Bow Thruster in The Med

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mark1882

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I am currently preparing my boat Arrifana a Westerly Oceanlord for taking her to the Med in May and when she comes out of the water in March for blasting off and Coppercoating I am thinking of having a bow thruster fitted. I have always sort of considered bow thrusters as 'cheating' but have started to come to the opinion that in a crowded Med marina where berthing stern too seems to be quite popular/required it may well help me get out of a tight spot and/or help prevent me causing damage to the boat . As a bow thruster is a relatively big ticket item I would welcome forum members views as to how useful they are in the Med. I have always managed ok without one in the UK having said that there have been some situations where one would of helped so before committing ££££'s to this I thought I would seek your views.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention, I am thinking of a conventional tunnel thruster with propeller but have recently come across the Jet Thruster. I don't know anyone who has a Jet Thruster so I only have the glossy magazine to go by so if anyone has or knows someone who has experience of the Jet Thruster that would also be helpful.

Many thanks

Mark
 
Think you will find polarised opinions. At one extreme will be those who say any decent seaman does not need one and at the other those who want an easy life and like having anything that makes their life easy.

There is no doubt you will meet challenging mooring situations ranging from tight berths in amongst rows of expensive yachts which you want to avoid hitting to trying to back up to a quay with a strong crosswind rolling down from the surrounding hills. The great thing with bow thrusters is that you don't have to use them if you don't need them, but when you do they are worth their weight in gold. If you can afford one, go ahead. Very little downside and it will allow you to do some things you might not if you did not have it.
 
Tranona said:
The great thing with bow thrusters is that you don't have to use them if you don't need them, but when you do they are worth their weight in gold. If you can afford one, go ahead. Very little downside and it will allow you to do some things you might not if you did not have it.
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Quite possibly the best advice that you will get on this thread!!!
 
Tranona said:
The great thing with bow thrusters is that you don't have to use them if you don't need them, but when you do they are worth their weight in gold. If you can afford one, go ahead. Very little downside and it will allow you to do some things you might not if you did not have it.
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This is true, but experience shows from watching (and hearing) other boats that once you have a bow thruster you always use it. I've lost count of the number of yachts using thrusters to turn the boat in zero wind conditions. In addition, thruster owners seem to get used to using them any time they want to turn the boat when going astern, they seem to forget how to manoeuvre using the rudder.

Many Med marinas are tight and well-packed and there are many times I've wished we had one (we don't). That said, most decent marinas have a RHIB they will use as a sort of mobile thruster to push your bows around if you ask them for help. At other times, lines rigged to nearby helpful boats have helped prevent problems in gusty conditions.

I think on balance if you can afford one then get one (especially on a big boat like an Oceanlord) but do try to use it only when you really need it. Think of it as a bit of emergency kit rather than part of the regular boat equipment. And do PLEASE try to avoid using it when you leave a marina at first light in calm conditions.......
 
mark1882 said:
I am currently preparing my boat Arrifana a Westerly Oceanlord for taking her to the Med in May and when she comes out of the water in March for blasting off and Coppercoating I am thinking of having a bow thruster fitted. I have always sort of considered bow thrusters as 'cheating' but have started to come to the opinion that in a crowded Med marina where berthing stern too seems to be quite popular/required it may well help me get out of a tight spot and/or help prevent me causing damage to the boat . As a bow thruster is a relatively big ticket item I would welcome forum members views as to how useful they are in the Med. I have always managed ok without one in the UK having said that there have been some situations where one would of helped so before committing ££££'s to this I thought I would seek your views.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention, I am thinking of a conventional tunnel thruster with propeller but have recently come across the Jet Thruster. I don't know anyone who has a Jet Thruster so I only have the glossy magazine to go by so if anyone has or knows someone who has experience of the Jet Thruster that would also be helpful.

Many thanks

Mark
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Mark

As the owner (15 years) of a long keel , 25 ton steel yacht there are many times I wish I had a bow thruster, if you have the money and the need then do it , but remember the more you add to the boat the more you have to maintain, nothing is maintenance free and nothing down here (med) is cheap !

Personally we keep putting other equipment before a thruster , for me to fit a thruster is maybe 8k and it would take up space in an area I can't afford to lose so we plod on and avoid marinas as much as possible , when the local day rate is €200 plus you tend to avoid them any way !

a choice of thruster or windlass ..... Windlass every time , we've just upped our kit 120 m of 12 mm chain and new windlass , so the thruster is even less likely , plus 30 k on an engine change .... Thruster way down the list !

Good luck
 
ribrage said:
a choice of thruster or windlass ..... Windlass every time , we've just upped our kit 120 m of 12 mm chain and new windlass , so the thruster is even less likely , plus 30 k on an engine change .... Thruster way down the list !
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Wow! 120m x 12mm chain is the most I've heard of on, what, a 45' steel yacht? Weight about ½ tonne! Must seriously affect your trim. Why so much, so large? With that lot you'll be laying a mooring when you anchor. No need of marinas, or bow-thrusters.
 
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AndrewB said:
Wow! 120m x 12mm chain is the most I've heard of on, what, a 45' steel yacht? Weight about ½ tonne! Must seriously affect your trim. Why so much, so large? With that lot you'll be laying a mooring when you anchor. No need of marinas, or bow-thrusters.
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Absolutely agree on chain, windlass and anchor over bow thruster - and much more than you would want in UK - 120m sounds good though not sure how 12mm is much better than 8mm as the breaking strain (and non chafing) is what I want from chain rather than weight. My big purchase regret was replacing a rusty 35m of chain (plus rope) with just 60m, which I used entirely the next week in a 19m anchorage. Also not spending the thousands of pounds on a stainless steel slinky chain so I wouldn't spend my life poking the chain into place every 10 seconds when hauling up.

