is your standard bow thruster powerfull enough

[lanerboy]

I have a 2005 phantom 40 with a factory fitted bow thruster and I am finding it just does not last long enough before it trips out, directly in line with my berth are some sluice gates which allow a lake to drain into the harbour and with the high level of flooding we have had they are open a lot.

its nothing to do with the marina and unless its high tide the water really does flow in like a fast flowing river it got so bad once that the pontoon nearest the gates was under water

when reversing onto my berth it washes the front end of my boat round so fast I don't stand a chance and my bow thruster trips out after about 30 seconds when I try and hold the bow in the flow, I find it hard to believe that a decent brand like Fairline would fit such a useless piece of equipment

I never had this problem with my previous boat sealine s37 that thruster lasted a lot longer and it never tripped out it just flattened the battery

do any of you have a bow thruster which gives you the same problems

cheers shawn

 

[LionsDen]

Shaun a bow thruster should work for two or three minutes with continuous use before it overheats - but in reality it should not be permanently in use and is primarily used for compensating crosswind on the superstructure - A factory fit is normally designed for use in a max 24 knots crosswind btw.
Use your engines to hold the bow when in the flow that is what they are there for - Try this by doing some pontoon bashing - Good luck :encouragement:

My bow thruster is ok on Lions Den :unless I am trying to get on or off my berth when in a force 7+ then I need to give it a bit off wellie

 

[lanerboy]

terry I know what you mean but when reversing into my berth I have the pontoon port side and another boat to starboard when I get to the point when I just need to go straight back the current is so much that I try to reverse using starboard engine to move the stern to port and then the bow thruster to move the bow to port but it trips after 30 seconds or so if I don't hold the bow in the current it washes me straight into my neighbours boat

the marina know about the issues but are powerless to act as the sluice gates are nothing to do with them so they have to keep meeting me on the berth to catch a rope

if I had a better bow thruster I would be able to get in I just cant believe mine is so useless on such a nice boat its the only flaw I have really come across with it (apart from smelly toilet pipes but we wont go back there again lol)

 

[LionsDen]

Hi Shaun - Understood - What size bow thruster do you have - is the cable size man enough - do you use an independent battery and is it still working 100% - these questions should keep you busy for a couple of minutes

 

[MapisM]

do any of you have a bow thruster which gives you the same problems

Absolutely not.
Though in fairness, not having a b/t at all has something to see with that, I reckon.

 

[pan]

Most of the Fairlines in our marina seem to have powerful bow thrusters, so a bit surprised about yours, try a Sunseeker they are nowhere near as effective as similar length Fairline! Only problem is the guys on the Fairines seem to rely on them a lot (probably as they are so effective!)

 

[rafiki_]

Difficult to say on the Azi, as I use the thruster in short bursts. The thruster appears very powerful, and so needs little application. Should your thruster trip out after 30 seconds? Not sure, you might give the manufacturer a call to see what they specified?

 

[lanerboy]

I will dig the paper work out and find the model number,terry it seems to work on a thermo sensor of some description as it stops working after some use then after a while it will work again but it always fails very easily but it never sounds like its dying from a flat battery it will just shut off then work again once its been left a while almost as though it needs to cool down ?????????

 

[deuc02]

Absolutely not.
Though in fairness, not having a b/t at all has something to see with that, I reckon.

Well said. 2 props and you think you need a bigger bow thruster???

 

[rafiki_]

I will dig the paper work out and find the model number,terry it seems to work on a thermo sensor of some description as it stops working after some use then after a while it will work again but it always fails very easily but it never sounds like its dying from a flat battery it will just shut off then work again once its been left a while almost as though it needs to cool down ?????????

Shawn, this is a Thermister, a resister that cuts out over a pre-set temperature, to stop the motor or wiring from burning out. It sounds like it is working properly, but it maybe that the wiring from the battery (assuming this in the lazerette) is not really thick enough, therefore causing too much resistance, although I would be very surprised if Fairline got this spec wrong. I think that the design spec would say 30 second bursts max.

 

[lanerboy]

Well said. 2 props and you think you need a bigger bow thruster???

