Is a bow thruster worth having?

[Andydent2000]

Thanks for all the comments folks. Dream finder is a 46' Powles with twin engines and a high flybridge that tends to catch the wind.

I've rarely had problems controlling her but it's the rare occasions where something like a bow thruster would have made all the difference I guess.

 

[AndieMac]

my 46 year old heavy, long keeler (Nicholson 32),

A capable boat Bob, one sailed out from England years ago, got abandoned in Fiji for some reason, bought by an Englishman living out here, who sailed her to our marina at 'worlds end'

 

[Jonebarl]

Quite remarkable how smug some of the pipe smoking brigade appear to be(no offense meant to pipe smokers). Luddites indeed, no doubt they only buy cars without power steering lest they get flabby arms!
If they were truly active, they would sail or canoe or row. The bottom line is, if you feel you need a wee bit of help maneuvering in tight spaces, a thruster will almost certainly help. Like any piece of equipment, make sure it's dimensioned correctly.

 

[Searush]

Quite remarkable how smug some of the pipe smoking brigade appear to be(no offense meant to pipe smokers). Luddites indeed, no doubt they only buy cars without power steering lest they get flabby arms!
If they were truly active, they would sail or canoe or row. The bottom line is, if you feel you need a wee bit of help maneuvering in tight spaces, a thruster will almost certainly help. Like any piece of equipment, make sure it's dimensioned correctly.

Maybe we do sail, canoe & row.

Power steering in a car is a good simile. I had a pre-production Range Rover that didn't have power steering. I had no problem driving it whatsoever. I could park it in small spaces, as long as the car is rolling, steering is easy enough. I have a single engined 32' ketch so quite a bit of windage, altho the short keels help, but a bowthruster would be a complete waste of money. She is easy to manouver (& I am often solo) if you think ahead and even in strong winds, traditional seamanship skills & warps will do the trick.

Bowthrusters & power-steering simply mean that some people don't bother to learn how to handle their car/boat. Each to their own. Don Street in Iolaire never bothered with an engine either, it was never worth the hassle when traditional techniques can do the job.

I suppose I could have said that if you can't handle your boat, a bowthruster will be essential. But I didn't want to be so offensive, so I won't.

 

[Jonebarl]

Well there we have it. And while all of us are busy earning enough years under the belt to be considered experts in traditional seamanship, let's hope that those on this forum who already consider themselves among that group have shares in boat repair suppliers.
I'm off out to empty the oil out of my power steering reservoir. And the servo assisted brakes - because who needs them as long as we think ahead and have the driving skills to negate these modern foolish aids.
As for the poster's original question - it seems it's irrelevant. Worth having or not, learn to live without it, and once you are a world class helmsman, only then can you (quietly) attach one, but never use it for fear of the elite hearing that cheating horrible whir as they sit dreaming of Hillman, Austin, Leyland, and other technological bastions of an age that should not really have gone by.

 

[Searush]

I'm sorry you can't manouver your boat, perhaps you should get a smaller one that you could manage?

Chill, all I actually said was that it would be a daft waste of money on my boat. Why do you have to get all hysterical over that?

 

[Jonebarl]

Quite right - I guess I did get slightly riled. But that's the fun of the forums - either learning something, laughing at something, or getting worked up about something

 

[Seahope]

The last time I reversed my boat into its berth (twin out-drives) I did it perfectly without the benefit of a bow thruster (because it doesn't have one). The reason I was able to do it easily last time (compared to all my other less elegant attempts) was that there was literally no wind that day so the bow didn't quickly blow off. That was the first time I had ever experienced perfect conditions, so would I like the benefit of a bow thruster to make berthing less stressful in future - you bet!

 

[hlb]

Anyway, when we were in Symi, a big ship came in every day and parked stern on. He did'nt need a bow thruster, he just dropped his anchor and swung round on that.

Yer all a load of wimps.

 

[Searush]

Not sure if this will work, but might be worth a try;

Make up a warp (about 1 boat length) with a loop in the end (bowline will do) tie it to your pontoon side rear cleat & drop it over the pontoon cleat that will be next to your bow when berthed - probably need a boathook & may even be possible to reach from the helm if no suitable crew member.

Then as you reverse in, stop or gently forward the outside engine & keep inside one just in reverse. That should hold your boat in place while you pop the kettle on & sort out all your normal warps.

Now I've never driven a boat like yours, so I'm happy to be corrected if what I've suggested won't work, but I suspect you should be able to balance the engines to hold the bow in like that. Next time you travel on an old fashioned ferry (it probably won't have bow thrusters) watch how they do it.

 

[hlb]

It could work, but you'd need a very abled crew.

Easy way, is just do not attemped the imposible and drive in rather than reverse. If the pontoons to short, thats the marinas fault not yours.

 

[Seahope]

Then as you reverse in, stop or gently forward the outside engine & keep inside one just in reverse. That should hold your boat in place while you pop the kettle on & sort out all your normal warps.

Searush, I'll try that when I'm next able and let you know how it goes.

I've just calculated that the diesel I'm not going to buy this year will easily pay for a bow thruster. My boat is conveniently located in a repair shed right next to one of the recommended installers on the Hamble too Although, I may have other calls on that money instead depending on 'events'.

 

[Elza_Skip]

Well I do not know if you got an answer out of that lot! I asked the same question with a similar response and have decided to first get some training, see how it goes this season then if I still would like the extra confidence and fall back in less than ideal conditions then I will fit one next winter.

 

[Assassin]

The answer is simple, good boat handling skills are a must, then if you want a thruster then have one, if you do not want one then do not have one.

I always ask, is it better to have a piece of kit you may not use, or not have a piece of kit you may need???????????????????????????????????

 

[whisper]

The answer is simple, good boat handling skills are a must, then if you want a thruster then have one, if you do not want one then do not have one.

I always ask, is it better to have a piece of kit you may not use, or not have a piece of kit you may need???????????????????????????????????

Good answer.
We've got one on our single o/drive Targa 25.
I very rarely use it 'cos I try to do without it to keep "in practice". However with a strong breeze and ebbing Spring Tide last week, it got me out of a mess.
So my advice to OP is that with a single engine they are very useful occasionally. With a twin set-up then the occasional may become rarer.