Adelaide
Senior Member
OK, I purchased it.
I think we all have heard the pro's and con's of thrusters. Rather than beat that dead horse again, I would like to speak out about my experience with this 'kit'. I chose the Sideshift stern Thruster due to the ease of installation (in the water) and minimal invasive set up (no large holes). Not to mention the low cost.
1. on first impression, the unit was heavy (much thicker than the Pic seems) and very well designed (Made in Canada, not China). The packaging was very good and everything seemed in order. The L-Bracket was on back order, requiring an extra week for delivery.
2. Installation was longer than I thought, but went very well with the help of a couple buddies. I chose the 'L-bracket' option allowing me to set up the L-Bracket above the water line and offering complete protection for the unit (runs veritcal). The props are counter rotating and move the boat impressively in the slip.
3. The brain "box" was easily mounted in my engine room, running about 10' of 2 AWG wire (X2) back to the unit. The unit requires 2/0 wire (X2) from the box to the Starter battery (Big size D). If you don't have the large Starter battery, the unit will require two size 32 Marine batteries.
4. The Joystick (beautifully manufactured) is wired to the control box with 2-16ga primary wires. It is then ran from the ignition key (positive), and a Negative in my panel.
5. Test day, wife and I untied the lines. At this point, the boat was idling in the slip. Normally, I would have my wife or son start to push me out while I tried to get my stern in the right position for an easy exit. Fighting currents in LaConner, WA can be a headache. Today, I had my wife just get on the boat (ideal situation). Putting the vessel in reverse, the vessel wanted to prop wash to Starboard, as normal. I quickly put pressure on the joystick keeping the boat in a straight line. Once out in the middle of the marina, I put pressure on the joystick to move my boat parallel to our dock. With a smile and complete relaxation, I headed out. We continued to practice docking at the guest dock and different scenarios with amazing success and ease.
6. The final test was getting back into our slip...... I was able to move, again parallel with our dock, then run the thruster to move us perpendicular with our slip. all this without my wife jumping off the boat, or putting herself between a pylon and the boat. Success! Ultimately this thruster will give me the ability to not have to rely on anyone to get the boat home.
lastly, one of my real worries was the Bow/Stern thruster decision. Which one? My dad has a bow thruster and after driving both, I find that either serves basically the same purpose. All it is, is a different state of mind. If you have twin engines, I would lean towards the bow thruster, or none at all (you got twins ). If a single engine, save the money and go with a Stern thruster.
For those who have wondered about the Sideshift...... there you go.
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