a more powerful thruster would risk knocking the Admiral off her feet.

 

[Gmwalley]

great product choice

Good choice for you and one of quietest ON/OFF options with their new prop design. ~200lbs thrust is probably a correctly sized option for your boat. Either you're really smart or got some good advice. My comment about thruster ratings was geared toward the fact there are "standard" tube sizes with various thruster ratings that fit those tube sizes. Cost / hassle is driven by tube diameter rather than actual thruster rating chosen. So higher thrust carries a modest cost penalty. In my case the big girl is HEAVY and with a nearly full keel she doesn't exactly turn on dime just using the engines. I opted for full proportional control also so I can 'dial in' what I need without the machine gun sound coming from a big honking thruster prop. Also I will be able to hold gently against a lock wall with no drama from lock fill turbulence. Always interesting to hear other peoples experiences with their choice of solution. Thanks!

 

[Arafura II]

I am on the hard getting a Sidepower SE130 installed at the moment in my 50 foot timber cruiser not an easy job but I think it will be worth it. the SE100 is recommended for my boat but I went with the extra power of the SE130 I'm using one of the existing battery banks as the cable run will be short and to keep costs down.

 

[tomdove]

My boat is much smaller but some sort of sideways thrust would be mighty helpful for tight docking with its single screw. Any comments on stern thrusters, which must be much simpler and cheaper to install than bow thrusters?
-- Tom

 

[Comodave]

I put a stern thruster in my boat. Took me and a friend about 2 days to install it. Simple. Works great. I will eventually put a bow thruster in but I really don’t have room for an internal tube.

 

[Tiffany]

Bowthruster on my Apollo 32 / boatsaver...

I had found it challenging to manouveur my Perkins dieseled 32 ft. Apollo in the narrow confines of my marina slips. With its 19" prop and prop walk it set off at 4 knots at idle when put in gear.


I installed a 3.5 HP Lewmar, running big cables from the house battery pack. As the engine is usually running at the time of use the drain isn't a worry. I did the fibreglass work and finish, with a hired marine electrician overseeing the wiring and spec'ing cable current and controls.


Cost for everything was $3,600 against the boatyard quote of $10,000! The boat can spin a circle in its own length, but most use is short blips. Eliminates the problem of handling the single-screw boat at low speed or against an off-bow wind countering the rudder at drift speed. Game changer!

 

[Laurie]

We recently installed bow and stern thrusters by DockStar Smart Thrusters (dockstarthrusters.com). They are wireless, radio controlled and powered by rechargeable batteries. We installed ourselves in a few hours, right in our slip. They are as easy to deploy as putting out fenders! They are easy to remove for recharging or storage.

These make our single screw, heavy CHB trawler manageable even in a crosswind, we are very impressed with the Dockstar Smart Thrusters!

 

[diphanotka]

We replaced a failed Max Power bow thruster with a Side-Power SEP 170/250 TC. The proportional power feature exceeded my expectations. Because we mostly use a small fraction of the total power (e.g., 10-20 percent) for close quarters maneuvering, power consumption is greatly reduced and heat build-up is practically non-existent. It has the power (345 pounds of thrust) to move heaven and earth but most of the time it is so quiet that observers don’t even hear it. Such a great upgrade, worth the premium. Link to thruster: https://side-power.com/produkt/19057/sep170-tunnel-thruster-24v/

 

[alfamike]

Bow & stern Thruster

I went the WESMAR route & have not regretted it.

they make 12 volts, 24 volt & 48 volt - so great wide spectrum of choice.

10 HP at bow & 13 HP at stern - 24 volt. My keel is deep at the rear so needed a little more power back there.

Dedicated group 31 AGM batteries for both ends with their own battery chargers & kept separate from rest of the electrical system.

Love them.

Good luck.

Alfa Mike

 

[ranger58sb]

We replaced a failed Max Power bow thruster with a Side-Power SEP 170/250 TC.

What was the nature of the failed Max-Power? How old was it?

