Vtus thruster not thrusting

[Bartholomew]

I have a Vetus 160kgf bow thruster that stopped working a couple of days ago. The motor spins however the prop does not. I checked and the coupler is good. That leaves the prop or tail piece. The face of the prop is good as examined by an underwater camera but I can’t speak as to its hub or the key or for that matter the tail piece. Does anyone have experience with this model specifically the tail piece or prop failing?

 

[Jcslocum]

I had a sinilar problem about 1 month ago. I have a smaller thruster than you do, and the cross pin that drives the prop had weakened and broke. the end cap on mine is held on by 2 phillips head screws. Remove the cap and the prop comes off, revealing the cross pin. here is what mine looks like:

 

[Bartholomew]

Thanks for the response. Mine does not use the caps or screws or the shear pin like this one. It does have however a shaft key between the propeller shaft and the propeller and perhaps that has sheared. I'm not sure what material the key is made from and it doesn't appear as Vetus sells the key by itself. I would presume it's likely made to not react to the shaft under water. I am in Canada right now but am heading back toward the US to pull it in a few weeks and I guess at this point Ill just hold off until it is out of the water where I can get to it.

 

[Larry M]

You most likely can replace the shear pin while in the water. Check your manual. If my memory serves me right, you need to unbolt the motor and lift it up. Shear pins are cheap at about $35 for a pack of 5. Good luck.

 

[Kayl]

Hey, I had a similar issue with my bow thruster. If the motor spins but the prop doesn’t, and you’ve ruled out the coupler, it’s probably the tail piece or the prop itself. When mine acted up, it turned out the key inside the prop had worn out. I had to pull the prop off and check the tail piece for any damage or debris. The hub on the prop can also be a culprit, so it’s worth inspecting that closely too.