Stern thruster recommendation

[Chrisjs]

Going back to sizing the thruster, my sense is that planing or semi displacement hull are easier to move sideways with a stern thruster than full displacement keeled vessels. I always found the bow thruster to be much more effective than the stern thruster on my 50ft FD trawler. So, my point is, depending on your hull and stern shape, you should definitely consider upsizing the stern thruster if you have a FD vessel. Comparing thrusters between different shaped vessels may not help much.

 

[Comodave]

We have a semi displacement hull but have a full deep keel. We went 1 size larger than the chart said and it kicks butt when we activate it.

 

[Unclematt]

I see there are also "Jet thrusters" and they look awesome. Anyone have any experience with them good or bad?

 

[backinblue]

I have both bow and stern thrusters. I love them. My rudder is small and basically useless in reverse. i recently broke the sheer pin in my stern thruster and yes I can manage using the bow only, but it's not nearly as easy and sometimes takes a couple tries to get lined up properly (there are strong river currents where I dock) but I really miss the stern. Also it's nice to be able to spin the boat quickly using both thrusters in opposite directions when leaving a slip into a very narrow channel, sometimes fighting wind and current. If you want one, go for it and you'll never regret it and shouldn't feel any less competent by using it. Sidepower is the leader in the industry in my opinion. They can help you size properly based on your boat specs.

 

[Spinner]

There are a few aspects of having both bow and stern thrusters that I don’t see mentioned...

Single engine boat. I had a stern thruster installed right after I bought my current boat (it was built with a bow thruster). My primary reason was to enable single-handed docking when there is nobody at the dock to catch a line. Using the remote for the thrusters, I can bring the boat to the dock, step off, and secure the boat while using the remote to keep it pinned to the dock.

The other good reason became apparent after I had run the boat a few times....lock to lock is 6 turns of a really large wheel. Using bow and stern thrusters in tandem gives me really fast turns when in constrained spaces. It just takes a long time to achieve that kind of rudder movement with just the wheel.

 

[TollerTrawler]

Unclematt, you are fully within your rights to want a stern thruster. I chartered a Sundowner 32 out of Vancouver years ago; identical to your picture and we absolutely loved the boat. That said on the return trip we stopped for fuel at the station under the Burrard street bridge, and subsequently had one of the worst boating experiences of my life. I underestimated the current into False Creek and when I pushed off hard to port to exit the dock and clear the bridge footing, discovered there was not a lot of steerage in what was probably only a 3kt current. I drifted broadside down into the adjoining marina between the slips and for the life of me I couldn't get the bow pointed. Bang, bang, bang down the fairway back and forth, just trying to get a little grab from the rudder and push up into the current. Ended up launching the transom off the end of a finger and pranging the davits off the dinghy in the process. I've piloted 3 or 4 bigger trawlers since, and never had the same lack of control. You sir, deserve a stern thruster!

 

[Laurie]

You should look at dockstarthrusters.com

 

[Laurie]

We have both bow and stern DockStars on our CHB 34ft trawler and they made life much easier. We have a port tie slip but a SB tie boat, so we back in all the time. With the DockStar thrusters (radio controlled), we simply pull into the fairway, pivot on a dime and reverse in. The DockStars then hold the boat against the slip, we step off and tie up. Sure makes docking easy!

 

[Bacchus]

Spinner
Little need to run rudder stap to stop. Just set it for the turn direction in fed as it does little or nothing in reverse. If you have prop walk in reverse use it to your favor. Using back & fill... alternating fwd burst to start turn, reverse to prevent excessive fed movement and help continu turn with available prop walk. Then repeat to bring it around.
Good to practice w/o thrusters periodically to stay fresh and k ow you can do it if / when necessary adds confidence.

