Hurricane
Well-known member
The above links feature Jon who knows what he is doing but the point of this thread was thruster maintenance.
If you maintain thrusters well, you are less likely to have a failure anyway.
Some of the responses on this thread seem to imply that you just splash a little antifoul on your thruster and that will do.
I have just finished maintaining our thrusters this week.
I ALWAYS take the thruster props off and clean them by removing all the old antifoul.
Then clean the tunnels and gearboxes.
Re-antifoul and then reassemble with lots of grease (that ensures I can easily dismantle them next time)
I have seen lots of cases where people have tried to antifoul thrusters with the props in place and it all ends up a mess.
If done properly, 70 quid a thruster is a bargain but why not do it yourself - it isn't rocket science.
And whilst removing the props you can check the bearings and oil reservoirs etc.
Done properly reduces the likelihood of any failures.
Thrusters are much more critical on larger boats - small boats can be just pushed by someone from the pontoon.
And shaft driven boats a bow thruster is a must.
On shafts, to go sideways, split the throttles and tickle the thruster.
That said, I wouldn't leave the engines in gear for any length of time so they have to be "tickled" as well.
For me, though, thrusters (bow and stern) are always used but really only once the boat is already in the dock area.
Certainly not for turning the boat - more for keeping it in place whilst the ropes are being tied off.
Each to his own though.
I hear the statement "they will fail sometime" said often in boating.
But the more you get to know your boat, the more you can deal with any failures anyway.
Same is often said for electronic navigation and these days there are so many alternatives at your disposal, it makes that statement obsolete.
If you maintain thrusters well, you are less likely to have a failure anyway.
Some of the responses on this thread seem to imply that you just splash a little antifoul on your thruster and that will do.
I have just finished maintaining our thrusters this week.
I ALWAYS take the thruster props off and clean them by removing all the old antifoul.
Then clean the tunnels and gearboxes.
Re-antifoul and then reassemble with lots of grease (that ensures I can easily dismantle them next time)
I have seen lots of cases where people have tried to antifoul thrusters with the props in place and it all ends up a mess.
If done properly, 70 quid a thruster is a bargain but why not do it yourself - it isn't rocket science.
And whilst removing the props you can check the bearings and oil reservoirs etc.
Done properly reduces the likelihood of any failures.
Thrusters are much more critical on larger boats - small boats can be just pushed by someone from the pontoon.
And shaft driven boats a bow thruster is a must.
On shafts, to go sideways, split the throttles and tickle the thruster.
That said, I wouldn't leave the engines in gear for any length of time so they have to be "tickled" as well.
For me, though, thrusters (bow and stern) are always used but really only once the boat is already in the dock area.
Certainly not for turning the boat - more for keeping it in place whilst the ropes are being tied off.
Each to his own though.
I hear the statement "they will fail sometime" said often in boating.
But the more you get to know your boat, the more you can deal with any failures anyway.
Same is often said for electronic navigation and these days there are so many alternatives at your disposal, it makes that statement obsolete.