-Chris

 

[diphanotka]

The composite case of the lower leg cracked which caused the drive to bind, shearing the flexible coupling. The Max Power was 13 years old.

The Side-Power unit was a direct replacement and fit perfectly with no modifications to the existing 10-inch (250 cm) tunnel.

 

[Drake]

Went with Docking by Control out of Florida. Came recommended by my yard manager. So far been great to work with - answered ALOT of questions and made me feel comfortable. They also recommend biggest / baddest thruster you can fit, incremental cost for up-sized thrusters is small when comparing total job costs. I am having the new proportional control RIM-DRIVE Vetus thrusters with 48V battery banks / chargers and dual controls. Boat is a 60,000 lb, Tollycraft 53 with significant windage. Install is scheduled for first week in OCT. Total price not including bottom paint and other work happening at same time is ~$35,000 all in. Florida Bow thrusters bit was nearly $10,000 more for same thing except single battery bank / charger. Will post on how it all worked out!

I had exactly the opposite experience with Docking By Control. Working with them turned out to be a disaster and total lack of customer service after installation. They completely ignored several warranty calls.

 

[ranger58sb]

The composite case of the lower leg cracked which caused the drive to bind, shearing the flexible coupling. The Max Power was 13 years old.

The Side-Power unit was a direct replacement and fit perfectly with no modifications to the existing 10-inch (250 cm) tunnel.

Thanks. Did you go with Side-Power because of dissatisfaction with Max-Power? (Well, aside from that pesky breakage thing?) Or other reasons?

-Chris

 

[BillZe]

I just bought a Sideshift external bow thruster for my Marine Trader Double Cabin 34. Definitely recommend it and there is no need to put a giant hole through your boat...

 

[Ardell]

Consider Variable Speed Bow Thruster

Look at the Variable Speed Bow Thrusters. Very little cost increase over the single-speed models. Great being able to slowly move your bow towards a piling without throwing the person standing on the bow - off the boat. I would not go back to the single speed units. Ours in a Sidepower and has worked great for the past 4 years.

 

[caltexflanc]

I had exactly the opposite experience with Docking By Control. Working with them turned out to be a disaster and total lack of customer service after installation. They completely ignored several warranty calls.

Well, he hasn't had any experience with them yet. The thing I personally love about FBT is the wonderful way way after the sale service I got. And having seen their work on other people's boats first hand.

 

[Pau Hana]

Has anyone installed a “Yacht Thruster”? Give their apparent ease of installation, no large hole, they seem to me to be the way to go to handle both bow and stern issues.

Yup- did it 3 years ago and have zero regrets. We did the install over a weekend with basic tools.

It has perform as advertised.

Install photos:

Yacht Thruster Powerboat Installations

 

[foggysail]

OK... so my response is only slightly related to a thruster, it is related specifically to my windlass, a Maxwell HWC-2200. My purpose for mentioning it is that I purchased the 24V model and would have purchased one that operated at 120VAC if it had been available.

That windlass could move elephants if the opportunity ever arose. So my emphases is VOLTAGE! If I contemplated adding a thruster, I would use the same electrical approach. The higher the better. Ease in wiring along with minimizing wiring voltage loss concentrates the energy to where you need it.

This is all great only if you have room for battery storage. And finally, with your new battery bank, consider an inverter operating at the same battery voltage to maximize their utility while on anchor or just away from the dock. I have an old (but purchased new on Ebay) 24V Freedom inverter/charger that we use to power our 32" HD TV.

 

[diphanotka]

Ranger 42C,

Side-Power’s tremendous after-sale product support and the proportional power control were the two main reasons for my choice. I never considered MaxPower.

 

[BobnDoc]

A related issue
Several of us here on Puget Sound have been having trouble with
erratic performance of our Lewmar bow thrusters. They go off on their own. This has happened while underway and when moored. Two of us have one year old Cutwater 30cb. The other guy has had three sets of thruster motors and control units replaced. He seems to think a new model control unit may have solved the problem. I’m still waiting for a new lower control unit to arrive. In the meantime I’m considering an excorcism to rid my bow thruster of the demons possessing it.

