Elessar
Well-Known Member
you are so, big, clever and supirior to eveyone else. Go and preen your feathers.
Bow Thruster size
- Thread starter picardy
- Start date
you are so, big, clever and supirior to eveyone else. Go and preen your feathers.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
I am now in my 16th yr of ownership of my present boat, I know how to handle her
I'm sure you do. But you clearly don't know what a bowthruster does. Go and take a decent boat handling course.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
yes but you don't have to give your house away to your ex wife which makes up for it
onesea
Well-Known Member
Now there is some one with a chip on his shoulder....
Polite to..
Again so constructive...
Must admit I am in both camps here, my boat has not got one and I do not want one or see the need for one. There are times it would be nice, when the wind is setting you on etc. Yet I get by, I really do not want the weight, the expense, maintenance, the additional requirements to power it, the drag of the tunnel (how much does it slow you down?), or in the case of retractable something else to go wrong...
On the other hand if you have decided to get one the more powerful the better. There is nothing worse than hanging on with a thruster that is not quite got the umph. Do they still have those silly time restrictions till they cut out? must admit that was always off putting to me, when you really are going to trust in it you know at some point it is not going to working.
Personally I would rather do without...
Horses for courses, I do think with all the pontification about how good they are a little bit of oppositional thinking is not a bad idea...
Playtime
Well-Known Member
As I indicated above the modern answer to a shallow forefoot (and hence lack of depth up front for a conventional 'tunnel' bowthruster) is to use a swing (retractable) thruster. I'd recommend looking at the Quick range shown here ( here ). I've got the dual prop 185-85 which gives 85kgf. It works very well.
The other main advantage of a swing thruster is zero impact on sailing performance (no tunnel to disrupt the flow when sailing).
No connection with Quick - just a satisfied customer.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
You don't want one. Fine!. Thing is you don't judge others as inferior for having one. I totally respect that.
You judge me to be rude. I respect that as an accurate observation
sailorman
Well-Known Member
I do certainly do not need a boat handling course, thank you very much.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
you'll never know what you don't know then - and it seems like a lot to me.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
catlotion
Well-Known Member
Boathook
Well-Known Member
Vetus used to have a bit in their catalogue on how to calulate the size BT required. I assume that this is still available and that you have done this.
Marsupial
Well-Known Member
Mine is a side power, it works. also a dual prop device. but mine is in a tunnel. Was beaten up to get it but now wouldn't be without it.
I have not noticed any penalty on speed since it was fitted, I think the drag argument is a bit sophisticated. Maybe as the boat gets smaller the effect is greater - dont know.
Three kings
Well-Known Member
Vetus recommended a 75kgf but I ended up installing a 95kgf. It will shift the bows through the wind in up to 20 knots so as others have said, it pays to over specify if possible.
Don't be bothered by the knockers, it's your boat and if you want to stick a stern thruster on there as well, just go ahead.
Don't be bothered by the knockers, it's your boat and if you want to stick a stern thruster on there as well, just go ahead.
Ariadne
Well-Known Member
I've worked on a variety of boats (MN, commercial and pleasure yachts) with and without thrusters.
Personally I've only had the need for a thruster 3 times in 7 years of being full time afloat, each time it was my error for not reading the conditions correctly in the first place. In reality, I should have used springs, a better judgement of conditions or a better approach, and not getting myself in the silly (great for onlookers) situations I got myself into.
Do you need a bow thruster on a small boat (anything under say, 16m/30 tons) I'd say no, you should always have enough control to be able to handle it all. If you are in a power boat with 2 engines, why even think about one?
I've seen more accidents caused by use of (reliance of!) thrusters and no basic handling skills (looking at weather, tide etc) than I ever have by people who don't have or use them. I get the impression that people who use them on small, light boats tend to rely on them to pull them out of the s*^t, rather than read the situation ion the first place; the I have a thruster so I'm always going to be OK sort of approach.
It's horses for courses, but never forget basic seamanship and boat handling skills; a thruster can't replace them!
Personally I've only had the need for a thruster 3 times in 7 years of being full time afloat, each time it was my error for not reading the conditions correctly in the first place. In reality, I should have used springs, a better judgement of conditions or a better approach, and not getting myself in the silly (great for onlookers) situations I got myself into.
Do you need a bow thruster on a small boat (anything under say, 16m/30 tons) I'd say no, you should always have enough control to be able to handle it all. If you are in a power boat with 2 engines, why even think about one?
I've seen more accidents caused by use of (reliance of!) thrusters and no basic handling skills (looking at weather, tide etc) than I ever have by people who don't have or use them. I get the impression that people who use them on small, light boats tend to rely on them to pull them out of the s*^t, rather than read the situation ion the first place; the I have a thruster so I'm always going to be OK sort of approach.
It's horses for courses, but never forget basic seamanship and boat handling skills; a thruster can't replace them!
Rivers & creeks
Well-Known Member
We have a bow thruster but now I'm worried, SWMBO wants me to fit an electric toilet and I said OK, but the boat is only 35 feet long and I'm not sure that's long enough to justify having an electric toilet? Also I know how to work a manual toilet and I'm worried that if I fit an electric one, people will think I'm no good at toilet handling. Also I've heard you can have accidents on an electric toilet that you don't have on a manual one.
Please tell me what to do.
Please tell me what to do.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
sailinglegend420
Well-Known Member
One simply solution to a bowthruster is to call up the marina and ask for some dinghy assistance. They will probably be a much more effective bowthruster - and cost you nothing. We have a very high windage boat and have only occassionaly in ten years got into situations where we wished we had a bowthruster, but the cost of the unit and the cabling, and the batteries which sit up front doing nothing most of their lives, just seemed such a waste of money. Swallow your pride and call up the marina.
Boathook
Well-Known Member
You have not tried handling my boat! The BT makes a lot of difference, especially when the wind catches the bows and the engine does not have the power to counteract. I do all I can not to use the BT but it has saved agro many times for me.
Boathook
Well-Known Member
Add another battery & possibly a larger alternator to compensate
Another battery yes, but a 12/12 charging system works fine, only taking power when it is spare. Don't forget that whilst the BT takes a lot of power it is only for a short period so does not make to much demand on a battery.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
I certainly realise how a BT works, you may need one but the OP has a modern 33` AWB,if he were to fit one @ some expense, i believe he will detract from its performance & value for very little advantage.
some have stated i need boat handling instruction in earlier posts, i believe that should be the advise directed to the OP. But that might seem a tad too harsh a comment.Sorry.