I am contemplating a bow thruster to help in parking up the boat when shorthanded in the typical Perth 20+ knt SWer.
Does anyone have any experience with them and what are your thoughts.
Figure around 5k installed

If you havethecash to splash ...... It's a good way to spend it ! Got to be better than not having one !

Anything over 40 foot that doesnt track well should have one. It's on my wish list and my too hard list!

My 40ft Adams had a bowthruster fitted before I bought it and although some people think it is cheating - I only use it when I feel it is necessary.
If there is a chance of impending doom, rather than wait and see if an unusually strong wind is going to blow me onto some rocks, the wharf, jetty or that multi million dollar yacht, I'll use it. If needed I can just about spin her on the spot - going astern.
If you are flush with cash, go for it.

I think you use it when you get sweat on your brow and your face is turning red N&Z....:)

I find it difficult to manage when going astern into my berth. Having quite a bit of free board at the bow can cause the bow to be blown off in the stronger winds.
Anyone know anything about the Vetus thrusters.

bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

Worth every cent when short handed. I have bow and stern which means I can hold the boat in position while the misses can walk round at her leasure and tie the boat up, no arguments. When installing a bow thruster make sure you can mount it deep enough in the water so as it does not cavitate. If it cavitates it is totally useles.They are more prone to cavitation if there is any chop on the water. Both my thrusters are swing down ones so no cavitation problems and no need to antifoul as nothing grows in the dark. You do get a bit if growth on the through bow thrusters which is a bit of a pain to remove.so make sure you get a good coating of anti fouling on.
If you only have a bow thruster it makes mooring easy as you only need to get a stern line on then you can bring the bow in with the thruster.

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lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

What a load of bull. I can handle a boat better than most people and anyone who knows me will vouch for that. I can get a boat into almost anywher, but why not make life easy reduce the chances of scratching your or what's worse someone elses boat. I have seen plenty of people with your attude make a total fist of it.

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lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

Used a bow thruster all the time in Holland, and so did most other boats. And nobody, but nobody, can handle a boat like the Dutch. Put a boat into a tiny slot sideways against the wind, why would you not have one if you have the money.

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Jode5 said..

lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

What a load of bull. I can handle a boat better than most people and anyone who knows me will vouch for that. I can get a boat into almost anywher, but why not make life easy reduce the chances of scratching your or what's worse someone elses boat. I have seen plenty of people with your attude make a total fist of it.

Pot, kettle, black!

My opinion is that you have a boat to have a good time, so anything that makes it less stressful is a good thing.

In Auckland Marina I wish I had one many times. Often daily backed the 40ft boat I had then out of the pen into the usual 20-30kts blowing across the alley way, helm hard starboard to aim down the alley way out when stern was hard up against the far side then gun it to turn quickly and get way. Frequently there would be a current running across the alley way as well as the wind.

More often that not it was impossible to stop the bow getting blown to the down wind side of the ally way because the boat couldn't accelerate fast enough to get way and lift up against the wind and current. I would LOVE to have been able to turn on a bow thruster instead of getting the crew to fend us off the down wind row of boats and relieve my cold sweat

I think anyone who says they have never stuffed up berthing is being less than truthfull.
I think this is going to be on my list for the next haul out

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Jode5 said..

lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

What a load of bull. I can handle a boat better than most people and anyone who knows me will vouch for that. I can get a boat into almost anywher, but why not make life easy reduce the chances of scratching your or what's worse someone elses boat. I have seen plenty of people with your attude make a total fist of it.

i agree with jode known him for years with plenty of un thrustered boats and he had no trouble. Fitted one to a 5o foot long keeled yacht that had been in the family for 60 years excellent seamen owns it. now no stress docking in a blow or reversing ( always difficult with long keel ) have also fitted one to 22 meter gulf trawler to simplify coming alongside mother ship fairly sure those guys know what there doing . anything which makes your time on the water less stressful should be a good thing . though i dont have one i see a great advantage on some boats though for me its an added complexity i can do without

If I could justify the expense on my $11,000 Spacesailer I would get a bow thruster for sure. It can literally take me over an hour to get off my pile mooring at Redcliffe when there is a strong westerly wind blowing, waiting patiently for a perfectly timed lull in the wind before I cast off the mooring lines.

With a bow thruster I could just power the nose out and then casually release the stern lines.

It's such a simple solution that it hurts to be poor.

You could fit 2 of these I just finished prop speeding, apparently you don't need a bow thruster!

