Bowthruster

£4k

But.....
Some of these costs include lift out, storage ashore, etc
Not included may be additional wiring/batteries/charging regime.
Antifouling area afterwards.
 
Thanks to those above .... eyewatering but about what I thought! I have a very tricky berth for a boat of that size but I suppose enough practice backing and filling with throttles and steering would solve the problem! Duo-prop outdrives ... I haven't quite figured out yet if these will spin the boat around in her own length, however slowly .... also where I am there are no tides. Bowthruster would make it a lot easier though!
 
easy job

Galago said:
Thanks to those above .... eyewatering but about what I thought! I have a very tricky berth for a boat of that size but I suppose enough practice backing and filling with throttles and steering would solve the problem! Duo-prop outdrives ... I haven't quite figured out yet if these will spin the boat around in her own length, however slowly .... also where I am there are no tides. Bowthruster would make it a lot easier though!
Click to expand...

Fitted mine myself £2000 inc battery motor tunnel fibre glass man ( he is the most important part) electrics remote cables etc cut hole myself really easy .
A good fibre glass man does the important stuff. make sure you go for big motor side power or similar. best thing on the boat make life really easy especially if windy

Good luck
 
KevB said:
As already said above - get a professional to fit the tunnel and do the rest yourself.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but also to mount the unit on the tube as that can cause expensive problems if you do not get it perfect i.e. do not have 100% the right tools, experience and luck.

The rest can be done by most competent DIYers, most important is to make sure you have the right thickness of cable.

My estimate from doing this about 2 years ago is about £2500, cost to fit the tunnel was £700, cost to have the unit mounted was £100, add the cost of the batteries/thick cables/thruster/button/circuit breaker/etc.
 
EugeneR said:
Agreed, but also to mount the unit on the tube as that can cause expensive problems if you do not get it perfect i.e. do not have 100% the right tools, experience and luck.

The rest can be done by most competent DIYers, most important is to make sure you have the right thickness of cable.

My estimate from doing this about 2 years ago is about £2500, cost to fit the tunnel was £700, cost to have the unit mounted was £100, add the cost of the batteries/thick cables/thruster/button/circuit breaker/etc.
Click to expand...

mounting the motor is easy you get a template just have to drill 3 holes, fibre glass man shoiuld charge approx £400 its approx 2 half days to glass in the tube and regel the inside of boat around tunnel barden bateries just past southampton and swanick will make the ables up and crimp on the terminals for you they will also have the battery big fuse etc,
I have heard of people being charged between 4-6 grand nice work if can get it as i said before a good fibreglass man is the key. this job is really a dodle keep the battery close to the motor hemce the need for short cable runs i charge the battery using a special C.TEK charger run of ff the house batteries also has connection to attach a solar panel if needed. once again barden bateries will advise and show you whats available
 
freddy the frog said:
mounting the motor is easy you get a template just have to drill 3 holes, fibre glass man shoiuld charge approx £400 its approx 2 half days to glass in the tube and regel the inside of boat around tunnel
Click to expand...

In my case, when the hole was drilled for the unit, it caused the internal layers of the tube to de-laminate. This may have happened because the installer pushed too hard, his drill bit was not sharp enough, he drilled too quickly / too slowly and/or because the tube had a defect. It took some discussion between the tube manufacturer, the glass fibre man, the thruster installer, myself and the forum to ensure the result was the same or better than it would have been, had the problem not occurred - and without me having to pay for it. Now, had I done it myself, such a mistake could have been expensive! I am a keen DIY'er however sometimes it makes sense to outsource the small bits with the most risk, to people with experience... and PI insurance.

As another example, a few years ago, I got the biggest part of a new drive after a £40 part failed - the part was fitted by an accredited professional and, as such, I could rely on the warranty. Had I fitted it myself, I would have had to pay for the replacement myself.

Either way, I think we agree there are cheaper ways to get the job done but I like balancing things by outsourcing the risky bits and doing the rest myself.
 
Last edited:
not wishing to hijack this thread, what would the cost be to replace an existing bow thruster (already fitted) with a more powerful version.
 
I reckon it will be very similar to starting from scratch. The job itself may actually be a bit more difficult if, as I suspect, a bigger tunnel is needed. You would save on the electrics side of it, as most of the stuff will be re-usable, although the cables may need uprating. If you can get a bigger motor in the same size tunnel, the job would be quite easy and reasonably cheap.
 
motor upgrade

neale said:
I reckon it will be very similar to starting from scratch. The job itself may actually be a bit more difficult if, as I suspect, a bigger tunnel is needed. You would save on the electrics side of it, as most of the stuff will be re-usable, although the cables may need uprating. If you can get a bigger motor in the same size tunnel, the job would be quite easy and reasonably cheap.
Click to expand...

Depends what size you have at the momen,t i think most companys offer three tunnel sizes, but i am pretty sure each size comes with either 2 or 3 power motor options at least it does with side power so it may be a case of upgrading the motor to the next rating. if this is the case just 4 allen bolts and 1 plug and play connector and the battery supply to unbolt. getting back to the previous posting when i drill holes in fibreglass i use core cutters which have several small teeth as apose to a standard drill with two flutes which can be a bit agresive when it breaks through which is probably why you lost the layers of fibreglass in the tunnel, also the warranty on the unit should still remain regardless who fits it. at the end of the day to swap a motor over takes approx 15mins, but yes you have to feel confident enough and we all know our own limits.
 
freddy the frog said:
Depends what size you have at the momen,t i think most companys offer three tunnel sizes, but i am pretty sure each size comes with either 2 or 3 power motor options at least it does with side power so it may be a case of upgrading the motor to the next rating. if this is the case just 4 allen bolts and 1 plug and play connector and the battery supply to unbolt. getting back to the previous posting when i drill holes in fibreglass i use core cutters which have several small teeth as apose to a standard drill with two flutes which can be a bit agresive when it breaks through which is probably why you lost the layers of fibreglass in the tunnel, also the warranty on the unit should still remain regardless who fits it. at the end of the day to swap a motor over takes approx 15mins, but yes you have to feel confident enough and we all know our own limits.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that when fitting a bigger motor you will need bigger cables and bigger capacity battery's, don't just swap motor for bigger without looking into this first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top