Bow thrusters and mooring buoys

[Chiara’s slave]

I don't have a bow thruster, and have little experience of using them, but surely it wouldn't be difficult when installing, to include a removable mesh at each end of the tunnel. Something to stop ropes or anything else being sucked in.

It sounds a great idea. I wonder if anyone does that, and if not, why not. After all, it’s not just mooring pick ups that float about in the water. You often see lines dangling from pontoons, especially those ‘borrowed’ from an absent permanent berth holder. Our springs are left on our berth, mostly safely on the pontoon, but…..

 

[Stemar]

Unfortunately, a mesh that's fine enough to stop a rope is going to reduce the efficiency significantly. OTOH, the bread knife taped to a boathook may not get the thruster working again, but I'd be surprised if it didn't get me on my way.

 

[trapper guy]

I don't have a bow thruster, and have little experience of using them, but surely it wouldn't be difficult when installing, to include a removable mesh at each end of the tunnel. Something to stop ropes or anything else being sucked in.

sounds like common sense to me, but im sure there are folks out there that would find issue with that, no doubt

 

[trapper guy]

Unfortunately, a mesh that's fine enough to stop a rope is going to reduce the efficiency significantly. OTOH, the bread knife taped to a boathook may not get the thruster working again, but I'd be surprised if it didn't get me on my way.

thats it isnt it, the only real NEED, is not for working bow thrusters, but be free of the entanglement so way could be made

 

[howardclark]

First stop on trip home with new to me boat. Crew had difficulty hooking mooring with usual head to wind approach in strong gusty winds as bow kept blowing off. Made a stern into wind approach then hovering with engine countering windage to give crew time to pick up buoy rope and secure.
No bowthruster though, they are for people who do not have time or inclination to learn boat handling. And yes, I have used one when appropriate, on a 3000 ton seismic survey ship when recovering the cable.

Have to disagree with that- got a 40’ long keeled wooden yacht with a lot of windage & best thing I ever did was get a bow thruster fitted. Close manoeuvring in a blow is manageable and steering in reverse is so much easier using the thruster to correct the angle. Cross tide in a marina with a wind blowing would be a nightmare without it.
I can handle boats perfectly well but am quite happy to use all tools at my disposal.

 

[Hacker]

Mesh tends to trap seaweed which makes the thruster pretty useless.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Have to disagree with that- got a 40’ long keeled wooden yacht with a lot of windage & best thing I ever did was get a bow thruster fitted. Close manoeuvring in a blow is manageable and steering in reverse is so much easier using the thruster to correct the angle. Cross tide in a marina with a wind blowing would be a nightmare without it.
I can handle boats perfectly well but am quite happy to use all tools at my disposal.

I think not many would spurn the use of a bow thruster if fitted. For tight manoeuvring, ie their design function, they are very useful, often a go to tool, not just a backup if you’ve made a mess of it (and lets be honest, who doesn’t from time to time).Using it when picking up a mooring just doesn’t seem necessary, and certainly not wise.

 

[clyst]

Can you imagine the bliss of having neither a bow thruster nor an anchor alarm. And why anyone would meed a thruster to pick up a mooring is beyond me. The issues are only ever related to the speed of arrival. Surely anyone can steer a boat at a buoy. Arriving facing the right way at the right speed is obviously a big bonus.

Probably too much inherited wealth spent on chunky boats without learning seamanship ....... or indeed reading a copy of IRPCS

 

[johnalison]

Probably too much inherited wealth spent on chunky boats without learning seamanship ....... or indeed reading a copy of IRPCS

I'm not sure why inherited wealth should lead people to buy chunky boats, which I wouldn't think would be their style. My impression is that most of them are 'businessmen'.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Last night at Lamlash, more unnecessary bow thruster bursts. Boat picked up mooring very smartly, crew threaded the mooring line, boat secure. Then 5 minutes of various thrusts while crew milled around foredeck. No pick up lines to foul thruster, but a tail from their own line could have.

Pointless thrusting!