I new It wouldn't take long for some one to make that comment don't matter how many props I have you cannot make the bow move side wards in a small place in a quick time when the current is pushing the bow round to starboard only way is a bow thruster.

anyway
found a manual in the paperwork folder saying sleipner sp75t, sp95t & sp125t but not sure which one I have fitted

 

[mad_boater]

I have a 2005 phantom 40 with a factory fitted bow thruster and I am finding its just not powerfull enough, directly in line with my berth are some sluice gates which allow a lake to drain into the harbour and with the high level of flooding we have had they are open a lot.

its nothing to do with the marina and unless its high tide the water really does flow in like a fast flowing river it got so bad once that the pontoon nearest the gates was under water

when reversing onto my berth it washes the front end of my boat round so fast I don't stand a chance and my bow thruster trips out after about 30 seconds when I try and hold the bow in the flow, I find it hard to believe that a decent brand like Fairline would fit such a useless piece of equipment

I never had this problem with my previous boat sealine s37 that thruster lasted a lot longer and it never tripped out it just flattened the battery

do any of you have a bow thruster which gives you the same problems

cheers shawn

I know this sounds obvious but have you checked the battery power to it,and something we did't do till last year was to antifoul the blades, it made all the difference ,much better.If there are any barnacles on it that will make it useless.

 

[deuc02]

So how do you think boats without a bow thruster manage it

 

[EugeneR]

found a manual in the paperwork folder saying sleipner sp75t, sp95t & sp125t but not sure which one I have fitted

Does it say anything on the actual unit itself? On our Phantom 38, it's under the forward cabin's floor panel but I guess you know where it is by now.

However, if the stream is like a fast-flowing river e.g. 5+ knots then I doubt any "normal-spec" thruster can move your boat / bow sideways that quickly, so you will have to combine them with your engines and some timing / skills / practice...

 

[lanerboy]

Does it say anything on the actual unit itself? On our Phantom 38, it's under the forward cabin's floor panel but I guess you know where it is by now.

However, if the stream is like a fast-flowing river e.g. 5+ knots then I doubt any "normal-spec" thruster can move your boat / bow sideways that quickly, so you will have to combine them with your engines and some timing / skills / practice...

yes I will have a look at the model number when I am down there next, all the people on our pontoon are struggling with the flow like I say it was that bad one day people could not get to their boats as the main pontoon walkway was under water and it is now permanently on a slope

when the gates are open its like a fast flowing river at the bottom of a weir I counted and its moving about 1 mtr per second, we are about 100 yds further down but the current is so strong a lot of people wont go out as they are afraid of getting back in, its a particularly bad year and only bad when the tide is mid to low I will just go on another berth till high tide if it don't improve as the marina have said this is ok

 

[andy59]

Will the marina find you an easier berth Shawn ?

 

[westernman]

I sometimes use an 80HP bow thruster - and it comes in useful when trying to go stern to into a berth in a 40 knot cross wind.







The bow thruster comes complete with marinero in a rubber dink.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

The model number of the bowthruster will be shown on the top of the unit, which like EugeneR says is typically accessible through an access panel in the floor of the front cabin. My Targa 40 has the SP75T, it's fine although it's effectiveness varies significantly depending on how much growth there is on the bowthruster props. There was an upgrade kit available for this series of bowthrusters which replaced the oe 4-blade props with the newer 5-blade props; I fitted this when I first got the boat and it did make a difference.

That all said - I'd be surprised if you could get any electric bowthruster to cope with the duty cycle you're talking about; this doesn't really sound like a spec issue with the boat, it's more that you've got a difficult berth with a river running through it. If it was me, I'd move berths. If you want big thrusters that can run continuously, hydraulic is the only way to go, and that's a big (=expensive) upgrade. Cheaper just to relocate.

 

[rosssavage]

30secs is pretty quick to cut out.

You'll probably have an end cap with lots of holes drilled in it for cooling airflow - check for dust and debris accumulation in there (you'll need to remove it to check)

Do you have a remote oil reservoir? If so, check it, and check its flow (pull off the pipe at the thruster end -does oil flow? Careful, it should come out quickly!!)

Could be thruster prop fouling as previously mentioned, or a gearbox issue (overloading the motor).

Ignore battery and cable advice for the moment - that would affect performance, but not cause an overheat trip like you get.

For prolonged use, you need a hydraulic unit (100% duty cycle) but that is many £k. If you really need better performance, a bigger thruster can be fitted, but you're limited by tunnel diameter unless you want to do the £k thing again.

I think you're performance is too low for your application and there's not a lot you can do without spending. The 30sec overheat possibly can be improved though - I would expect 60secs minimum before overheat, BUT, don't forget that is cumulative. It has to cool down before you can use it again.

Move berth?

 

[Sishoe]

I currently have the same problem with the 75t fitted to my Gobbi. It alway sounds laboured and cuts out on the thermal overload after about 30sec or less.
We had it into a local sevice agent who cleaned it out and replaced a few bits and signed it off as ok. Put it back on the boat and its now worse than ever. Service agent has claimed its possibly the windings are warped, but i dont really buy that. A new one is 1k so i think i might try a fitting a temp local battery on it first, then maybe have it tested by a proper electric motor refurbisher.