Bow Thruster 80kg or 100kg thrust for 44 foot boat

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MikeA

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My Camargue 44 was fitted with a QL BP500 bow thruster when new. I can't find the specs for it but it's very similar to the BP600 which produces just under 60Kg thrust, perhaps mine was around 50kg? It is useless in any cross wind so I'd like to replace it with something more powerful. I'd like a twin propellor unit and have been recommended to go for either the Side-Power SE80 or SE100. The SE100 won't fit without some modifications to the forward cabin floor, I think it would need to be raised by about an inch. This will mean the aircon outlet needing to be raised and new carpet being required. The company who will fit it are recommending installing either one or two batteries next to it rather than run beefier cables back to the existing battery. The SE80 will just about fit without adapting the floor and I'm thinking that a more modern, twin prop thruster with battery alongside plus extra 20-30Kg thrust may make sufficient difference to be a worthwhile upgrade. Having said that, I'd hate to be left disappointed if the improvement is not great. I've noticed Fairlines around the marina always seem to have more bow thruster grunt than Sunseekers and wondered if anyone knows the which model was fitted to the Targa 44 in the early 2000's? Any other suggestions or comments very welcome and appreciated, before I commit either way.

Thanks
Mike
 
I installed a QL BP800 to my 43ft flybridge. I read on the sticker it's 7HP, 24V & 5KW. It's a 185mm tunnel job and twin prop.

Only thing I can say is that it's definitely powerful and does work.

cheers

V.
 
We have a electric Vetus ,they are single prop but v powerfull on the current 14/15 M boat .
Our neighbour is Camargue 44
The smaller BP 350 I think I had on my previous boat -Sunseeker P35"was weak and I needed 2x new gearboxes @€ 800 a pop .Design issue with the anode being hardto get at -missed by proffesional antifoulers .Or the gearbox seals were leaky -either way not impressed re durability of the QL BP bow thruster -on top of it was pretty useless power wise .imho avoid if poss -at the time they and spares were marketed from VP

Anode change on the Vetus is v easy--so gets done

Don,t know what size vetus ,but it's good -powerfull and refreshingly well engineered .

https://www.vetus.com/manoeuvring-systems/electric-bow-thrusters.html?p=1
 
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MikeA said:
Thanks for the reply, the Vetus was ruled out due to height, although they seem to be well recommended.
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The vetus bow thruster does not have to be mounted with the motor vertical. It can be mounted horizontal to reduce the height. The only proviso is that the motor needs a vertical support to take the weight of the motor from overloading the motor mounting bolts.
 
Yes I've seen others that can be supported at various angles. I wasn't sure whether the existing tunnel would have to be replaced, if doing that. Although going from a single prop to twin prop will mean new holes as it won't be offset. I didn't manage to get a clear answer regarding normal approach to tunnel mods when upgrading the thruster.
 
Rogershaw said:
The vetus bow thruster does not have to be mounted with the motor vertical. It can be mounted horizontal to reduce the height. The only proviso is that the motor needs a vertical support to take the weight of the motor from overloading the motor mounting bolts.
Click to expand...

same as I did with my QL one. Thing is if you already have a hole there, you got to fill it up and redrill in the new position. TBH it's highly unlikely you're going to find a bowthruster that will be compatible at a holes level to the one you removed :D

Mike, are you going to keep the original tunnel?

FWIW, I didn't bother with batteries up front but I went through all the hassle of placing 2 massive cables from the e/r. Not such a big issue as my boat was in pieces at the time, but a serious consideration on a "normal" case where you don't want to rip all the upholstery panels apart!

cheers

V.
 
Hi Vas, yes I'm hoping to keep the original tunnel to try and keep costs down, not sure what kind of pressure the tunnel is under but I wouldn't imagine it's a lot. Part of my confusion is because I'm not dealing directly with the Spanish company who will be fitting it, so not always getting answers to my endless questions!
 
MikeA said:
Hi Vas, yes I'm hoping to keep the original tunnel to try and keep costs down, not sure what kind of pressure the tunnel is under but I wouldn't imagine it's a lot. Part of my confusion is because I'm not dealing directly with the Spanish company who will be fitting it, so not always getting answers to my endless questions!
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The only water pressure is due to the depth of water at your bow thruster so if its 500 mm below the surface will be less than 1 psi similar to the pressure on a seacock at the same depth.

A digger bow thruster will have different hole positions and sizes my 90 kgf vetus has a 185 mm tunnel the vetus. The vetus 55 kgf has a 150mm dia tunnel so you may need to fit a bigger tunnel anyway.

The 600 has the same tunnel dia as the 800 so you may get away without fitting a new tunnel but if its GRP the existing holes could be glassed up and new ones drilled.

This is where I got the info from hope it helps.

http://www.pentamarine.co.th/pdf/Quality line.pdf
 
Rogershaw said:
The only water pressure is due to the depth of water at your bow thruster so if its 500 mm below the surface will be less than 1 psi similar to the pressure on a seacock at the same depth.

A digger bow thruster will have different hole positions and sizes my 90 kgf vetus has a 185 mm tunnel the vetus. The vetus 55 kgf has a 150mm dia tunnel so you may need to fit a bigger tunnel anyway.

The 600 has the same tunnel dia as the 800 so you may get away without fitting a new tunnel but if its GRP the existing holes could be glassed up and new ones drilled.

This is where I got the info from hope it helps.

http://www.pentamarine.co.th/pdf/Quality line.pdf
Click to expand...

Yes, I was also getting the 59kg thrust for the BP600 from that site and could see the BP450 rated at 45kg so good chance mine is only rated at 50kg. My tunnel is 185mm so that's ok but still not sure whether minor repairs to original holes in the tunnel are the norm or a no no. As the pressure is negligible, I can't see that it should be a problem but I'm not the expert. Hopefully, I'm worrying about nothing and they will use their experience to just get it fitted and working correctly. They're still recommending I go for the SE100 to be sure of getting a good increase in performance.
 
In your original post you said
The company who will fit it are recommending installing either one or two batteries next to it rather than run beefier cables back to the existing battery.
Click to expand...

So I assume you are using batteries some way aft - ER? If so unless you have really heavy cables you will get serious voltage drop giving poor performance. Have you tried temp mounting a good high capacity battery next to your existing bow thuster with temp heavy duty cables. You may find performance is now acceptable. Even if not a big change all you have lost is a bit of cable and the new battery/batteries can be used with the new install.
 
'Messing' with moving batteries is a lot easier than fitting a new thruster, and the OP will need a battery fitting there anyway for a new unit...

Having a local battery rather than long runs is the correct way anyway, IMHO
 
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