Bowthrusters????

[Angela101]

They have been recommended as a "Must have!" by our Bav 32 owning friend, but having watched our test sail skipper expertly moor up the Bav 38 at Campers and Nicholson with no problem at all and Steve was able to single handedly push off when it was needed we both feel we should drop what we thought was an expensive luxury to start with (£3000 almost with vat).

Is it essential for Man and Wife sailing a (quite light really!) 40 footer or is it a lazy answer to saily boat thingyin that should be left to stinkie poos? ;-)

xxx


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[ccscott49]

They are a handy bit of kit, but do you need one? only you can answer that, but £3000 plus, plus, plus can buy a lot of other cruising gear, like a really good water cooled fridge/freezer system, extra deep cycle battery bank, charger, alternator regulator (you will need it) plus, or a generator etc. etc. I know what I would do!

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[tcm]

It would be a bit of a shame if even before owning a boat you took up the rather thoughtless solenty habit of vaguely denigrating owner/drivers of motor boats.

To answer your question, a 40 foot sailboat will not need a bowthruster at all, or at least, nowhere near as much as a 40 foot planing powerboat. This is because the power boat has a smooth hull underneath, and therefore slides sideways in any wind and needs somewhat more skill and experience to handle in a tight marina than a keeled sailing boat which almost invariably follows the steering inputs.

For either sailboat or the powerboat, perhaps you could suggest to dear Steve that he learns how to spring off rather than attempt to manhandle the boat. Expect damage to his or your own limbs if these are habitually used instead of warps and fenders. You might ask the owner of a powerboat how to spring off, since they have more windage and so will to need to use this technique more often. Perhaps don't ask too many questions of the owner of the bowthruster-requiring bavaria 32.

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[JeremyF]

Steve,

welcome back - sorely missed!

Bow-thrusters - waste of time on a Bav 38, they are prtetty light, and you can always insert a wife or child to cushion the blow against the pontoon.

What you need are some serious toys - I think air-con and a genny should be high on the priority list if this year is anything to go by.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=red>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=red>

 

[jimi]

I'd go for one and rig it up to the holding tank, not only will you be able to manoeuvre in tight situations, you'll also guarantee yourself a lot of space to do so in.

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[Cornishman]

Last thruster I had is no longer 'upwardly mobile'. Broke his leg thrusting!

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[Angela101]

Sorry tcm, I was only joking.....not sure we fit into either category as we spend most of our time under motor on a saily boat.

We use reverse when leaving the mooring, pushing off when coming onto the pontoon so we don't scratch the pointy end.....we did see a nice shiny yottie almost surf up the pontoon the other day like a jetski on a beach when the skipper left the job (of pushing pointy end) to his wife.

Friend who has Bav 32 hasn't got bowthrusters, infact he's surprising good at getting her into tight spaces (Geurnsey, everybody rafted 3 deep with about 40ft to play with!) he just suggested we had them because of the extra length/weight.

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[tcm]

sorry for being a bit arsey earlier.

have you bought it then? or ordered it? Or what? Do tell.

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[BrianJ]

NO way...
BrianJ

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[brianhumber]

Friend?

Some 'friend' you have who's telling you to fit over 3Ks worth of not needed kit.

The next thing will be the RYA promoting these as a good safety item for use in confined waters and no boat will be able to be built without bow and stern thrusters

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[tony_brighton]

I wouldn't bother - the Bav's are fairly light and will have a tendancy to blow down wind - but this is very predictable and can be allowed for. It helps if you drop the spray hood! A bit of practice and you'll find it not really required.

Like other posters - if I was specing a new Bav (again!) I'd buy lots of the other bits instead:-
- electric windlass
- fridge/freezer (we retro-fitted a fridge considerably cheaper than list price)
- chute + gear
- extra water tank + (maybe) holding tank
- battery charger
- extra battery
etc
etc

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[Rob_Webb]

If it's a case of either/or then some of the other items listed below might be more useful on a day-to-day basis. And if you never have a bow-thruster to start with you'll simply learn how to handle the boat without it and probly not really miss it. But if money really is no object (is it ever?!) then go for it as there may be the odd situation when it comes in handy and makes life easier - but try to avoid using it as a matter of course, because it might make you lazy and miss out learning some good boat skills.

