Bow or Stern Thruster

[Arc]

‘Thrusters are a big intrusion that invite misery‘

This is nonsense. Thrusters are a system like any other . They are less complex than a generator or a main engine . They are much more related to a windlass that is on just about every boat. Maintain them and the are trouble free.

 

[trihartsfield]

I have these on our 26 Tolly. They are easy to install, are plenty powerful and do not require adding batteries. They are self contained. The draw back to them is you have periodically run the charger to them. They can be easily removed and charged.

For your size boat I believe these would suffice.

In any industry advances are made for particular purposes. If a tool is designed to make a job easier and less stressful why not utilize it.

https://www.dockstarthrusters.com/

 

[Unclematt]

I bought my boat with no thrusters. I can put the bow anywhere I want so I had a stern thruster installed before I left to do the loop solo. Best money I spent. Not only does it give me steerage when backing it also allows me fine steering adjustments in forward. I center the wheel then use it to do all my slow speed steering into locks and slips.

 

[Mako]

Considering that the OP's boat seems to have bad characteristics, the bow thruster will also assist with pulling anchor on a windy day and keeping the nose straight without drifting and falling off. However that also makes me concerned about how that boat handles heavy quartering and stern seas, especially at trawler speeds. If you do any amount of ocean work, that might be a concern. It might be better to not spend the money on either thruster, but think about if he is ready to move into a different vessel. This time he would be armed with much more knowledge of how different types/displacements/windages/rudder sizes of vessels handle both in docking and in heavy conditions.

 

[ranger58sb]

Thrusters are a big intrusion that invite misery, better to understand prop walk. I removed my stern thruster, with its big batteries, they only last for a limited time.

Certainly good to understand and use prop walk, but...

There were times when it wouldn't get us there from here, spring lines (another good to know) being an alternative since we didn't have thrusters then...

And even then, once or twice we had to go elsewhere.

Your batteries should have lasted for years.

???

Or do you mean the thermal fusing wouldn't let you use the thruster for long periods at a time?

We watched a boat come into our yard the other day, and I suspect maybe he wasn't sure where his gear levers were. Looonnnnnggggg periods of thruster seemed to be all he used. 'Til that stopped.

-Chris

 

[Hippocampus]

While learning the new to us boat found for very close work it was easier to leave the rudder in neutral and steer only with the thrusters. It works just fine.
One of changes In gestalt I needed was the near total lack of feedback from the rudder. On prior sailboats, without looking, you knew the rudder angle. With hydraulic steering you don’t. Once I learned an occasional glance at the rudder angle indicator was a good idea adding rudder angle changes to thruster bursts came along. Due to keel conformation and thruster placement the bow thruster is much more effective and the go to device. The stern thruster only used to add to bow thruster input in stronger winds or currents or to pull the swim platform in to disembark. For the OP if getting one no question in my mind the bow is the better choice.

 

[OldDan1943]

A. Single or twin?
Single, hard a port and crawl speed. You should back straight
Twin, you should be home free when using throttles and clutches. If a bow thruster
makes you more comfortable, see C.
B. Electric, I moved my electric bow and stern thrusters to the house bus (3x4D) after I
experienced main engine shut down when the start droppedn to about 10.6 volts. Also
put in meter indicating house voltage.
C. Once you get a HP for bow thruster recommendation, if possible go a little bit more HP
D. Practice, practice,practice Both away from the dock and in your slip to see how your boat
reacts.
E. Spring lines are amazing. Practice. From the boat around a doc cleat and back to the
boat. Move the rudder to achieve the the desired movement. Have bow and stern line at
the ready.

 

[Hippocampus]

^+1

Except still like big batteries close to thrusters so no voltage drop on the run.

 

[Comodave]

I have 2 at each thruster since mine are 24 volts.

 

[PhilPB]

I use one Odyssey 31-PC2150S Extreme Series Battery ODX-AGM31 for my bow thruster.

 

[CarlF]

I got along without thrusters for over 20 years. I can (and did) also get along without radar for some of that - in foggy Maine. If you have the money, both make cruising easier and less stressful.

If only one thruster it should be the bow since you have less control of the bow than the stern with engines - but I would STRONGLY recommend spending the money to put on both bow and stern thrusters. It allows you to precisely manuver the boat sideways while staying parallel to the dock - both in and out. You won't regret it.

Notice that the only people in this thread who say thrusters aren't a good idea have apparently never actually owned them.

 

[dosched]

I had a Vetus Bow Thruster on a previous boat (Albin 32+2) and now have a Sideshift stern thruster on our 1979 34' Mainship. I found the bow thruster moved the boat around more but am now getting used to the stern thruster and am quite pleased. The Sideshift was much less money.

 

[avalonsunset30]

I've owned an IG30 Widebody for 24 years and have had similar questions about which thruster to install. I moor in a bow-in starboard slip and it's always a struggle to get the stern in as it pulls to port when I slow down in reverse. My vote is for a stern thruster for that reason. And ignore the non IG owners who question your ability as skipper.

