Is a bow thruster worth the money?

Slow_boat

Slow_boat

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We've just bought a Countess 33, which, as she's centre cockpit and heavy, will probably be a bit of an effort to moor in tight spaces as I'll be single handed with a willing passenger, who I happen to be married to.
Therefore, I'm thinking of getting a bow thruster.
What are the ups and downs of a bow thruster and what do I need?
And how much?
 
I can't answer all your questions, but getting a bow thruster was an excellent move for us. Our boat doesn't handle well in close quarters, and after some very stressful situations we decided to get one. It transformed our boating experience. There are no down sides to having one. We did some of the work ourselves, and a guy who used to work at Fox's did the tricky bits, like making holes in the hull.
 
Thrusters are absolutely essential - if you can't handle a boat. :p

TBH as a single hander I tend to avoid marinas, but the odd times I have used them I've not had a problem with a 32'6" CC ketch with fore & aft cabin sprayhoods & dodgers. Not much different from a Colvic Countess in fact.

Use plenty of fenders, go slowly, but keep moving. Understand how she reacts to propwash & propwalk & you shouldn't have a problem. Especially with an able bodied crew equipped with a fender, a boat hook & with 2 warps pre-set up ready to step ashore with. Centre cleat with a short spring can be used to hold the boat in place under engine while you sort out the rest of the lines.

Practice in calm water somewhere, manouvering around a mooring bouy so you have a fixed point of reference. Really get to know how she will respond to throttle & helm. A sharp burst of ahead onto full helm can spin you in almost your own length if you use prop walk to assist. Any slight current allows you to creep into a berth sideways using ferry gliding techniques.

Get dependant on a thruster & you will be stuffed if it ever fails.
 
What Kind of a Man ARE you?

Searush said:
Thrusters are absolutely essential - if you can't handle a boat. :p

Get dependant on a thruster & you will be stuffed if it ever fails.
Click to expand...

I couldn`t agree more.......Bowthrusters are part of the `dumbing down` de-skilling culture.....Some people would say they were a bit gay....but I wouldn`t say anything as politically incorrect as that...

Learn to master the skills of handling your boat without a bowthruster... Save yourself some money and gain some self-respect.
 
My current technique on a Sadler 29 is to use a boat hook to get a breast line on the first cleat on the pontoon and hold her on the engine while I or swmbo gets the bow and stern lines on. I'm quite happy single handed in marinas with her. But that's not a goer with a heavy and tall centre cockpit boat. She just feels so big, heavy and clumsy in comparison!
 
If you are going to do a lot of berthing in strange marinas where you get little choice about the berth you are allocated then definitely worth considering. The actual value depends on the boat and how easily it is to position well. The major factors that cause problems are light weight, shallow forefoot and high windage - or at the other end of the scale, long deep keels small rudders and low powered engines.

Your middle of the road medium displacement fin and skeg would indicate that it should be quite good in close quarters compared with modern flat bottom, high sided boats. However, you won't really know until you have tried it. It is an expensive business retrofitting one and there may be better ways of burning up your excess cash.
 
Excellent piece of kit. With practice you can move the boat sideways into an alongside slot no longer than than the boat.
 
Slow_boat said:
My current technique on a Sadler 29 is to use a boat hook to get a breast line on the first cleat on the pontoon and hold her on the engine while I or swmbo gets the bow and stern lines on. But that's not a goer with a heavy and tall centre cockpit boat. She just feels so big, heavy and clumsy in comparison!
Click to expand...

Why not? FFS there's not a huge difference between a Sadler 29 & a Colvic Countess. Sure the Countess is bigger, but unless you charge at the berth like a looney it's no different to hold in place. Aim to stop along side so that swmbo can step ashore with the breast line for you, or simply drop it over the cleat yourself with the boathook from the side deck.