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lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

I resemble that remark

Regards Don

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AshleyM said..
If I could justify the expense on my $11,000 Spacesailer I would get a bow thruster for sure. It can literally take me over an hour to get off my pile mooring at Redcliffe when there is a strong westerly wind blowing, waiting patiently for a perfectly timed lull in the wind before I cast off the mooring lines.

With a bow thruster I could just power the nose out and then casually release the stern lines.

It's such a simple solution that it hurts to be poor.

Ashley, could you park bow in first. Then when you want to leave motor out backwards with someone on the bow fending it off? If your SS has an outboard that can swing hard port/starboard enough you can kind that hard sideways thrust you need thanks to re-direction of prop not just a rudder so have steerage. Your stern shouldn't get blown down as you pull out if the outboard pulls you upwind stern first.

I had a Spacesailor 24 too with outboard, By swinging the outboard and rudder hard one way it could turn on a sixpence. It was nearly like a tractor with a longshaft Mariner 7.5hp.

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Donk107 said..

lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

I resemble that remark

Regards Don

So is there going to be a name change here Donk to Bow thurster Donk

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Trek said..

AshleyM said..
If I could justify the expense on my $11,000 Spacesailer I would get a bow thruster for sure. It can literally take me over an hour to get off my pile mooring at Redcliffe when there is a strong westerly wind blowing, waiting patiently for a perfectly timed lull in the wind before I cast off the mooring lines.

With a bow thruster I could just power the nose out and then casually release the stern lines.

It's such a simple solution that it hurts to be poor.

Ashley, could you park bow in first. Then when you want to leave motor out backwards with someone on the bow fending it off? If your SS has an outboard that can swing hard port/starboard enough you can kind that hard sideways thrust you need thanks to re-direction of prop not just a rudder so have steerage. Your stern shouldn't get blown down as you pull out if the outboard pulls you upwind stern first.

I had a Spacesailor 24 too with outboard, By swinging the outboard and rudder hard one way it could turn on a sixpence. It was nearly like a tractor with a longshaft Mariner 7.5hp.

Not possible, Ashley has a pile front and rear and a rock wall just to the east. He can not go foward, backwards or to the east of the piles. Certainty not an easy mooring to get off on a strong westerly .

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Jode5 said..

Trek said..

AshleyM said..
If I could justify the expense on my $11,000 Spacesailer I would get a bow thruster for sure. It can literally take me over an hour to get off my pile mooring at Redcliffe when there is a strong westerly wind blowing, waiting patiently for a perfectly timed lull in the wind before I cast off the mooring lines.

With a bow thruster I could just power the nose out and then casually release the stern lines.

It's such a simple solution that it hurts to be poor.

Ashley, could you park bow in first. Then when you want to leave motor out backwards with someone on the bow fending it off? If your SS has an outboard that can swing hard port/starboard enough you can kind that hard sideways thrust you need thanks to re-direction of prop not just a rudder so have steerage. Your stern shouldn't get blown down as you pull out if the outboard pulls you upwind stern first.

I had a Spacesailor 24 too with outboard, By swinging the outboard and rudder hard one way it could turn on a sixpence. It was nearly like a tractor with a longshaft Mariner 7.5hp.

Not possible, Ashley has a pile front and rear and a rock wall just to the east. He can not go foward, backwards or to the east of the piles. Certainty not an easy mooring to get off on a strong westerly .

I had a pile mooring in Manly for a while, used a double line system. String one of the fore and aft lines together to make a fence for the boat when you want to leave, throw the remaining bow line off, use the aft line as a spring and send the stern out with forward motor and rudder then throw that line off and go out astern. There's a limit to how much wind you can cope with of course, but it works quite well and leaves a fence to come into when you return.

I am on a ple mooring too , if it is too difficult to get out and I don,t want to wait I have room to use the dinghy to drop an anchor out to the side and then release the mooring lines and haul out to the anchor, its easy , safe and not that slow.

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HG02 said..

Donk107 said..

lydia said..
bow thrusters are people who can't drive their boats.
now repeat after me!

I resemble that remark

Regards Don

So is there going to be a name change here Donk to Bow thurster Donk

Hi HG

I am that proficient at boat handling (never had to do it that much as I am on a mooring in the bay) I probably need one at both ends of the boat

Regards Don

where I was penned in Paterson lakes last year after being moved the sea breeze would go around two tall buildings and always was a problem I had two stink boats hit me. The only guy on that particular pier owned benetow with bow and stern thruster fully automated when he back in you could run a feeler gauge along the pier finger as he backed in awesome to watch
I sent a link to some one the other day who were looking for a Walker H28 that has a bow thruster only one I know of 40 ft of thrust works well. Dan cheap boat