 

[Comodave]

I've owned an IG30 Widebody for 24 years and have had similar questions about which thruster to install. I moor in a bow-in starboard slip and it's always a struggle to get the stern in as it pulls to port when I slow down in reverse. My vote is for a stern thruster for that reason. And ignore the non IG owners who question your ability as skipper.

Ignore any that question your ability. Just because you use a thruster doesn’t mean that you can’t do it without one, or two. Just means that you want to do it easier.

 

[ramkay]

Hi All, I have a 30ft island gypsy with a single 120 Lehman, if you know these boat then you will know they are obsoletely hopeless in reverse if there is the slightest wind or current, I have just moved from a mooring to a pen in a marina and reversing into the berth between two boats is all most impossible.
My question is about adding a thruster either bow or stern and the advantage in assisting in the reversing issue, I only want to add one thruster,
Thanks

I have a GB32 with the same reverse problem. Bow thruster is the way to go. I back up my boat into the slip like butter now. Vetus130pro.

 

[JYoung]

I would agree that a professional like Captain Chris in Vero Beach could help you understand and develop the proper way to dock your boat. In all due respect, a 30’ single engine boat should be a dream to dock. Just sayin.

 

[Tiffany]

While admitting to less than a lifetime at the helm, installing a 3.5 hp. Lewmar bow thruster of my Apollo32 (single engine, inboard) made a huge difference in trying to poke the boat into my slip after the marina operator crowded the slip widths and narrowed the fairways by several meters. At slow speeds with a breeze on the forward quarters it was very difficult to prevent the boat sliding off into a neighbour boat. The thruster changed the whole equation.

 

[Laurie]

We had DockStar thrusters on our CHB 34 trawler, made life so much easier! Recommend you look at them! www.dockstarthrusters.com

 

[mickand]

I have an internal bow thruster and an external stern thruster - both Sidepower (Sleipner). If you can fit a suitably sized external stern thruster, I would just fit that and forget the bow. I often just use the stern to point the bow over. The casing on a Sidepower is very robust with a well designed rubber gasket. Mine has been repaired twice in 9 years - no water ingress and an easy install. I've just replaced the 2 batteries after the same 9 years. I cruise full time single handing, 135 locks last year, and both thrusters get used a lot.

 

[La Sirena]

I haven't read all the responses and maybe this has already been suggested...but...have you contacted other Island Gypsy owners and asked them how they have overcome this issue? Is there an owner's forum, FB page, etc of owners to ask? Maybe they have a workaround.

 

[Serene]

I grew up on single screw displacement boats and learned to manoeuvre using bursts of power and hard over rudder, plus of course making sure to know which way the prop spins so 'prop walk' can be factored in when going astern.

My current boat is the first boat I have owned with a single screw and a bow thruster. Makes it much easier to control the bow when coming into my marina berth in a cross wind/current.

I don't think I would like to go back to no bow thruster. Not that I couldn't, but it makes things so much easier and less stressful in tight quarters.

I don't miss a stern thruster, but do appreciate the assistance of the bow thruster, so would vote for bow thruster if fitting only one.

 

[Kit_L]

An excellent thread; and bookmarked. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

 

[Dom61]

I have a sideshift stern thruster on my MT 34 and it works great

 

[Datenight]

The bow thruster went out on our single engine NP 45 as we left the slip for a two week cruise. Before I bypassed the bad thermal switch we had to get into two very tight spots for water and again for a pump out. The stern thruster was very helpful. Our boat handles pretty well on prop walk and rudder angle. However, I would not be without the bow thruster.

Rob

 

[Dom61]

45 a bit bigger than my 34 i can get in anywhere with the Stern thruster

 

[Gary Brickell]

I added a SideShift stern thruster ST-340 on the swim platform of my trawler this summer and it has made a great improvement in handling. I don't have a bow thruster just a single inboard and a rudder. I can now pivot on the spot 90 degrees in five seconds.

For making tight turns and pinpoint docking in the marina you can't beat the advantage of a stern thruster. For fighting a strong side wind force a bow thruster is better. If you can only afford one determine which is the most frequent challenge; side wind or pivoting into a slip. I installed the SideShift stern thruster and connected it to my two AGM house batteries, in one day DIY. The total cost was $5k cdn about $3,800.us

 

[OldDan1943]

I've owned an IG30 Widebody for 24 years and have had similar questions about which thruster to install. I moor in a bow-in starboard slip and it's always a struggle to get the stern in as it pulls to port when I slow down in reverse. My vote is for a stern thruster for that reason. And ignore the non IG owners who question your ability as skipper.

On a single engine trawler, go full port and creep in reverse, you should back straight out.

 

[Dom61]

Not on mine o matter what it goes stright back

 

[OldDan1943]

Start from a dead stop, hard over port then creep in reverse.
If that doesn’t work, try hard over stbd, creep out and see the difference how the stern behaves.

 

[Dom61]

Nope been piloting this boat for 15 yrs