 

[mickand]

I've had a Vetus Sidepower externally mounted stern thruster for 5 years and over 30,000 miles - possibly 10-15 years use if you were to cruise normally. It quit this summer due to worn out brushes and an issue with the ICU.
The inside of the unit which is always in the water was found completely watertight and on inspection the internals look very robust and well made.
It bolts directly to the transom and has it's own batteries inside the stern lazarette. Installation is very straight forward.
As a solo pilot, I wouldn't be without it.

 

[KnotYet]

Just remember that thrusters are designed for short bursts to help your engines, they are not meant to steer your vessel.

This is most certainly true and I found out for myself when my hydraulic steering
was disabled during a harbor cruise.
The helm stopped answering due to a failed seal on the ram shaft so I started
giving the bow thruster bumps to stay on course.
It worked great for about 15 or 20 minutes as I grew more confident with the
work-around.
All that changed when one of the 4-0 cables desoldered itself from its lug at the
motor.
I got a lot better at throttle-steering my 52 footer on the way back to the dock.

And yes, I did have an emergency tiller but I really was trying to hide the situation
from my guests that day.

 

[Takeitesea]

Purchased a Side Shifter brand stern thruster. Made in Canada. Attaches to swim platform and has no hull holes below the water line.
Works great and company is excellent to work with
Take It E-Sea

 

[BDalt]

I have installed Sidepower bow and stern thrusters. Sidepower is the class act in thrusters and Imtra as the North American supplier is solid in their knowledge and support. My stern thruster is the external mounted one, the internal one was ruled out by the configuration of linkages for the dual rudders. Trawlers are somewhat problematic for install of the stern thruster because of the low draft below water at the stern. You can't really achieve the depth recommendation for the install. But, they have a fix, extra cowls to install on the tunnel to redirect the suck and blow of the tunnel. Do it, and get the variable thrust, really extends the run time available and utility around the docks.

 

[richardschmidt2759]

thruster

I just sold my 34 mainship 1 last year after 16 yrs ,(loved that boat) back in 2014 I instaled a lewmar 185 stern thurster, best thing I ever did ! even with the large rudder it was tough to swing the stern, ( I've had single screw boats for forty yrs.)I'm sure their are better drivers out there, as I didn't use my boat all that much, please don't tell me about kicking over the stern with back and fill . I could spin the boat around if I had enough room.but the thurster made it MUCH easier to get into & out of a slip with not a lot of room. I did it my self, mostly because a bow thurster was to tough & $$$ for me to install. I did however have to modify vetus down tubes to get it to work properly. If you buy a vetus you won't need to modify anything. like I said it was well worth the money,about 4 grand all in I loved it. I did not see the need for a bow thurster ! but that's just me.hope this helps .By the way I ran mine off the main batt as well ,never had a prob. I sure many will not agree with this ,but it,s just my opinion.

 

[Phil Enscoe]

Stern Thruster

I have a 36' Albin Trawler with a single engine and a Dickson stern thruster. I can't believe how helpful the thruster is. Also, in the literature it says that it can be used as an alternative power source should your main engine go out. The thruster can be moved to a straight aft position should you need it.

 

[carpedatum]

Sideshifts are working for me

We have a 24V electric ABT TRAC stern thruster. Works OK, but service is difficult and expensive. If I was installing a new one, I would install a Sideshift www.Sideshift.com. Much less expensive, and installation and service much easier.

+1 on Sideshift. They were helpful to me regarding sizing. My 24000lb cabin cruiser is now fitted with an SS350 up front and an ST350 at the stern. The boat has a windage problem and we back her into the slip, usually with a crosswind. The Sideshift thrusters make quick work of it, and that’s generated some envy here in Moss Landing. Putting a 42 foot boat into the last bit of space at the fuel dock, sideways, did too.

I put a dedicated battery bank, close to the thruster, on each one. A pair of group 24 Northstar AGMs provide about 12 minutes of run time without going below 50%. Since these thrusters are only used in bursts of around 1-10 seconds that works out to a ton of operating time. I have a one Promariner 24v charger amidships supplying both banks, and can charge from shore power only at present, but would add in a DC-DC charger if I ever feel the need.

