Bow thrusters (Lewmar vs Sidepower vs Vetus)

[Bornslippy]

Anyone with any views on why one of these makes might be preferable? We're going to fit a ~100kgF tunnel thruster on our 45' ketch and I'm failing to see why SP or Vetus (or anyone else) might be "better" - what features am I missing? Lewmar do seem to be the best value (never thought that I would say that out aloud...!)

 

[stuartwineberg]

Osmotech are main fitters for SP and They are excellent. I have the 80kgf with twin prop. Only snag is difficulty removing mushroom anode at end of prop. Entirely happy with the thruster as well.

 

[xcw]

I have a Sidepower thruster on my 5 year old Bavaria 41 and I've had nothing but problems with it. It's broken down 3 times and costing me a lot to repair and of course, never covered by the warranty.
I may be unlucky but I certainly couldn't recommend it.

 

[Bornslippy]

Osmotech are main fitters for SP and They are excellent. I have the 80kgf with twin prop. Only snag is difficulty removing mushroom anode at end of prop. Entirely happy with the thruster as well.

Standard or pro version (i.e. do you have proportional speed control?) The proportional version may be useful but it is literally twice as expensive as the standard lewmar (£4k vs £2k)

 

[pvb]

I specified a factory-fitted Side-Power SE60 for my Bavaria, which is now 6 years old. The thruster has been great, no problems at all. If I were specifying today, I'd be very tempted to go for the Pro version, as the ability to select just the amount of thrust you need and then lock it on is appealing. Better still, I'd go for bow- and stern-thrusters, both with Pro functionality!

I don't think there's much to choose between the main makes. Side-Power seem to be more innovative perhaps.

 

[CLB]

I have a Sidepower thruster on my 5 year old Bavaria 41 and I've had nothing but problems with it. It's broken down 3 times and costing me a lot to repair and of course, never covered by the warranty.
I may be unlucky but I certainly couldn't recommend it.

I would be interested in knowing what the problems are. I have a SP thruster and so far its been great, but is there a problem waiting in the wings?

 

[Resolution]

I have an Osmotech-fitted Sidepower. They did a good job. I did have a major problem after 5 or 6 years when the anodes eroded totally during an 18 month spell in the Med, with the awful result that the body of the thruster de-zinctified. Luckily a spring haul out just in time enabled us to spot the problem and replace the whole unit (at some cost). Another few months in the water might have seen a sinking! So do beware and check those anodes regularly.

 

[pvb]

I have an Osmotech-fitted Sidepower. They did a good job. I did have a major problem after 5 or 6 years when the anodes eroded totally during an 18 month spell in the Med, with the awful result that the body of the thruster de-zinctified.

Were you using shorepower? Do you have a galvanic isolator?

 

[Resolution]

Were you using shorepower? Do you have a galvanic isolator?

Occasional shorepower in marinas during the season, but yes we do have a galvanic isolator. I think the damage occurred when in the water at the winter marina. Not on shorepower (we use a solar panel to keep batteries alive.)

 

[xcw]

I would be interested in knowing what the problems are. I have a SP thruster and so far its been great, but is there a problem waiting in the wings?

Relay block replaced (twice)
Thermal cut out replaced
An issue with the motor windings.

Maybe this is an isolated case and I have been unlucky but I'm not at all impressed with the reliability of the product or the customer service received from SP

 

[LittleSister]

I've recently had a SidePower fitted, but due to delays, illness and lockdown have not used it yet. I researched here and elsewhere before getting it and generally found positive comments about SP. The SP documentation also seemed much more professional, I seem to recall.

There were a couple of horror stories about Lewmar, including one where the prop fouled the tunnel, but Lewmar couldn't explain why and were no help at all. Gained the impression (whether true or not) that Lewmar were cheap for a reason and that their after-sales support was not to be relied on.

