Do I need a Bow Thruster?

[Elza_Skip]

Risking some diverse responses I would nevertheless like to get the Forum thoughts on whether I should splash out several grand on a bow thruster.

The boat is a Fairline Corniche 31' on twin shafts in Plymouth.

On the one hand the Corniche is quite heavy with a deep forefoot but on the other has quite high windage and my wife is not at all confident in stepping off onto the pontoon (due to a bad knee), expecting the boat to be at rest touching the pontoon before making any attempt to step off!

Now we have only had the boat a few months and as this is our first twin engine boat I am sure some tuition would help with confidence but I would like to plan to get this done if I go ahead during the spring lift out.

To be honest we are tending to not take the boat out for short trips when we get the opportunity due to nervousness about the bother of mooring up again and I want to eliminate this to ensure we get the full use of her this year.

 

[Adrianwool]

Hi there,
Any aid to close quarters manouvering is a 'plus' in my book, when reversing into our berth I find a 'touch' on the bow thruster keeps the bow spot on aligned and enables me to keep the boat gently alongside whilst the bow ropes are being popped on.

It also does wonders for the confidence of the crew!.

 

[hlb]

If you follow these rules you do not need a bow thruster and you will never leave the boat till you are firmly held against the pontoon.

Firstly, always drive into a fingure mooring, or any other come to that. Swmbo stands on the bow, with a big loop of rope, drive to the cleat you want, swmbo drops loop over cleat, If swmbo misses and your blown off, back up and repeat. \it's dead easy, she wont miss that often. Now, once the bow is secured, bring the back end in with the engines and hold the backk end against the pontoon, swimbo walks off, there is no rush.

We never discuss mooring, we always do it the same way. Nobody jumps anywhere.

 

[SolentPhill]

In short yes, shafts are not as easy as legs and if your not experienced then anything that can help yes. You say about lessons, you should find someone to do this fairly soon before the lift out as this as this may bring the confidence flooding back, so fitting thruster is not needed.

There will be those on here who will say shaft is easier to drive than legs and for those who have been doing it 150 yrs and are in still marinas yes it is, but you go on a moving river and a bit of wind and your all over the place.

 

[volvopaul]

I was brought up driving single engined , twin shaft, single outboard etc etc, I have also owned a twin shaft corniche, id say that I would not bother, if it was sterndrive then yes.

Though I must admit my 41ft Princess was ok when I was on a pontoon mooring at Shamrock quay, she was easy to get in, but when I moved to a fore/aft berth on the fast flowing Hamble I found it a different story, so what I saved on MDL mooring charges paid for my thruster in the first year of moving, what I would say is dont buy a toytown 4hp thruster, buy a monster that way you know you have got one in there! mine is suitable for a 48ft boat, you only have to touch it, what I will say is that you have to know when to use it as it pushes the stern in the opposite direction, so when you leave a berth you actually pin the stern on the pontoon, and thats not what its all about, its is great for total sideways movement when you combine it with one engine at the same time.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

In short yes, shafts are not as easy as legs and if your not experienced then anything that can help yes.

I think you're in a small minority on here saying that! Given the choice between a Corniche on shafts and one on legs, I'd take the one on shafts every day for easier manouvering

 

[hlb]

In short yes, shafts are not as easy as legsQUOTE]

Well I'll go to our house. There has to be one.

Take it from me, the only bow thruster you need, is a big round fender.

Think about it like this. If we insisted on driving a car into a parking space forwards. We'd need a stern thruster to get the back end in. But we dont, it's not been invented. With boats it's the opposite, drive in, back out.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Elza_Skip, if you are going to feel more confident manouvering your boat with a bow thruster to hand, and for sure you will, then dont take any notice of what certain curmudgeonly boat handling gods on this forum say. Agree with hlb though; you should be able to manouvre your boat into such a position that your SWMBO doesn't need to jump off the boat and can drop a line over a cleat from the boat. A bow thruster will certainly help you do that although, its not essential

 

[ricky_s]

I wish I had one sometimes. It is your "Get out of jail free card" when things go pear shaped!

 

[Who]

If the bow thruster is there you will use it.

I can drive our boat both with and without using the bow thruster, but if it makes life easier I use it.

our a boat did not have one, would I have one fitted. Yes.

 

[gazzogs]

I have a Sealine S28 with twin sterndrives and no bow thruster, previously had 25' single engine sterndrive with bow thruster and up to now don't miss the bowthruster. Allowing for the wind direction and using throttles is enough to berth sucessfully. Looping a cleat with a spring and motoring against it makes for easy disembarkation onto the pontoon. Have to agree with previous comment that some training prior to lift out will help. Having said all this, I have no experience of shafts and if cost is not an issue, why not fit one, as having one just in case, will give you more confidence.

 

[Ripster]

I think you're in a small minority on here saying that! Given the choice between a Corniche on shafts and one on legs, I'd take the one on shafts every day for easier manouvering

Have to agree. I too have had both and whilst there certain times stern drive can be useful for dragging the stern etc., In the main, shafts are easier IMO. Bow thruster with twin shafts - you don't "need" one but as someone has said, its nice to have for some insurance when things go pear shaped. Good advice BTW on size - make sure you get one that has plenty of power, not just enough. In a even a slight wind, some that I have seen just were not powerful enough when called on.