 

[Daydream believer]

On a more sinister note, have swimmers been sucked into these whirring dervishes and nastily injured? Ships have warning signs on theirs but I don’t remember seeing them on yachts.

Here is a thought. Could one suck an Orca in?

 

[stranded]

It sounds a great idea. I wonder if anyone does that, and if not, why not. After all, it’s not just mooring pick ups that float about in the water. You often see lines dangling from pontoons, especially those ‘borrowed’ from an absent permanent berth holder. Our springs are left on our berth, mostly safely on the pontoon, but…..

Ours has stainless steel grills as original equipment - proper thick wire, not fine mesh, faired into the hull. Must admit I had never thought about it but assumed until reading this that every boat had these!

The thruster is pretty powerful so never noticed a degradation in performance EXCEPT last season when we had a, to me, extraordinary infestation - i think they said tube worms - which completely blocked the grill and also stopped the gori prop from unfolding properly. But otherwise, no problems in 11 years.

 

[awol]

Here is a thought. Could one suck an Orca in?

There are many accounts of sex between humans and dolphins so why not? Just how big is your mouth?

 

[Daydream believer]

There are many accounts of sex between humans and dolphins so why not? Just how big is your mouth?

Walked right in to that one didn’t I

 

[Bristolfashion]

I'm not getting why someone using their own bowthruster on their own boat as they see fit should bother anyone else?

I'm perfectly happy for them to do it, but often "incidentally" go up on deck to keep.an eye out - the sound of a bow thruster on perfectly normal boats says "I have no idea how to steer or avoid anything else" to me.*

I've seen people motoring forwards down the middle of pontoon rows in perfectly calm conditions using the bow thruster to correct course - and we had the weird "bow thruster whilst attached at the rear on a mooring " yesterday.

* My friend thinks that a blue ensign gives the same message - I couldn't possibly comment.

 

[Bristolfashion]

I've heard that some people take their anchor alarm to bed with them! ;-)

I do - she elbows me in the ribs if something needs checking on deck!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I'm perfectly happy for them to do it, but often "incidentally" go up on deck to keep.an eye out - the sound of a bow thruster on perfectly normal boats says "I have no idea how to steer or avoid anything else" to me.*

I've seen people motoring forwards down the middle of pontoon rows in perfectly calm conditions using the bow thruster to correct course - and we had the weird "bow thruster whilst attached at the rear on a mooring " yesterday.

* My friend thinks that a blue ensign gives the same message - I couldn't possibly comment.

You may have noticed that we are unscarred by collisions in spite of flying the blue one. No bow thruster though.

 

[capnsensible]

I'm perfectly happy for them to do it, but often "incidentally" go up on deck to keep.an eye out - the sound of a bow thruster on perfectly normal boats says "I have no idea how to steer or avoid anything else" to me.*

I've seen people motoring forwards down the middle of pontoon rows in perfectly calm conditions using the bow thruster to correct course - and we had the weird "bow thruster whilst attached at the rear on a mooring " yesterday.

* My friend thinks that a blue ensign gives the same message - I couldn't possibly comment.

Well if you are happy....

You could also view it as someone with less experience trying their best not to crash.

 

[Bristolfashion]

Well if you are happy....

You could also view it as someone with less experience trying their best not to crash.

Nah, on small boats, the bow thruster is the Devil's hair dryer.

We helped a family off a pontoon on Scotland - being blown on and the only tool they knew how to use was the bow thruster - which had its own battery which faded at every attempt before the bow was far enough off the dock.

And steering in open water using the thruster - that novice will always be a novice!

 

[Bristolfashion]

I think not many would spurn the use of a bow thruster if fitted. For tight manoeuvring, ie their design function, they are very useful, often a go to tool, not just a backup if you’ve made a mess of it (and lets be honest, who doesn’t from time to time).Using it when picking up a mooring just doesn’t seem necessary, and certainly not wise.

I NEVER make a mess of steering into a mooring - the wife always does it!

She's pretty good. I, however, have the gibbon arms necessary to actually reach the thing.