Bow thruster reversed direction

[nhislander]

When re-assembling my bow thruster after bottom painting my boat I must have put my bow-thruster props on opposite sides... When I move the control/joy-stick to port the boat goes to starboard and vice versa… Can I simply switch these two wires to solve the problem vs. hauling the boat out of the water? Note, I tried to contact the manufacturer "Quick" - but I get an automated response that they are busy at the Ft Lauderdale boat show...

SEE ATTACHED PHOTO…

Just thinking I may not be the first one to have done this - any experience or help is appreciated...

 

[sunchaser]

Assuming you have a dash mounted toggle switch you could rotate the switch 180.

 

[Delfin]

Had the same issue with my Trac thrusters after the boatyard put the props on backwards. I swapped the wires, and problem solved.

 

[Gdavid]

That installation job looks questionable, is that Beneteau's work or someone else's? I doubt that circuit board should be exposed and suspended by the wiring.

 

[ktdtx]

No specific help here but I have started taking pictures with my cell phone of the things I am preparing to take apart so even if I can't fix it I can put it back together the way it was.

 

[SteveK]

switch the wires at least until the next haul

 

[magna 6882]

They got the props swaped on mine the last haul and it was suggested to switch the wires but i didnt want to have to remember. the props are labled. I had them lift the boat and swap them back while in the slings.

 

[Comodave]

I can easily switch direction on mine by switching the direction wires.

 

[Northern Spy]

DC motor. Swap polarity, change rotation.

 

[Hydraulicjump]

Wait. I want to go back to the picture that Gdavid expressed concern about. I cannot envision any wiring where a circuit board sits out exposed like that, hanging from wires near a thruster where--from personal experience--occasionally salt water collects. Even though it is not supposed to be there. Are you sure this was wired correctly in the first place? And do you want to think about protecting that circuit board a bit?

As usual, I am probably over-interpreting the picture, but it sure struck me as odd in a part of the boat that can get salty.

 

[Northern Spy]

Based on the photo; there are screws missing in the housing. It looks as if the cover is off and he has the internal wiring splayed out.

Can see the actual unit on the Quick website. That said, never heard of them before.

https://www.quickitaly.com/en/products/manoeuvring-systems/dc-thrusters/

 

[Benthic2]

You could also move to the southern hemisphere......

 

[Moonfish]

No specific help here but I have started taking pictures with my cell phone of the things I am preparing to take apart so even if I can't fix it I can put it back together the way it was.

I do this, too!

 

[Moonfish]

You could also move to the southern hemisphere......

 

[nhislander]

For those concerned about the exposed circuit board... I took the thruster apart to see what was in there and if there is an easy way to reverse directions. Doesn't appear to be a simple solution to me. I reversed the two connections circled in my original post/photo and nothing changed...

 

[Moonfish]

I don't have thrusters, and only a basic understanding of how props work, but if the orientation of a prop is set by the direction of the blades, and the props got reversed, wouldn't that mean instead of "pushing" the bow in the correct direction the prop would be trying to "pull" the bow?

Or am I just having another senior moment?

 

[PierreR]

You could also move to the southern hemisphere......

Love the benthic humor once in a while. By the same token I was in a Dollar General recently. the cashier spoke to the customer ahead of me and said the weather was going to start getting noticeably colder next week because we lose and hour of daylight. The customer agreed with her. WEEEE

 

[High Wire]

Do you have a diagram? It would be bad to reverse polarity on a component not designed for it. How about switching the wires on the joystick end? A diagram will show which wires get swapped by the directional relay or switch.

 

[O C Diver]

I have a Side Power thruster with twin propellers. My recollection is that there's no left and right, same propeller for both sides. Are they reverse mounted if that's possible?

Ted

 

[Marco Flamingo]

No specific help here but I have started taking pictures with my cell phone of the things I am preparing to take apart so even if I can't fix it I can put it back together the way it was.

Don't take pictures, take videos. Talk yourself through it how you took it apart and how you're going to put it back together. Much better than pictures.

 

[Comodave]

On our last boat we installed a SidePower thruster. Initially it went the wrong direction. Just swapped the control wires and it was good. Same with our current boat. Swap control signal wires and it was good. As a matter of fact the current thrusters don’t even show which way to wire them, but if they work backwards then you swap the control wires. They don’t even show polarity on the main power cables since it is so easy to swap the direction if you happen to wire it backwards.

 

[Mischief Managed]

I have a Side Power thruster with twin propellers. My recollection is that there's no left and right, same propeller for both sides. Are they reverse mounted if that's possible?

Ted

I'm with Ted, the props are the same on both sides and cannot be installed backwards. Frog the wires and call it a day.

 

[Bacchus]

I have a Side Power thruster with twin propellers. My recollection is that there's no left and right, same propeller for both sides. Are they reverse mounted if that's possible?

Ted

I'm with Ted, the props are the same on both sides and cannot be installed backwards. Frog the wires and call it a day.

I'm with Ted & Dave
I have removed, and replaced my Side Power props and never payed attention to which side they get placed on. Props do need to have the correct side placed towards the gear box... the drive side has a groove that engages with the shear pin. The outer side has no groove only a recess the size of the anode.

 

[nhislander]

Just a final update to close this thread... I did end up changing the wires and all is good. Thanks to all for the feedback...

 

[Csellars]

I believe you can switch the wires on the solenoid and it will reverse directions.

 

[Goingplaces]

thruster props

The boatyard did this to me the last time I had the bottom painted. I have a PEnta QL1300 on the stern. As someone else mentioned, you can't just swap the wires as what happens is that the props are now working against each other. You get a little wash (and noise) but virtually no thrust. My diver had to swap them back and now all is well (I have a good diver, Josh Deaton, in Charleston, SC).

My boat yard did not apologize (LoL!) but they did offer me a free haul-out anytime I wanted.