 

[sternsheet]

I'd say no. Firstly, on a 31' with twin shafts, you are very flexible on your options anway. Secondly, why cut holes in the bow that are going to slow you down, spoil the flow of water, and introduce potential leaks. Thirdly, with good boat-handling skills, decent use of springs, and the average use of forward planning, bow thrusters are not necessary. fourthly, as someone has already said, you need to get a really beefy one to hold the bow against anything over a F2. And finally, they sound absolutely awful - like gearboxes with broken cogs and shot bearings!

Use good boat handling skills instead and save the money for something you really need!

But then, that's only my opinion. As you can see, I hate them on any vessel under 100ft.

 

[Renegade_Master]

HLB has summed it up , never step off boat until boat is secured, there is no need, use the lassoing technic from bow, tie off, outside engine now holds her against the rope onto pontoon. I have seen too many folks hurt themselves jumping off a moving boat onto either a solid concrete quay or a wobbly pontoon, risky.

You cant pin a boat to a pontoon with a bow thruster anyway unless it is done in conjunction with a stern thruster, as a bow thruster alone will simultaniously bring the stern out whilst pushing the bow in, not ideal.

The bow thruster though as others have said, is a usefull tool and can certainly aid berthing, it would improve your confidence certainly, plus it may well avoid you causing damage to your or other boats, so the initial expense of installation could well be cheaper in the long run.

 

[neale]

Personally I would have one fitted. A twin shaft drive boat is possibly the easiest configuration to handle without one, but there will be times when it gives you another option and makes your life easier.

It will also instil confidence and make you more likely to use the boat.

For once I do agree with HLB when it comes to mooring into finger berths bow in, the problem is that many fingers are too short for the boat and you can't get off the stern. Mooring stern in makes getting on and off easier and therefore a bow thruster becomes rather useful.

 

[PaulGooch]

If we moor bow to on our home berth, it's awkward to get off, as the finger isn't long enough. We have a transom door an a large swim platform that's almost level with the pontoon, so stern to we simply walk on/walk off.

We have a single shaft and no thrusters, which is probably the most awkward thing at close quarters handling, made worse by the high windage.

We find it easiest to come in astern. SWMBO attaches a line to the stern cleat and i reverse in at a slight angle, as soon as the bathing platform is close enough to the finger to step off, she does so. I then motor slightly forward to square up and reverse back in. I generally have to shunt back and forth a time or three, at tickover, as the wind/prop walk don't allow for a single manoeuvre.

Whilst i'm doing this, SWMBO will be standing near a pontoon cleat and if i'm getting blown off of the finger, or it's starting to get generally pear shaped, she put the line around the cleat and i engage forward gear at tickover, the engine/line pull the boat tight to the finger and hold it there while we secure the usual lines.

Same principal as Haydn's method, except we come in backwards.

As the OP has a Corniche with the rare transom door, i'm guessing he'll prefer to be stern to.

 

[Kipper]

Haydns method works well for those who have the lxury of driving into the berth.
A lot of modern boats require you to back in and as others have said, most pontoon fingers are a lot shorter than the berth.
I have always managed without a thruster but it has been a bit touch and go at times in the wind.
If I would have had the choice I would have fitted a bow thruster for those occasions and it would make it nore comfortable for the crew. It is not always possible to follow the simple rule of never stepping off the boat untill it is secured. Also with a bad knee it would be a small expense, about 4.5k for added peace of mind.

 

[rafiki_]

I park Rafiki backwards in to the finger pontoon, as this gives easy access on and off the bathing platform. She has twin sterdrives and a bowthruster. Most steering at low speeds is done with the engines, nudging in and out of gear, and the 'thruster is very useful, particularly when it is breezy. So I would advocate the fitting and use of a 'thruster.

There are some salty old tars on this forum who think that those of use with 'thrusters are limp wristed. However, they learned to helm with the use of a number of slaves on the oars, and you could sling several of these overboard to keep you dry when mooring. SWMBO's were used now and again, when raping and pillaging opportunities were limited.

 

[KevB]

Do you need servo assisted brakes on your car? No, you don't need them but makes life easier to have them. Same with a bowthruster

 

[BGW]

I finally bit the bullet and had one fitted this year (Broom Crown)
Whilst I have happily managed without for the past three years of ownership, there have been times when it would have been useful - I am based inland on the Lough Derg/River Shannon in Ireland.
The problems have always been due to windage in restricted spaces.
Whilst twin shafts do make for a very maneuverable vessel, there is no getting away from the fact that to send the bow one way, the stern has to go the other way (or you need some forward or backward direction) and this is not always desirable in a tight space, so the bowthruster gives me the ability to do something I could not do on engines alone.

Also, and my main reason for getting it fitted, is that I do a lot of single handed work, and my free-board is very high.

With the remote control fitted I can get the stern rope on first which is near the helm, them use the remote control to push the bow over so I can get the bow rope on. Much easier than trying to run up front and securing the bow line before being blown off, then scooting back to bring the stern in again to get the stern line secured.

Whilst I hate the noise they make, and avoid using it if at all possible, it is an extra pair of hands that can make life very much easier on occasion.

And I also agree with the previous advice of getting a higher rated one than you need - because when you need it most, you will need more power that the one normally rated for your boat.