This setup has worked well for over a year for me, so I feel pretty comfortable recommending Sideshift. It took me a couple of months worth of weekends to get all this onto the boat, but (with some creativity and a lot of swearing) I did not have to haul the boat to get it done. Worth it though - I have a very different boat now.

An alternative that caught my attention at first was the Dockstar thruster, mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I think that design is brilliant. It does a bunch to lower the installation cost and complexity. The inventor/owner insists on a consultation before you can buy, and was super-frank with me. There’s no good way to put a Dockstar thruster on my bow. Bummer! I’d recommend speaking with them, though. Your requirements are quite a bit different. Dockstar may be able to offer you product that is very easy to install and maintain.

 

[Coalman]

we have a Monk36 with a lot of windage. I'm going put on a Vetus 5-6 hp electric stern thruster with it own AGM battery, charger, switch, fusing etc. I have a Vetus 5 hp electric bow thruster currently powered by combined starter/house bank (two 8D's). In the process of upgrading battery bank to combined start/house bank with six Duracell FLA type 2 GC batteries wired series/parallel (690 aHr). Will also install separate AGM, switch, breaker, charger, etc. to power bow thruster so I don't need to power with house/starter bank. Both thruster batteries will be charged by shore power when connected. New battery bank will be charged by OEM alternator, generator, 200 watts solar or shore power. Hope that answers your question?

Stay safe and smooth seas

 

[kabyak]

Purchased a Side Shifter brand stern thruster. Made in Canada. Attaches to swim platform and has no hull holes below the water line.
Works great and company is excellent to work with
Take It E-Sea

I'm looking at the Sideshift ST350, curious about your experience after several years of use? Are you operating in saltwater?

 

[kabyak]

Sideshifts are working for me



+1 on Sideshift. They were helpful to me regarding sizing. My 24000lb cabin cruiser is now fitted with an SS350 up front and an ST350 at the stern. The boat has a windage problem and we back her into the slip, usually with a crosswind. The Sideshift thrusters make quick work of it, and that’s generated some envy here in Moss Landing. Putting a 42 foot boat into the last bit of space at the fuel dock, sideways, did too.

I put a dedicated battery bank, close to the thruster, on each one. A pair of group 24 Northstar AGMs provide about 12 minutes of run time without going below 50%. Since these thrusters are only used in bursts of around 1-10 seconds that works out to a ton of operating time. I have a one Promariner 24v charger amidships supplying both banks, and can charge from shore power only at present, but would add in a DC-DC charger if I ever feel the need.

This setup has worked well for over a year for me, so I feel pretty comfortable recommending Sideshift. It took me a couple of months worth of weekends to get all this onto the boat, but (with some creativity and a lot of swearing) I did not have to haul the boat to get it done. Worth it though - I have a very different boat now.

An alternative that caught my attention at first was the Dockstar thruster, mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I think that design is brilliant. It does a bunch to lower the installation cost and complexity. The inventor/owner insists on a consultation before you can buy, and was super-frank with me. There’s no good way to put a Dockstar thruster on my bow. Bummer! I’d recommend speaking with them, though. Your requirements are quite a bit different. Dockstar may be able to offer you product that is very easy to install and maintain.

I'm looking at the Sideshift ST350, curious about your experience after several years of use? Are you operating in saltwater?

 

[carpedatum]

Sadly I can't testify regarding several years of use. We relocated (to the desert) and had to sell the boat. I can tell you that both of our Sideshifts were operating just fine, and looked just fine to the folks who dove to clean our hull, three years after the installation. We were in saltwater, in Monterey Bay, and the boat was in it all year round.

The thrusters attracted a fair amount of marine growth. That might have been mitigated with a little bottom paint, but I did the installation with the boat in the water (quite difficult, in my case, but not impossible, and far easier at the stern than the bow) and never needed to haul the boat. Operating the thrusters, which I did whenever I ran the engines, was a simple means of getting rid of a lot of that growth.

