Seeking advice on Bow Thrusters

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BHalecki

Newbie
Joined
Apr 4, 2014
Messages
2
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Promise Kept II
Vessel Make
Marine Trader / Labelle 40
We own a 40' Marine Trader Labelle (weighs about 23,000 lbs) and we're looking to add a bow thruster. We want to avoid tunnel thrusters. We've researched both the Exturn Yacht Controller and the SideShift SS340.

The Yacht Controller seems to be quite a bit more expensive than the comparable Sideshift.

Can anyone give us advice re: their dependability, ease of use, and - most importantly - the amount of drag they introduce.

We usually cruise at about 9 - 10 knots and really don't want to incur any large degradation in speed.

Thanks for whatever info you can offer.

Barb & Tim Halecki
"Promise Kept II"
 
Here is a picture of one on a boat in my marina. Pretty badly corroded. I don't know if that was caused by poor maintenance or the way it's built.
 

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Hey Barb and Tim,
Love your boat. We owned a 34' MT, and the LaBelle is on our list of potentials for the next one.
I've no experience with either of the units you mention. But I'll mention this: When we bought our 34', it was a major jump from the 18' Grady White we had at the time. I knew most larger boats in our area (Maine/New Hampshire at the time) were all twin screw, and I was concerned about not having twins. Other folks in the marina all advised that we'd soon be buying a bow thruster.
All except one guy, who turned out to be a good friend. He talked to me about a month after we'd purchased the boat. He made a couple of good points.
He said that first of all, there were TONS of boats in our area that were single screw boats that had no trouble maneuvering at all, and he pointed to two lobster boats out working their pots. Okay...that was a good point. He said the difference between those guys and the guys offering advice in our marina was that the lobstermen just knew how to handle their boats better...and that I should strive to be as good as they were at handling my boat. Okay...that was pretty hard to argue with too. The final point he made was that with single screw boats, people rarely have trouble pointing the bow...they have trouble backing. So in his opinion, many people that sought a bow thruster when what they probably needed was a stern thruster.
Turned out he had owned about 6 Marine Trader 34's, a couple of 38's, and was currently boating on a 43' Albin Sundeck.

Just food for thought :)

Jim
 
15 years with a single screw GB 36, no thruster and never had a problem maneuvering after a bit of practice. Learn the boat's handling characteristics and you'll be fine without one.

Last 3 years with a GB 46 without a thruster. Again, no problems maneuvering. Wish I had one but don't feel a need strong enough to open my pocket book.

Good luck, Howard
 
Installed one in '08 when I bought the boat, so glad I did. Makes backing into a slip off a narrow canal easy. Recommend you get one, you won't be disappointed.
 
Love our thrusters. I agree it does make it easier. Curious, why avoid the tunnel type?
 
No Mast said:
Love our thrusters. I agree it does make it easier. Curious, why avoid the tunnel type?
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Yes, even professionals use tunnel thrusters, such as this megayacht using them to wait for the channel to clear while our ship, using thrusters, made a 180-degree turn in the harbor before docking at Puerto Vallarta:

img_306374_0_f6d128c15692c3512e76b40fc6c07192.jpg
 
We had the stern version on our camnao, was not crazy bout it. After using tunnels ones they're the way to go.
 
Hey mark! That's a nice pic of our boat haha
 
Thrusters are also great when waiting at a bridge, use the engine to keep you away, and the thrusters to keep you straight.
 
Looking at adverts/specs, pluses are no big holes in boat, fitting costs less, initial cost may be less too, if only I could find pricing. Obviously there are negatives, like risk of damage with an externally mounted unit. Sideshift advert says change the anode annually,plus use a/f on the unit. Wonder if Propspeed works on them.
I don`t have a bow thruster, but do have getting one in mind, it would work well with twins.
 
Yea, that's why we are selling it. It has no helipad either. Otherwise she's a great starter boat
 
Gulf Comanche said:
Installed one in '08 when I bought the boat, so glad I did. Makes backing into a slip off a narrow canal easy. Recommend you get one, you won't be disappointed.
Click to expand...

Yes, the bow thruster is handy to counter unwanted prop walk while going in reverse. It is usual for me to "twist" the bow to starboard before exiting berth since the propwalk (stern movement) tends to starboard.
 
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hmason said:
15 years with a single screw GB 36, no thruster and never had a problem maneuvering after a bit of practice. Learn the boat's handling characteristics and you'll be fine without one.

Last 3 years with a GB 46 without a thruster. Again, no problems maneuvering. Wish I had one but don't feel a need strong enough to open my pocket book.

Good luck, Howard
Click to expand...


:thumb:
 
The point is well made that thrusters can not be a substitute for boat handling skills. One day that thruster will not work when you want it to. You should be able to dock your boat without them. With that said, they are very convenient, especially on single screw boats for all the reasons posted above.

What I still have a question on is how efficient are external ones compared to the tunnel ones. I only have experience with tunnel bow thrusters and would definitely recommend them.
 
No Mast said:
The point is well made that thrusters can not be a substitute for boat handling skills. One day that thruster will not work when you want it to. You should be able to dock your boat without them. With that said, they are very convenient, especially on single screw boats for all the reasons posted above. ...
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And shouldn't twin-engine boaters be equally adept with one engine not working?
 
