Electric outboard motor fitted at the bow to help steering

[sailorman]

Steering my boat in a marina has been problematic especially when reversing; yes I have managed over the years without issues, by using the propwash effect, and other tricks, however, it is risky and can be stressful. I am thinking of buying an electric outboard (~£120) to install at the bow to help with steering the boat when in confined areas such as marinas; the electric outboard would be removed when no needed.

The controls of the electric outboard would be removed and taken all the way back to the cockpit so it can be controlled while steering the boat. The outboard would be fixed in position so that it acts like a bowtrhuster. What do you think?, has anyone done that?

You really need to consult an Engineer, do you know one

 

[Highndry]

Highndry - apparently 15 ft Whalers are 580 lbs = 5.2 cwt = 264 kg, but that's presumably just the fitted-out hull and excluding engine and crew, so say 2 up + outboard + bits & pieces not far off half a ton.

So overall it looks as though the electric idea's not a brilliant one !

My 44lb thrust outboard will move my 20' Hunter Medina (900kg) along at a reasonable speed in calm conditions (I only ever need to use it for any distance in flat calms) but your requirement would be quite different - an emergency motor in any conditions. I'd stick to a small petrol outboard.

 

[vyv_cox]

No experience of using one on the bow but a small electric outboard mounted on the transom most definitely works to assist reversing. Owen's steel yacht Arania, photo on the home page of the website, was uncontrollable going astern. He bought an electric outboard on Ebay and found that having it thrust laterally transformed the directional capabilities of the boat in close-quarters manoeuvring.

 

[ningcompoop]

Thanks for the good advice, Tranona.

Highndry - apparently 15 ft Whalers are 580 lbs = 5.2 cwt = 264 kg, but that's presumably just the fitted-out hull and excluding engine and crew, so say 2 up + outboard + bits & pieces not far off half a ton.

So overall it looks as though the electric idea's not a brilliant one !

I had a 15', 400kg trailer sailor; I used a 38lb-thrust electric outboard, powered by a 33ah scooter battery, to get it on and off the mooring and around
the lake, worked fine but that was on a lake. I never had to run it for longer than an hour (about 2 miles).

John

 

[Blueboatman]

Now, a dive cylinder and a discrete bidirectional 'jet' nozzle...? No electricery at all neither

 

[Lakesailor]

This boat will really look the business with an electric outboard bolted to the stem with cables looping over the gunwhale. The effect on sailing performance will be negligible.

Is it April already?

 

[Ravi]

This boat will really look the business with an electric outboard bolted to the stem with cables looping over the gunwhale. The effect on sailing performance will be negligible.

Yes, that is one insurmountable thing that put me off thinking about the idea. Mind you, the first time that I started thinking about this was when I nearly bought a 35 foot single engine Cat. Something less cosmetically horrible would be possible on a cat (inside the pontoons). Ultimately, though, the most elegant solution is a through hull bow thruster. If I could afford one, I would definitely have one (although I would enjoy not using it)..

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Now, a dive cylinder and a discrete bidirectional 'jet' nozzle...? No electricery at all neither

this is crazy but I like it....

 

[Leonidas]

Might be simpler to keep on practicing your boat handling skills???

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Might be simpler to keep on practicing your boat handling skills???

Some boats have their own mind when reversing; have you ever tried reversing a long keel or a Macwester Wight in a tight marina with a bit of wind?? not even Leonidas and the 300 Spartan could do it

 

[Ravi]

Might be simpler to keep on practicing your boat handling skills???

However good your boat handling skills are, there are situations where the only way to fit into a mooring space is using a thruster. I have seen BIG boats with bow thrusters get into mooring spaces in high winds where smaller boats have given up and left. It may be different where you are but in the Med, especially with a storm in the offing and all the tripper boats making for the few sheltered harbours, squeezing into a space in a harbour can spare you a very difficult (and even dangerous) night out at sea.

The basic fact is that there are conditions when a boat with a bow thruster CAN moor and a boat without a bow thruster CAN'T - whatever the genius of the skipper.

If you are only ever mooring in your own marina berth, that may not apply to you, but if you are stern mooring with a huge crosswind and you don't want to cross half a dozen anchors, a bow thruster is a handy bit of kit.

 

[vyv_cox]

Might be simpler to keep on practicing your boat handling skills???

Tom Cunliffe was spectacularly unable to reverse Twister Ken's Twister 28 in the direction he wished. Are you suggesting he needs more practice?

 

[Leonidas]

It may be different where you are but in the Med, especially with a storm in the offing and all the tripper boats making for the few sheltered harbours, squeezing into a space in a harbour can spare you a very difficult (and even dangerous) night out at sea.
Unquote
Actually, I am in Greece and stern mootring is the norm, Yes, you can have bad situations with cross winds etc in place( amongst many other) like Serifos for example . That's were anchor and rope handling skills come handy when trying to moor during a fully blown Meltemi and squeeze in a tight spot. Undeniably the use of a bow thruster ( if you are fortunate to have) is helping to simplify matters, but it is not a substitute to boat handling skills.

 

[Otter]

Tom Cunliffe was spectacularly unable to reverse Twister Ken's Twister 28 in the direction he wished. Are you suggesting he needs more practice?

Any thread about bowthrusters brings out a curious collection of posters who believe they signify a lack of seamanship. I remember my dad saying the same about roller reefing - that it meant you were a lazy sailor and couldn't be bothered to set the right sail for the conditions. Then he got roller reefing and stopped saying it. It's quite funny really how people attach an almost moral dimension to which equipment you choose to install on your boat. One can almost hear them say "I took up boating to get away from bowthrusters"

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Very likely that you have a fin keel boat that turns easily and controllably under power. But, there are lots of designs that do not have such ability and therefore, regardless of how much experience one has, its difficult to manoeuvre in tight spots under power. I found that reversing a Sigma was a dodle, my Bruce Roberts was not too bad either, but no such luck with my current boat. Actually, reversing a boat in strong tidal waters is much more difficult than reversing on a windy day, which makes the marinas in the Med less challenging that those in the UK; I know from personal experience of many years sailing in Greece.

 

[Ravi]

Undeniably the use of a bow thruster ( if you are fortunate to have) is helping to simplify matters, but it is not a substitute to boat handling skills.

It sounds like we are in agreement. A bit like ABS on a car. You need to know how to drive properly, but if conditions are difficult, it can save the day.

...... Then he got roller reefing and stopped saying it. It's quite funny really how people attach an almost moral dimension to which equipment you choose to install on your boat.

I once came across a sailing fundamentalist who thought that extendable boat hooks were the most satanic unseamanlike invention known to man.