They do need a zinc, now and then, and you may want to keep spares on hand because it is not a common item. Boatzincs.com has some, as does Sideshift, of course. As I recall, we only had to have those changed out every 12-18 months or so (other zincs on our boat needed more frequent replacement). Also, some of 'em require a wrench that our divers didn't normally carry so I took to keeping a bag of 'em and a wrench in a readily-accessible compartment for them, just in case.

I really enjoyed those Sideshift thrusters and would buy again. If I did, I'd take the time to examine those zincs and how they are removed/replaced before installing the unit. It would have simplified the conversation with our divers if I'd done that bit of prep. Also because, the divers had never seen one of these things before, it was necessary to alert them to the need to check the zincs on the thrusters.

 

[Bacchus]

I'm with others that support adding thruster(s)... I find it makes many tasks easy, repeatable and increases enjoyment boating. I do get many comments... cheaters, etc but most come from those envious. IMO a single eng & thruster(s) is an ideal combo and for my use lower operating and maint cost vs twins. I never understood why some consider a single w thruster cheating but having twin eng as acceptable?? If you want it... don't let the nay sayers sway your thinking. I even added a wireless remote so I am able to utilize the convenience when away from the helm.

I also have SidePower B & S thrusters and like them. Both are 12V and powered from 1 -8D AGM. I have never had one cut out or fail but I tend to use them in short bursts vs longer runs.

I recently moved my single eng start to my thruster bank from the house/start as Mainship installed. I fund that arrangement works well,mat least for me. The start A is high but fairly short leaving near full batty capacity. The second benefit is having alternator charging to help support the thrusters.

In my case I was able to salvage a 4/0 cable to replace the 2/0 start cable and reducing the Lenght by 50%... win, win, win.

 

[Comodave]

I'm looking at the Sideshift ST350, curious about your experience after several years of use? Are you operating in saltwater?

I put SideShift bow and stern thrusters on 3 years ago. They are 24 volt models. So far we love them. The only problem was that during the pandemic when we installed them I couldn’t get 24 volt Promariner chargers so I had to use the crappy Mastervolt ones. Had to replace the stern Mastervolt charger this year. It toasted the batteries. I am in freshwater so I can’t say how they would be in saltwater.

 

[kabyak]

Sadly I can't testify regarding several years of use. We relocated (to the desert) and had to sell the boat. I can tell you that both of our Sideshifts were operating just fine, and looked just fine to the folks who dove to clean our hull, three years after the installation. We were in saltwater, in Monterey Bay, and the boat was in it all year round.

The thrusters attracted a fair amount of marine growth. That might have been mitigated with a little bottom paint, but I did the installation with the boat in the water (quite difficult, in my case, but not impossible, and far easier at the stern than the bow) and never needed to haul the boat. Operating the thrusters, which I did whenever I ran the engines, was a simple means of getting rid of a lot of that growth.

They do need a zinc, now and then, and you may want to keep spares on hand because it is not a common item. Boatzincs.com has some, as does Sideshift, of course. As I recall, we only had to have those changed out every 12-18 months or so (other zincs on our boat needed more frequent replacement). Also, some of 'em require a wrench that our divers didn't normally carry so I took to keeping a bag of 'em and a wrench in a readily-accessible compartment for them, just in case.

I really enjoyed those Sideshift thrusters and would buy again. If I did, I'd take the time to examine those zincs and how they are removed/replaced before installing the unit. It would have simplified the conversation with our divers if I'd done that bit of prep. Also because, the divers had never seen one of these things before, it was necessary to alert them to the need to check the zincs on the thrusters.

Thanks for your reply. Oddly, for a product that's been around a while there isn't much to found online for reviews and such. My biggest concern is the AL props and their durability at $200 each.