Bow thrusters - I'm in the "anti" camp mostly because I know I'm most likely to be hit if I hear the noise of somebody coming in using one. They are so often used by people as a first resort instead of learning how a boat steers in reverse, with inevitable consequences as they slide sideways. But I'm mellowing - anyone who has learnt how to park (and unpark) their boat well for 5 or so years without one probably qualifies as a sensible user. Now I have owned my 42 footer in the Med since 2010, so...
 
We have kept our Oceanlord in Greece for the past few years and at no time did I feel I needed a bow thruster. It took a little while to gain confidence in mooring stern too, but with a little cunning and plenty of planning it becomes something to enjoy, not fear. The propwash on the Oceanlord can be turned to your advantage on most occasions. As other contributors state, it's a luxury.

I am always wary of people who use their bow thruster for anything other than small adjustments, some use it instead of the rudder.

If you are going to keep your boat in a marina, use the money for an airconditioner!
 
artemis07 said:
If you are going to keep your boat in a marina, use the money for an airconditioner!
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And if so, please ensure the outflow is at/below the waterline or you may get some very passive aggressive neighbours.

We don't have ac as we are not liveaboards yet so only use the marina as a base and rarely stay in one overnight.
 
As always, it's a tool that can make life easier, but is not essential. If you have a traditional, single rudder boat that will steer astern, then you won't feel the benefit as much as those of us with no real steering astern. Some marinas are pretty tight, and being able to turn on a dime is pretty neat, but again, not essential. When mooring up with lazy lines, a thruster can be useful for holding the bow straight whilst getting hold of the line and making it fast on the bow. It's also useful for straightening up the bow if a sudden gust of wind (which will inevitably show up just as you're approaching the desired berth) pushes your bow away.

Personally, I would always go for a boat with a bow thruster, or plan to fit one if the right boat didn't have one. But again, it's all down to personal preference, and how much you like features that make life easier.

Tony Cross said:
This is true, but experience shows from watching (and hearing) other boats that once you have a bow thruster you always use it. I've lost count of the number of yachts using thrusters to turn the boat in zero wind conditions. In addition, thruster owners seem to get used to using them any time they want to turn the boat when going astern, they seem to forget how to manoeuvre using the rudder.
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You try steering my boat (twin rudders) astern at less than around 3 knots boat speed, then tell me I've forgotten how to manoeuvre. :rolleyes:
 
A training trick I used to use is a useful filter to work out if you need a bow thruster in non-tidalwaters.

Find two buoys laid about 2 - 3 boat lengths apart. Bring your boat to a standstill between them, bow to one, stern to the other.

Now manouevre the boat through a figures of 8 around the two buoys, with the boat substantially pointing in one direction.

Narrow keel AWB which can spin on a sixpence will have little difficulty doing this in either direction. Directionally stable boats, which happily steer themselves forwards once you've set the sails, will be more difficult to steer astern, so you'll probably only be able to do this in one direction round the figure of 8, using prop walk. Some vessels can just forget this game (offset props!)

If you can play this game with your model of boat, now try it with a crosswind.

At the end of this session you'll be much more confident and knowledgeable about your manouevrablity limits in cramped spaces. And whether or not you may need a bow thruster!

My boat was a "one direction only round the 8" - and a pig to control going astern. This biased me strongly towards going bows to, rather the stern to, when going end on the quays in the Med. Another way to escape the expense of a bow thruster.
 
Cardo said:
Personally, I would always go for a boat with a bow thruster, or plan to fit one if the right boat didn't have one. But again, it's all down to personal preference, and how much you like features that make life easier.
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I was on my boat in the Med at the end of 2013 when Sunsail were hauling their out-of-date charter boats ready for sale through their brokerage. There must have been 20 monohulls from 30 foot upwards. As they were sitting on the hard two engineers were working their way down the fleet installing bowthrusters in even the smaller boats. I asked the Sunsail manager why they were going through all the pain as I could see that cutting through the GRP was a noisy, time consuming and dusty job, even with electric cutters. He replied that there was little chance of selling the boats in the Med without a thruster.

My cat spins on it's own axis anyway so thruster not needed.

Richard
 
Our berth is on the main channel in Empuriabrava with high buildings along both sides and the wind blows along the channel every afternoon, beam on to the boat and, even on a 33' boat, it can be tricky. I've (mostly!) got it down now but there have been occasions and there will be others when I've thought "I wish I had a bow thruster". If you can afford it and not at the expense of other, more useful kit, go for it but try to only use it when you have to.
 
I tend toward the not really needed camp. Whilst it can be a bit nerve wracking getting into some of the tighter marina berths we've found that a bit of patience, using the wind to help and not being afraid to get the marina staff to help, either with a rib or by taking a line, that you can get in just about anywhere. And be prepared to go bows to if that's what it takes.

However, it's all down to personal preference. If you have the dosh to spare to fit a thruster and it will keep peace in the crew by avoiding stressed arrivals at a new place, then go for it. And as others have said, please don't use it to depart from a marina at oh my god it's early.... And equally, don't use it when anchoring.....
 
After 12 years of med based TSDY cruising I would say if you can afford it then do it. Even with 900 HP and two high torque engines there have been many times when a thruster would have reduced the stress. Go for it
 
AndrewB said:
I'm guessing it's a lot to do with windage as to whether you feel they are essential or no.
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Not so sure - high windage can be used, and a bow thruster is pretty rotten at stopping a boat sliding sideways against a strong cross-wind if (big if) you don't understand how to use the wind. I'm a lot less anti than I was, and like others very occasionally wish I had one so that I wouldn't have to abort the entry sometimes.
 
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