A few months ago I reported problems here on Puget Sound with Lewmar bow thrusters that went off randomly on Cutwater 30s.
This has been going on for over a year on some of our boats, despite the repeated best efforts of the dealer. By the end of the summer Lewmar apparently acknowledged that there was a design flaw in the bow thrusters. They would replace the original control units with a heavier duty control. Initially that seemed to help at least one situation I’m aware of. My dealer’s repair wizard
(he truly is one) ordered up a number of the new controllers to be delivered in time for installation at the big year end Cutwater/Ranger Tug Rendezvous at Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands. Early Sept rolled around and over 200 boats gathered there for a wonderful four days. The wizard showed up with boxes of the new Lewmar controllers when it came time to install them on my boat, we eagerly opened the box and found not the new model controllers, but more of the old. It would be an understatement to say we were not pleased. The wizard promised to get on Lewmar again. Seeking solace my wife and I took off on a month long tour of New Zealand, fully expecting to return to find our Cutwater 30 cb sporting three new sets of controllers and the problem solved.
(I’m sure you can see where this is going) when I called in to find out how the work had gone, the wizard was still waiting for my parts!
I was updated with news that some new units had arrived for other boats. On one boat one unit worked, while another didn’t. I was also told that more new cases had appeared.The new units have a “black box” attached under the controller. I can only imagine that Lewmar has a little old man chained to a work bench in the basement filling the “black” boxes. Perhaps he, like me, is subject to occasional memory lapses and some black boxes don’t get filled before they are shipped out. Anyway I am told that more units should arrive in a few weeks. In hope maintaining our sanity my wife & I are heading to Texas next week to find a new Standard Poodle as we had to put down our 15 year old Beloved Shadow a couple months ago. Stay tuned....

 

[FF]

Before purchasing any electric thruster search the literature to find max operating time.


Some are very short!

 

[diphanotka]

Max operating time on a proportional power thruster is a very different thing than on the traditional full-on/full-off units. At ten or twenty percent power, the proportional power thruster is nearly silent and draws a small fraction of full-on power. As a result, it does not overheat and will run more or less continuously. I call it the poor man's hydraulic thruster. Otherwise, max operating time on any electric thruster will be limited by the temperature of the windings. For those times when you really need every pound of thrust, max operating time would be a critical spec. In 15,000 miles of cruising, however, we were prudent/lucky and never needed to use full-on thruster power.

 

[wkearney99]

Before purchasing any electric thruster search the literature to find max operating time. Some are very short!

I think it's fair to say any docking/maneuvering plan shouldn't include extended running time of a bow/stern thruster, regardless of the type/brand.

If you're likely to encounter conditions that would somehow demand that you'd absolutely do well to make sure you've got sufficient battery reserves to handle it (assuming an electric thruster). That and if you're going to be in waters with the potential for a lot of debris/grasses you'd want to include prop durability in the equation.

Me, I try and plan my dockings as if the thrusters weren't even there, and use them only when necessary.

 

[ranger58sb]

Me, I try and plan my dockings as if the thrusters weren't even there...

That's what we do, too.

Of course not actually having a bow thruster makes that planning much easier.



-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

I'm still kicking this around, although given the state of my wallet just now I'm probably not seeing an imminent installation...

But seeing the discussion in the current thread Willo started with questions about batteries for a 24V thruster, leads me a a question of 12V vs. 24V selection...

Assuming batteries installed within 2' of the thruster... is there any significant advantage to a 24V unit over a 12V unit? Using the Side-Power SE100 12V and 24V models as examples, both spec to the same thrust: 100 kg at 10.5/21.5V, or 116 kg at 12/24V.

Our ride is essentially a 12V boat, and I'm thinking a 12V thruster would simplify requirements for charging sources...

-Chris