 

[ashtead]

Has anyone a Quick version out there ? We have one but I just wondered why it wasn’t mentioned earlier ? Are there issues of which I’m unaware ? So far our only problem has been non working due to a dislodged circuit board wire and the hassle of resetting due to bed removal etc .Annual anode replacement seems a must I think ?

 

[Moodysailor]

We have a Lewmar, very impressed with it. Have worked on/with SP on quite a few boats, also not heard much bad generally on those (beyond a few isolated cases here and there - but the same can be found for all). Not had much to do with Quick or Vetus so unfortunately don't have much to share there, but both are big brands and the thrusters have been around a while which usually indicates they are fairly decent.
If I were looking for a thruster today I would use the following criteria:
1. Established model (i.e been around a few years at least - a thruster is not one area that I would be happy to try anything new)
2. Direct drive (not belt drive or similar)
3. Bronze (or equivalent) housing

The above are just my opinion.

 

[cmedsailor]

Has anyone a Quick version out there ? We have one but I just wondered why it wasn’t mentioned earlier ? Are there issues of which I’m unaware ? So far our only problem has been non working due to a dislodged circuit board wire and the hassle of resetting due to bed removal etc .Annual anode replacement seems a must I think ?

I have a quick version (TCD 1022 says on the control unit). Boat is 20 months old and touch wood no issues at all so far.

 

[[2574]]

On our new (to us) boat we have an 8hp (6kw) SP thruster. It draws 500A and SP specify a minimum CCA rating of 1425 (SAE) or 750 (DIN). Currently (no pun intended!), when the thruster is energised via the domestic bank, the battery voltage dives to 10v. The nav electronics are on the same battery bank and the voltage drop just about kills the plotter. I'm currently considering put a thruster battery bank (2x 128 ah Rolls AGMs produces 1600 CCA) adjacent the thruster to remove the impact from the domestic bank. Trouble is that that reduces the CCA from being double the minimum (3600 CCA available from the domestic bank) to only 12% over the minimum - I'm worried that will turn the thruster in to an egg-whisk. Also it puts 65kg in the bow of the boat which I'm not keen on. Its quite a conundrum.

 

[Moodysailor]

On our new (to us) boat we have an 8hp (6kw) SP thruster. It draws 500A and SP specify a minimum CCA rating of 1425 (SAE) or 750 (DIN). Currently (no pun intended!), when the thruster is energised via the domestic bank, the battery voltage dives to 10v. The nav electronics are on the same battery bank and the voltage drop just about kills the plotter. I'm currently considering put a thruster battery bank (2x 128 ah Rolls AGMs produces 1600 CCA) adjacent the thruster to remove the impact from the domestic bank. Trouble is that that reduces the CCA from being double the minimum (3600 CCA available from the domestic bank) to only 12% over the minimum - I'm worried that will turn the thruster in to an egg-whisk. Also it puts 65kg in the bow of the boat which I'm not keen on. Its quite a conundrum.

There was a similar thread on another post about this recently. Here would be my checklist:

• Check ALL connections to and from the batteries to the thruster. remove, check and re-connect each one in turn. Pay attention to crimps and fuse mounting.
• Is cable sizing (cross-sectional area) adequate for the total length of cable run (pos+neg)? For the thruster this would be the 3% calculation, and I would err on the side of larger.
• The thruster should not be connected to the domestic bank, this should be off the start bank, or, ideally a dedicated battery. The house loads are usually quite sensitive and can suffer from the voltage spikes and drops associated with thruster use (as you have noticed), and on top of that, domestic batteries are usually deep-cycle so not suited for the high-discharge cranking/induction type loads (which the starter batteries should be specified for).
• If still not sure of the issue, get a marine electrician to do some current draw, battery drop, and resistance tests on the circuit.

Generally speaking - if the problem is a "new" one (i.e wasn't there some time ago but is now) it will probably be a component in the system (solenoid, motor, wiring, fuse, connection, battery etc). If the issue has "always" been there then it will probably be an installation or other issue (batteries wrong type / too small, incorrect cable sizing, etc),