sidepower bow thruster wrong direction

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

magna 6882 said:

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

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i wish i had the answer to that. it seems likely the yard didn't assemble it correctly. are these electric or hydraulic?

You can reverse the direction by swapping the control wires. I don’t remember the colors of the wires though.

Thinking out loud,and expecting a resounding NO! from the learned, could you temporarily reverse the connections at the control unit?
I remember this reversal happened to another boat represented on TF, unfortunately the member very rarely posts.

I had the same problem last spring after installing a new controller. I called them, you need to swap out two wires. Very simple to do. I just remember that one of the wires was blue and I can not remember the other. Call them

did get an email from the yard and he believes they got the props reversed when they did the zincs. The props were cleaned but i didn't think they took them off when they installed the new zinc.
His solutions are to either swap the props or reverse the wiring at the motor. Were heading into a week of below freezing so i will take the issue up later. I didn't know the props were different.

I don’t remember taking the props of the Sidepower thruster on our last boat to change the anodes. But when I installed it it dod thrust backwards so I just swapped the control wires, maybe a blue and gray.

I would have thought they would have just removed the bolt holding on the anode.

You can change zincs w/o removing props but the zinc bolt is what also holds the props on.
I didn't think its possible to get the props reversed as they are identical... no port / stbd.
I dont know if its possible to install the props incorrectly... whatvshould be the outside turned towards the center line but that may be possible??
If old style props only one side engages the shear pin
If new style there is a splined adapter that engages the shear pin and the prop mounts to the adapter...
Reversing + t - wires seems like the easiest unless the boatvisbout of the water.

magna 6882 said:

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

Click to expand...

This is a thing! A friend had them removed during a normal bottom work (paint etc). When they splashed him, he tested the bow thruster and it was reversed. They immediately pulled him out for a quick haul-n-hang, switched the props and dropped him back in.

-tozz

It would be easier to switch the control wires than do a haul out. 5 minutes and a couple of butt connectors. If memory serves there are 4 wires to the control from the thruster, +,-, left and right. Just swap the left and right wires and you are good to go.

Comodave said:

It would be easier to switch the control wires than do a haul out. 5 minutes and a couple of butt connectors. If memory serves there are 4 wires to the control from the thruster, +,-, left and right. Just swap the left and right wires and you are good to go.

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I agree it would be an easier fix but i am still left with the question what did they do wrong and is what they did wrong sustainable. I do not know enough about the sidepower props. Are they intended to be reversible and how are they keyed or splined? The props must have been removed for the bottom paint and either swapped side to side or installed backwards. One way or another before being put back into service i need to confirm the props are not going to come loose ,damage the boat or damage the shafts.

magna 6882 said:

I agree it would be an easier fix but i am still left with the question what did they do wrong and is what they did wrong sustainable. I do not know enough about the sidepower props. Are they intended to be reversible and how are they keyed or splined? The props must have been removed for the bottom paint and either swapped side to side or installed backwards. One way or another before being put back into service i need to confirm the props are not going to come loose ,damage the boat or damage the shafts.

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I have to agree. There's no way I'd let that go without either expert confirmation that it's good, or haul and check.

In reading the manual the propellers have two part numbers and the propellers are marked LH and RH with LH on port side. This is also based on the gear housing being installed in the correct orientation. I see two possibility's.
1)The yard installed the props in the correct orientation and the boat builder set the gearbox backwards.
2) The yard screwed up and reversed the props.
I do need to confirm which one for future work and get it in the logbook.



It looks like the sheer pin is typical on a straight shaft so likely nothing wrong there.
Sidepower SEP170
I will know to check this on any future maintenance.The learning curve on this stuff is getting expensive. Hope these threads help others.

magna 6882 said:

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

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Hi, I think you'll find your props are handed. I've done it myself when re-assembling my Side Power bow thruster, much to the amusement of the launch engineers!

The props are created to be mounted on the port or stbd side. Putting them on the wrong sides makes them work back to front. Easily done.

On mine, I just had to move two wires on the back of the joy stick. No butt connectors needed. But maybe it depends on what model you have.