Forgive the analogy but it's a bit like the difference between driving a high-powered car and an ordinary car - I used to have a TVR and a slouchy old 4x4 at the same time - the TVR had so much performance I could do anything I wanted to any time without a second thought esp. overtaking. But in my low-powered 4x4 I was forced to plan things like overtaking/braking/corners much better and I reckon it actually made me a better driver as a result. Some might disagree but there you go.

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[Angela101]

Just hammering out a price with Phil Hoskins at Gosport at the mo, we hope to have it ordered by the end of the month for delivery early Jan. As for the extras Steve will have dissapointed you all, he hasn't even spec'd an anchor chain (TRUE!) Most exciting extra would have to be the cockpit table with integral coolbox..........Most baffling.......VHF aerial but no VHF!........all will be revealed he insists!

xxx

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[jimi]

I'd get the autopilot factory fitted rather than retro fitted if I were you and definiteley get an Eberspacher!

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[Angela101]

Steve's already helped fit an ST4000+ to the bavaria 32 so feels quite confident to do the same on our own unless anyone knows of a noteable difference between that and an ST5000+.

We intend to fit a couple of small 240v heater bars under the decking and if it gets too cold when we're out we'll stick the oven on! (hey presto £4500 saved!!!)

We are having wind instrument fitted though....don't fancy having to heave Steve's backside up the mast on a bosuns chair!!

Just in case you think I'm pretty clued up on this...Steve's sat here with me and says "Hi!"

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[TwoStroke]

Talking to one of Ancaster sales guys in the pub in Brighton Marina - he was suggesting that on new orders - order a GUCCI version - as they have plenty of room to negotiate on factory fit items. But haggle HARD. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

Rings true to a certain degree as aftermarket fittings are normally more costly. Easier to resale afterwards too.

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[tcm]

Re: New name please

Um, setting off with no anchor chain is a bit dangerous, and if he retrofits lots of gubbins he will be on his own if they dinnae werk. Good idea to have eberspacher heating as jimi says.

Here's one: When they say "delivery january" they often ring up and say ooh good news it will be here in late december - to get their sales figures up. But you say NO ThanX, Not unless Build certificater etc is dated January 2004, otherwise the boat is seen as 1 year old after just 1 week - not important after 10 years, quite important if reselling before then, imho.

Finally, most important, tellim naming it after a Wham/GMichael poofy song is a bit rubbish. Angela is a good name, he can jolly well name it after you. Then you can lord it about: Yes, Angela is name of boat and I'm Angela, geddit? So there'll be none of that little wife syndrome and you can march over and give some jip to harbourmaster when necessary. Or, Angela Of The Sea, or even Angela 101.



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[tcm]

Re: hey presto - kaboom!

The 240V bars heated are F dangerous for anygas leaks and won't work unless on shore power. Much much better with eberspacer, and excellent for UK resale where heated boats sell, unheated ones hang about (and anyway don't get used much cos they are bluddy cold). The oven won't heat the cabins, and spare heat from it is chucked out on the deck. Please don't stick the oven or gas on and go down the pub.

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[tony_brighton]

Re: hey presto - kaboom!

and using the oven will give you a serious condensation problem as burning the fuel releases shed loads of moisture. I agree - skip the bowthruster and fit an Eberspacher. Mind you, an after market purchase using Kreuger's will save you a few £000s over Opal's price.

We ordered ours without an anchor as well - but supplied our own CQR+warp+chain.

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[Rob_Webb]

Angela - these are fully bad ideas. If you do this then put the saved £4,500 towards surgery and skin grafts.....

Seriously, even when you are safely in harbour, any gas flame will warm you up but also create tons of moisture (because one of the products of combustion is water) - so you might warm up in the short-term but later that evening (and the following morning) you'll be swimming in dew/condensation. Whereas a warm air heater like the Eberspacher will create dry air which on a boat makes a big difference. You'll notice the difference even more around the ends of the season with things like charts/toilet paper/bedding/towels/clothes not feeling damp!

Rob


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