rslifkin
Guru
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2019
- Messages
- 7,930
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Hour Glass
- Vessel Make
- Chris Craft 381 Catalina
There was only one time I really missed the stern thruster. I was on the Illinois River approaching a lock from the bottom with a strong tailwind. 30 knots plus. The lock master insisted that I secure starboard side to the chamber.
I could have done it with a helper, but without the thruster I couldn't stop the boat without the stern swinging out and catching the wind. After a couple of aborted attempts they closed the gates and allowed me to free float during the lift. Problem solved. If they'd offered the port side tie up it would have been easy.
Stories like that are why I'm no fan of underpowered thrusters. Once you know the boat well, you can do a whole lot without the thruster. But every once in a while you get to a situation where the thruster is pretty much the only way it's possible to do something. And it's almost always due to high winds, etc. where an underpowered thruster won't be enough to help the situation.