Sidepower anodes can be hard to shift. Last time I changed mine I ran an 8mm tap through the 7mm bored centre of the new anodes. The 6mm fixing bolt and washer still works OK.
When they need changing next, screwing an 8mm bolt into the threaded anode should just pop it off.
I hope so anyway!

IMTRA is the US distributor and has great phone support.

oguidry said:

IMTRA is the US distributor and has great phone support.

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Yes they do. When I called the wait time was just 2 or 3 minutes and the tech knew who to fix my problem off the top of his head.

magna 6882 said:

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

Click to expand...

By now you have gotten several suggestions on what to do. IMHO changing the wiring seems to be the easiest and least expensive thing to do now. BUT if and when, more when, you have the props removed again and that person KNOWS what he is doing, he puts them back on correctly. Now you'll have to reverse the wires again. If the props are truly left and right handed, getting them off and back on correctly would be the best approach.

If you have a single joystick, why not just flip the panel over. Then you don’t have to mess with any wiring and you can never forget what you did.

On a related note, if I recall correctly, SidePower wants us to grease/lubricate those shafts annually. Removing the props will facilitate a more thorough prep and coating of the tunnel.

Having to bastardize your wiring for something a mechanic did wrong seems to be the least logical thing to do. Have the yard re-haul you, on their dime, and fix it.

magna 6882 said:

did get an email from the yard and he believes they got the props reversed when they did the zincs. The props were cleaned but i didn't think they took them off when they installed the new zinc.
His solutions are to either swap the props or reverse the wiring at the motor. Were heading into a week of below freezing so i will take the issue up later. I didn't know the props were different.

Click to expand...

If the boatyard put the props on wrong, they should take them off and put them on correctly at no cost to you even if it requires a haulout.

Reversing the wires is a Micky Mouse repair.

This sounds like a perfect example of the 50/50/90 corollary to Murphy’s Law.

magna 6882 said:

I got my boat launched today after some work that included changing the prop zincs on the thrusters. After launch i tried the bow thruster and it went the opposite direction .The display is correct and if i used the dock hold feature the boat does a 360. Is there a right and left hand prop? The yard wont call me back or respond to emails so i figured i would use the forum.

Click to expand...

As you are now aware of the issue, use the joystick in the opposite direction until you can get the offending technician to fix the issue properly. If you need a reminder, other than noting the opposite push when in use, put a warning label on the joystick.

I would immediately require the yard to haul and fix at their expense. They caused it by reversing the props unless they were doing something with wiring, which I can't imagine. Something so basic as put the props back where removed. As others say, don't try to fix by wiring or potentially create longer term issues. Have them do it correctly. Fix the problem and root cause, not just the symptom.

BandB said:

I would immediately require the yard to haul and fix at their expense. They caused it by reversing the props unless they were doing something with wiring, which I can't imagine. Something so basic as put the props back where removed. As others say, don't try to fix by wiring or potentially create longer term issues. Have them do it correctly. Fix the problem and root cause, not just the symptom.

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Thats basically my plan. They offered to switch the wiring or the props my choice . I want the props in there correct position so no future conflicts happen. I would think they can just do the swap in the slings. The weather over here is not conducive to mess with right now.

magna 6882 said:

Thats basically my plan. They offered to switch the wiring or the props my choice . I want the props in there correct position so no future conflicts happen. I would think they can just do the swap in the slings. The weather over here is not conducive to mess with right now.

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I'm sorry, but they get cold doing it, they get cold. Maybe learn the lesson.

I agree with the yard fixing and they appear to have offered to swap the props, so fine. I would want handed props on the correct side to prevent possibility of the prop from loosening the bolt.

Just one thought though - what if they did put them on correctly ie LH on Port side? What could have happened is they were put on incorrectly at a previous haulout (or when built) and at that time the wire-switch quick-fix was done. In this scenario the yard might say, well we did put the handed props on the correct side so the haul-out should be on your dime, and you need to change wires back to how they should be. Which we can also fix, again on your dime. I'd tread cautiously as you move forward on this....

If the props have handed markings on them, could a diver check before the expense of hauling?