You know, I've never had twin screws. If you do, do you ever practice coming in with one engine just in neutral?
 
Should have mentioned in my earlier post that our GB46 is a twin. Yes, I can back into a slip on one engine. It's tricky but it can be done. Backing in with both engines in neutral is quite another matter.

Howard
 
BHalecki said:
We own a 40' Marine Trader Labelle (weighs about 23,000 lbs) and we're looking to add a bow thruster. We want to avoid tunnel thrusters. We've researched both the Exturn Yacht Controller and the SideShift SS340.

The Yacht Controller seems to be quite a bit more expensive than the comparable Sideshift.

Can anyone give us advice re: their dependability, ease of use, and - most importantly - the amount of drag they introduce.



Thanks for whatever info you can offer.

Barb & Tim Halecki
"Promise Kept II"
Click to expand...
Barbara, I see this is your first post, and you have a spectacular thread drift. Don`t be disappointed, I don`t think so far anyone except Blue Yonder has experience of the external units you want to compare.
What prices were you quoted for each? I think the Exturn is a Scandinavian import, thus higher price.
 
I don't have any experience with an externally mounted bow thruster, but I'd be concerned about durability. What happens if you hit a log? A piece of ice? Can it handle bumping into a mooring buoy all night? Or a bump against the dock?

I like my bow thruster...it makes docking faster, easier, and less stressful. Could I use a spring line instead? Sure, most of the time, but the bow thruster is quicker and easier. And spring lines can be tough to use when singlehanded.

What's the cost differential between a conventional tunnel thruster and an externally mounted unit? It'd be a bummer to buy the external unit, only to repair it, replace it, or install a conventional tunnel thruster in a short time.

On edit: Some boaters are anti-thruster for a variety of reasons—they enable people to "cheat" and avoid "real" seamanship, they're unreliable (not true in my experience), they're another thru hull, they give people false confidence, and on and on. Most of us use our boats for pleasure, and if a thruster (or thrusters) make boating more fun and less stressful and you can afford it, by all means get a thruster. Just know its limitations—run time (for electric), how much wind and current it can push against, etc.
 
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The Yacht controller product is probably high quality since the companies other products are and after meeting and talking to the company owner I have even greater faith in his products. Remember sometimes you get what you pay for. One of the advantages of an external unit vs tunnel is a longer run time before overheating due to cooling effect of surrounding water. If it were my boat I would go with a tunnel and an Imtra variable speed unit. I remember what trucks and cars were like to steer before variable ratio power steering, shore I could do it and still can but I rather not. The same goes for dealing with a boat. I have done and was good with the single engine no thruster thing, but I much prefer the twin engine bow and stern variable speed thrusters and the yacht controller JS and remote. If you want to enjoy your boat and have the bucks why not go for more control, and you can occasionally practice the single engine with no help just so you know what to do if the peripherals quit for some reason.
 
I recently had the unpleasant experience of docking a yet to be mine 70ft boat where the port motor had electronic control issues amd could not be used. I had a powerful side power bow thruster and the starboard motor amd was able to reverse it into its slip with lots of help from the thruster. They certainly can get you out of trouble.
 
Capt.Bill11 said:
Actually, a bow thruster would be of even more help to a twin screw boat with one engine out than it is to a single screw boat.
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Interesting comment. I actually pondered that when I decided to make an offer on a Ocean Alexander 42. The boat, although it's a twin, has a 10hp, duel prop bow thruster which, given my personal history with thrusters, caused me great joy!

Years ago, when entering my marina, my 54' sport fisher's electronic controlled engines failed. I was heading for some parked boats (although at a very slow speed) and could not shift into reverse. The boat had a Venus bow thruster and I laid on it in an attept to swing the bow 90% to port. It worked just in time and I laid the boat up against two concrete pillars that supported finger docks that slipped a 55' boat. Luckily (for me) the slipped boat did not extend out beyond her slip length & I missed her by mere inches.

I'm a big supporter of bow thrusters and I think their contributions to safe boating go far beyond just getting your boat in the slip.

"Sandpiper" (42' OA)
 

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Putting aside the have or have not controversy, In MO a bow thruster is never as strong as you would like it to be when you really need it.

Everything that I have heard about the external thrusters is that your little finger pushing on the bow would have the same effect.

If you want the most effective thruster, get a hydraulic thruster. Short of that get the biggest one that will fit in the new hole that you are getting in your bow.
 
Thrusters are truly a gift from God.
 
seasalt007 said:
Putting aside the have or have not controversy, In MO a bow thruster is never as strong as you would like it to be when you really need it.

Everything that I have heard about the external thrusters is that your little finger pushing on the bow would have the same effect.

If you want the most effective thruster, get a hydraulic thruster. Short of that get the biggest one that will fit in the new hole that you are getting in your bow.
Click to expand...

Wow....try some more boats with electric thrusters...many work beyond "just enough".....

They are not miracle workers...but like many say...you shouldn't ever really need one...but in some spots...its just what you need....even weaker ones.
 
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