Technautic/Holland bow thruster

[Bmallett]

Hello. A newbie here..first post. I recently acquired a 1978 34 Mainship with a bow thruster that I assume is original. It’s a Technautic from Holland, it works and appears visually to be in good shape. I’ve never had one and don’t have the owners manual. It seems to kick into overload after a short run time and take a while to recover. Can anyone tell me how to check if it’s operating properly? When it quits the motor is a little warm but by no means hot. Diver checked out prop and tunnel and said it was ok. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Most electric thrusters have a overload thermal sensor and will cut out until it cools. Mine will run about 3 minutes and then cut out. One thing that is critical is voltage. Make sure that you are getting good voltage to the motor. Check connections for corrosion. Also make sure the wiring is heavy enough, many thrusters are installed with under size wiring.

 

[Bmallett]

Thanks Comodave. Checked voltage and wiring and all good. Like new 1/0 cables about 18” long. I also put a load tester on the 150 AH battery and it tests good. I’ve been told to only operate a thruster in short bursts, like 3 seconds. When you say yours goes for 3 minutes before cutout, is that 3 minutes of short bursts or continuous under load? Thanks for the help.

 

[Comodave]

It is rated for 3 minutes continuous use. I have never had to run it anywhere near that long, probably the longest I have run it for at one time is about 30 seconds. Usually only need about 3 to 5 seconds because it is oversized a bit so it really moves the stern quickly.

 

[Comodave]

Maybe yours has an automatic cutout that shuts it down for a bit after 3 seconds... Don’t know, only way to find out may be finding a manual on it. I am not familiar with your brand thruster.

 

[Cartouche]

Hello. A newbie here..first post. I recently acquired a 1978 34 Mainship with a bow thruster that I assume is original. It’s a Technautic from Holland, it works and appears visually to be in good shape. I’ve never had one and don’t have the owners manual. It seems to kick into overload after a short run time and take a while to recover. Can anyone tell me how to check if it’s operating properly? When it quits the motor is a little warm but by no means hot. Diver checked out prop and tunnel and said it was ok. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

Also look to make sure reservoir under front bunk is full, my side shift uses EP90 and I don't believe had been checked since new (Like a lot of other things I found, and my Reservoir was almost empty, I filled it last spring and checked in the fall and had not used any

 

[Comodave]

My Side Power does not have a reservoir. What is in it, gear lube?

 

[Cartouche]

Mine calls for EP90 and is very specific you use it I found it at Napa, Yes it is gear oil Sorry Picture is upside down this is under my Forward queen berth

 

[Comodave]

Yes, it looks like the oil would all drain out if you took the cap off... some of my photos post upside down, don’t know why.

 

[Bacchus]

FYI SidePower recommends replacing the lubes periodically... forget how long. I replaced my blades with the new design last year and kept the old as spares. While at it I did drain & refill the lube and noted while the visible in the reservoir looked clean the first shot of lube drained was discolored. It does require the boat be out of the water to access the drain plug. There is an O Ring seal on the plug that should be replaced.

 

[Bmallett]

I just wrote a long update and the system wouldn’t let me submit it sayIng “my token had expired”? Learning curve I guess...
The shorter story on the thruster adventure is that it is an old Nobels, and it has an external thermal protection switch that was tripping too early. I was able to find a replacement online and now it works for about twice as long as it did before. It should be good enough for my needs and hopefully it lasts a while.
Thank you all for your help!