You didn't make her try stopping the Sadler at 3kts by holding a shoreline did you? :eek:

Unless it's F5 or above windage is unlikely to be an issue unless you let it get away from you. Learn how it stops so you can go in faster & use a blast of reverse to kick the stern in. You will have several seconds to step ashore & get the lines sorted, longer if your missus is holding one end (or the centre) with the boat hook.

Seriously, most of your problem is in your own mind, just get out there & get to know her.
 
All this stuff about bow thrusters indicate inferior boat skills is load of B******S. I think I am right in saying the OP is planning a trip to the Med with his wife. This is not an endurance course to show off how clever you are with your boat. It is about enjoying the adventure where you will do more docking in strange places than most weekend sailors do in a lifetime. If a bow thruster makes it easier and safer then it is worth having. It goes along with a good electric windlass, big fridge, large battery bank, powerful engine etc - all of which help make the trip a pleasure rather than a continuous worry about how one would cope. Plus you minimise the chance of damaging your boat as well as others.
 
However well you can handle your boat, there is always a situation where a bow thruster will make it easier, give you a margin of safety etc, or a tighter corner you can get out of in that unexpected crosswind.
 
Fine, I'll stop learning how to handle my boat properly then . . . :rolleyes:

You could always employ a professional skipper to take the stress out of passage making, or pay for a delivery & fly to meet it at the other end. :D

Any one is free to do as they wish, all I am trying to point out is that while a Bow thruster might be useful on a really big boat, a 33' doesn't really need it.

Perhaps it's a nice to have, but the vast majority of sailing boats 36' & under manage well enough without.
 
Slow_boat said:
What are the ups and downs of a bow thruster and what do I need?
Click to expand...
You want one that does port and starboard not up and down!

I believe good seamen ar willing to take advantage of all the tools of the trade.

It always fascinates me that we faithfully restore working boats to make them as much work as they were 100 years ago, while the guy sailing them 100 years ago leapt at every innovation to make things easier.

I have discovered that, with a small boat, a person can sit in the pulpit and paddle the bow sideways with a dinghy oar. Human bow thruster.
 
All of the advice about boat handling so far is well meaning but may be off the point. I singlehanded a Sadler 32 for a good few years and would not have dreamed of fitting a bow thruster. Since moving to Malo 36 (37 ft and heavyish displacement, longish keel)I am much more open minded, and there have certainly been times when I would have found a thruster most useful. She loses steerage at much higher speeds, can be a bit of a pig in reverse, and the bow blows off rapidly once the rudder stalls. She is generally manageable if sometimes a little too exciting when crewed up, but approaching a finger pontoon shorter than the boat single handed with a cross wind off the pontoon is not good for the digestion. I do not like relying on heavy reverse thrust to stop her and then try to get a line from the centre cleat on to the outer cleat on the pontoon before she hits off the end or blows off. Enter at slow speed and you are sideways on before you know it. At 33ft you are probably marginal, and more than 40 ft I would say fit a thruster. I am still learning my Malos little ways, but may give in yet and fit one. Many already have thrusters factory fitted. So my advice would be to give it a little time, learn all the singlehanders tricks- use of a centre cleat, made up fixed length mooring lines, easy ways to get them on from the centre cleat, etc. Then if you are still having trouble, well go for a thruster.
 
Searush said:
Any one is free to do as they wish, all I am trying to point out is that while a Bow thruster might be useful on a really big boat, a 33' doesn't really need it.
Click to expand...

That is a gross over simplification. They are becoming more common on smaller boats because people find them useful. Why does everything have to be dismissed because it makes things easier? Surely it is up to the individual to decide if he needs one for his boat and his proposed usage rather than be dictated to by others? Many developments start on larger boats because that is where they have the most benefit and where the cost can be justified. If successful, they become viable for smaller boats. Today's mid 30ft boats are easy to handle because of products and techniques developed on larger boats. A bow thruster is just the most recent such development - and as I pointed out its real value comes in the type of usage the OP is planning.
 
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