View Poll Results: Bow and / or stern thrusters?
No thrusters 36 33.03%
Bow thruster 29 26.61%
Bow thruster variable speed 2 1.83%
Stern thruster 7 6.42%
Stern thruster variable speed 1 0.92%
Bow and stern thruster 25 22.94%
Bow and stern thruster variable speed 4 3.67%
I have thruster Lust 5 4.59%
Voters: 109. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 03-28-2017, 05:19 AM   #21
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No thrusters, and not sure the expense is worth it . I just try and improve my berthing skills all the time. I believe once you understand the characteristics of how your vessel responds in different conditions you can with confidence place any where. We have twin engines with a bit of HP 540 aside so she responds quickly . We have electronic controls and a 5 metre cord remote, so I reverse the vessel easily into the berth from the back deck . I find reversing I have far greater control as the vessel pivots well on the props. I find the bow always follows !!! As long as we have reasonably parralel to the finger

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Old 03-28-2017, 06:16 AM   #22
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Single eng in a tunnel so little prop walk + small rudder
Boat came w 1 speed bow & stern and I use and like them for docking & locking.
I can pulse them and having both adds some comfort if one decides to go "Lucille"
I looked for a bow T and didn't consider a stern T a must but our choice already had both.
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:33 AM   #23
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Proportional controlled hydraulic bow and stern thrusters. Only really needed them a couple of times.
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Old 03-28-2017, 07:14 AM   #24
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Hydraulic stern thruster which is variable speed with engine rpm.
I use it often
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Old 03-28-2017, 07:41 AM   #25
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12 v bow thruster, single engine tunnel, use it all the time when docking, coming and going. I do need to practice without it just in case it fails one day. I like the fact that I can do doughnuts with it. Brother has a 33' Tiara with twins and gives me a hard time about using it all the time. I think he is a thruster luster?
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Old 03-28-2017, 07:52 AM   #26
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This is our first power boat ( with twins btw ) and my handling experience is very limited for now ... I'm thinking that it's easier to get the bow into position and it's the stern that always gave me problems. I have no intention of cutting into the boat not to mention the length of the power cable run or separate batteries etc. etc. ..so bow thrusters are out for now. This year before launch, I will hang a stern thruster below the swim platform and see how it goes ...... FB
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Old 03-28-2017, 07:59 AM   #27
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Bow & Stern, single speed on a single engine boat.

As mentioned previously--turned on before any close quarter maneuvering and pulsed to insure working.

I try to not use them just so I can pat myself on the back but jump on them immediately to prevent damage to property and ego.
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Old 03-28-2017, 08:20 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simi 60 View Post
No thrusters on ours and no steerage or prop walk in reverse due to a Kortz nozzle.
We do get instant rudder response in fwd due to the Kortz nozzle.
I would like a stern thruster to shift the bum around and no need to chop a hole through hull planking to do it.
Have you found that the nozzle increases turn radius or reduces maneuverability in some way?
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Old 03-28-2017, 09:58 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by Jetstream View Post
We have bow and stern thrusters and use them often for a number of reasons. I agree that one should be able to manuver without them and can but they make it so much easier in a breeze if you have a lot of windage.
I couldn't agree more! Although I can park my boat with just the shifters, a thruster sure covers up those times of bad judgement.
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Old 03-28-2017, 10:12 AM   #30
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Hasn't this been covered dozens of times here?
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Old 03-28-2017, 04:42 PM   #31
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Originally Posted by Tom.B View Post
Hasn't this been covered dozens of times here?

You're a funny man!
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Old 03-28-2017, 04:50 PM   #32
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Greetings,
Mr. T. "Hasn't this been covered dozens of times here?" And your point is....?
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Old 03-28-2017, 04:59 PM   #33
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If I had one, would I even be posting? We could at least try to put new spins on these old discussions. Ok... Maybe THAT was my point.
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Old 03-28-2017, 05:04 PM   #34
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New spin? You are a funny man.
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Old 03-28-2017, 05:39 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by makobuilders View Post
Have you found that the nozzle increases turn radius or reduces maneuverability in some way?

Although my experience with nozzles is in the commercial world, it applies to all sizes.

Open wheels twist great. Open wheels allow you to have confidence in 'repeatability' of walk effect when backing (single or twin). Open wheels allow hard over rudder when maneuvering.

Nozzles allow VERY limited walk effect. (Not none, but little). Nozzles can have rudder stall when maneuvering. (If you leave the rudder over full it starves the prop of water shake shake shake). Nozzles greatly enhance ahead steering and vector change.

There are actually two types of nozzles made. One for primarily ahead thrust. (Tugs use these for long distance towing). And the other about equal ahead and back (but not as good at ahead as the first type).
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Old 03-28-2017, 05:59 PM   #36
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I have twins but occasionally think I would like maybe a stern thruster. Might make some of those situations a little easier when pinned to a dock.

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Old 03-28-2017, 06:14 PM   #37
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No thrusters-single engine-I just go really slow docking.
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:28 PM   #38
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I have twins now and have been running boats and ships for more than 60 years. Mostly twin screw and never with a thruster. I probably have a tainted view. I don't find twins prohibitively expensive so have always owned twins in private boats of size. My current boat is 83' x 17' and never failed to go where I want to put it. But I plan my dockings and avoid high winds. Even though long and narrow, it seems to twist fine and the stern walks sideways easily. I don't remember being above idle when docking except for rotating on center.
People I know with thrusters seem to have a high level of equipment failures. And then they're lost on docking. In my tainted opinion, it's cheaper and easier to learn boat handling.
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:35 PM   #39
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Just think. ... Single-engine boaters were made to feel ashamed of having a thruster. Often, the accusations came from those with twin engines! Now, those with twin engines want both bow and stern thrusters. More power to them. (That's what cruise ships have.)

Always use my thruster, if not only to test it is still working or to angle the boat backing out of the berth to counter-act propeller walk.
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Old 03-28-2017, 07:01 PM   #40
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It is not so much about not knowing how to handle the boat or even being able to do so. I have been boating for over 50 years and am a qualified Coxswain in the CG Auxiliary also a Qualifications Examiner. I know how to handle a boat and am certainly able to do so. It is about quality of boating life. As we get older it is not as easy to pull the lines when docking or push the boat around. If having thrusters will enable us to boat 5 or 10 years longer than we could otherwise, then I will have thrusters. I am actually installing a stern thruster at this time. All that is left to do is hook up the wiring and install the battery. I would like a bow thruster, but in order to put in a tunnel I would have to relocate our main water tank. So in the future I may put a pod bow thruster in. Having a stern thruster will help when docking since my wife and I are usually alone on the boat she takes the bow and I handle the helm and the stern. We have a Lab that has to be in the way at all times. When we dock or lock through I can get the bow and stern where I want them without a problem usually. The problem is the time it takes me to get from the flybridge down to the sundeck and past the dog in order to pass the stern line. By the time I get to the stern line the boat has started to drift away from the dock or lock wall. With the stern thruster and remote control I will be able to bring it back to the dock without breaking my neck by hurrying so much. I find that when I am hurrying is when I tend to get hurt and or make mistakes. So to all the people that say just learn how to handle the boat, that isn't the problem. The time to get the lines secured before the boat blows away from the dock is the problem. That is where the stern thruster will shine.
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