Dock line caught in stern thruster Cutwater 28

[kcjonz2016]

Help,

I caught a line in my stern thruster. I'm having a diver dislodge it but is there a shear pin I may have broken and need to replace? If so, where is it? is there a diagram or schematic of the motor and prop?

Thanks

Paul A Jones
Blue Bayou
2018 Cutwater 28LE

 

[Brian B]

Search thruster removal on this site. There are pages of experiences and tears accomplishing that dreaded task. I don't know if it's any easier on the Cutwater..

 

[dpiano]

I’ve replaced both bow and stern over time. There probably is a spare pin taped to the motor; there was one on both motors on our classic 29. Motor comes off easily with allen wrench. It will be obvious where the pin goes. Takes a little time to get the pin aligned and inserted but not too tough. Good idea to buy extra pins.

 

[Red Raven]

This thread is the one you need.

http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2013&hilit=thruster#p14388

 

[blifland]

Our bow thruster sucked in a line a few years ago. The shear pin did not break, but the gearleg did. The event also chipped the thruster prop and had to be replaced. After removing the line, the thruster worked but not great and it made a terrible grinding noise that got worse over time. I just replaced the gearleg and prop but have not splashed the boat yet. It was not difficult to replace but the gearleg with prop is $500. I am going to disassemble the old gearleg next month to see what is inside.
Hope that your shear pin sheared.

 

[Irish Mist]

Paul
In case you haven't done any of the reading yet the shear pin is accessed from inside the boat and can be changed while the boat is in the water. The gear leg can not. I too sucked in an anchor line with the bow thruster and needed a new gear leg. As mentioned an easy fix once the boat is out of the water.

 

[stwendl]

Would it make sense to have some sort of grill protecting the thrusters?

 

[Steeldieman]

When I got a line tangled in my stern thruster last year I was certain l had sacrificed the sheer pin.
However after checking the fuse and seeing it had blown I replaced it and that was all that was required.
The hardest part was getting the fuse in the small Michigan town I was visiting, now I carry several onboard.

 

[captstu]

In addition to the shear pin instructions, there are a couple of things I "learned".

There are three parts to the "fix a stuck dock line" puzzle:

1. Side-Power employs a strange size fuse - expensive and hard to find. I first changed to an electrically identical "blue Sky" fuse - the entire assembly and spare fuses cost less than one Blue Sky and a spare. I have since changed to a circuit breaker - it makes no sense to use a fuse in this application - since there are times when you should be able to shut it off easily. Again, not much money from Amazon.

2. The shear pin is VERY DIFFICULT to change, at least on my 2010 Ranger R25. I had a stainless pin machined so it would not ever break again. Save yourself the grief. The fuse or circuit breaker can sized to protect the works, eliminating the difficult shear pin replacement for a plastic bag entrapment (for example).

3. The drive leg was bent the first time I had to change a shear pin. Back Problems triggered hiring Side Power to make the swap - and they never noticed the bent leg. Two weeks later when the pin failed again, I was recovered enough to do the swap - and swap the drive leg (not hard to do). Check your thruster drive leg VERY CAREFULLY, it should spin easily and quietly with the motor and shear pin out - if there is gear noise replace the leg. After careful examination, it seems the design of the leg makes it fail before the shear pin.

Remember, the first rule of boating "If it works, don't use it."

 

[R27ultrasound]

I made the same mistake and pulled a dock line in to the Stern Thruster on my R27. The line was stuck solid and I sheared off the pin on the motor. I lined up a diver and while he was on the way pulled the motor. When my brother was pulling on the stuck line, I noticed that the through hull shaft turned a bit. By turning the shaft back and forth while he gently pulled on the line, we were able to free it (just as the diver showed up). I paid him for the trip, put in a new shear pin and reinstalled the motor. Everything has worked great since.