Bow thruster question

[EugeneR]

I'm thinking of fitting a bow thruster to our boat and the Lewmar 140TT 2.2hp thruster seems to be a good deal at £795. (It comes to £1100 including the 140mm tube and panel, plus £600 for fitting the tube and mounting the unit. I will do the electrics myself as well as supply the battery)

Lewmar claims that it is good for boats 8-12m (ours is 8.7m) and that it does not need any maintenance.

Is 2.2hp sufficient to swing the boat in a F6 for example? Is 140mm OK for this size of boat? (Boat is a Bayliner 285). Any common issues to watch out for?

Or perhaps any other model that you can recommend and does not cost too much more?

 

[Monique]

F6 is a tough call. I have a larger thruster but the wind age is hard. I try to use every dynamic advantage, like prop walk act when conditions get too tough.

If you have a single engine then BT is VG.

GL

 

[Boathook]

I fitted a vetus 55kgf model on my cat. It is ok up to around 20 knots of wind and over that struggles to drive the bows through the wind from a 'standing start'. How far forward the unit is mounted and the amount of boat that is forward of the BT that the wind can catch does make a big difference.