ST 35 thrusters

[Cjbtrawler]

I have a ST 35 under contract and during the sea trial noticed that both bow and stern thrusters were very anemic in their performance. Just about useless in my opinion. What are others experiences ?

 

[PhilPB]

I have a ST 35 under contract and during the sea trial noticed that both bow and stern thrusters were very anemic in their performance. Just about useless in my opinion. What are others experiences ?

I have a Sidepower bow thruster. A low/bad/poorly charged battery will present what you are describing .

 

[Cjbtrawler]

I have a Sidepower bow thruster. A low/bad/poorly charged battery will present what you are describing .

Thanks. What battery(s) supply current to the thrusters?

 

[Jerbro]

I have a ST 35 under contract and during the sea trial noticed that both bow and stern thrusters were very anemic in their performance. Just about useless in my opinion. What are others experiences ?

I’ve just acquired one too.. I had low expectations for the stern thruster.. it does help a little though.. but full rudder and a nudge forward on the throttle is better. I’ve found that you have to use bow and stern thrusters opposite and together for real effect in stiffer winds. Out of interest were you able to inspect the underside for growth/condition before sea trial?

 

[Cjbtrawler]

I’ve just acquired one too.. I had low expectations for the stern thruster.. it does help a little though.. but full rudder and a nudge forward on the throttle is better. I’ve found that you have to use bow and stern thrusters opposite and together for real effect in stiffer winds. Out of interest were you able to inspect the underside for growth/condition before sea trial?

Bottom was clean but the thrusters had some hard growth on the blades. Spoke with a Side Power dealer and they mentioned too long for wiring runs on top of manufacturer’s under sizing thrusters. Thanks for tips.

 

[Comodave]

Assuming that the thrusters are big enough to do the job then the first place to look is the electrical connections. Check every connection and make sure they are clean and tight. Then check the size of the cabling and make sure it isn’t undersized. You can use a volt meter to see if there is voltage drop at each connection, sometimes they look good but are bad internally in the connection. Check the batteries and make sure they are good, charged and pass a load test. Check with the manufacturer and see if the thrusters are designed for the boat size. Clean the props in the thruster, also check the anodes while you are at it.

 

[PhilPB]

Thanks. What battery(s) supply current to the thrusters?

I have one dedicated Odyssey Extreme grp 31 battery
It is located about 16" away from the thruster.

 

[Jerbro]

Here is stern thruster install on a 2019 European spec.. Quick thruster… not side power

 

[Bmarler]

Bottom was clean but the thrusters had some hard growth on the blades. Spoke with a Side Power dealer and they mentioned too long for wiring runs on top of manufacturer’s under sizing thrusters. Thanks for tips.

Doesn’t take much hard growth on the blades to hamper the output. If the thruster is marginally sized to begin with, growth can make it very weak.
I noticed a huge difference in performance after a haul out, clean and paint.