IS IT PRACTICAL TO INSTALL A BOW THRUSTER

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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
One of my criteria for an R21-EC is a bow thruster. I have seen a couple of used boats without a thruster. Is it reasonable to consider installing one? If so, how would I find a competent installer and what would be a estimated cost? :?:
 
We purchased a 2006 EC-21 without a bow thruster in April 2011. The quote to purchase and install was $6,000. No, thank you! AND........ we get along just fine without a bow thruster!
 
A bow thruster is not a requirement. It just makes life easier when trying to enter or leave a dock if you have some wind or current. If you do not have a bow thruster, it just means you need to hone your skills a bit.

I have seen video's on installing a bow thruster, and they make it look doable by the average handyman. I am pretty handy with my hands, but I do not think I would attempt this. I think $6000 is an outrageous amount to install a bow thruster.
 
A 3 or 4 horse OB motor mounted sideways on the bow would make a good thruster - on a swing up mount and remote controls :lol:
 
Thanks to everybody for replies. There is a very informative discussion that I found on page 6 - click on the first article on the page and look at answer from Andrew Custis on Dec 30, 2010. This forum has helped me to decide that I will buy a boat with or without a bow thruster with knowledge that it is possible (but costly) to install later if necessary.
 
I own a 1997 R21 without the thruster. Buy a good extending pole the one with the plastic hook on the end.
I have been in real tight marina's and in reverse it isn't really going to go where you want it to but you do have some control and as all say, it takes some practicing. Recently I was in position where the ramp was great but no docks. I had to drive the boat onto the trailer in a cross wind. It took me five attempts back and forth until i was inline with the rollers. The rudder is almost worthless in reverse but not unmanageable.The pole is handy so when you begin to drift into another boat (and you will) u can push off it docks etc. Six grand for a thruster??? Not me either. Have fun an take you're time. Let those guys behind you gain their patience.
 
Dave and Genny":1wie14hl said:
We purchased a 2006 EC-21 without a bow thruster in April 2011. The quote to purchase and install was $6,000. No, thank you! AND........ we get along just fine without a bow thruster!
Click to expand...

Without going into the pros and cons of a bow thruster (the C-28 has one, so I'm hardly unbiased), I would suspect that the major part of that $6K is for labor, with the thruster plus its accoutrements accounting for around $2K.

On a small craft like the R-21 a self installation should be a reasonable expectation for those with the necessary skills and tools.

I'd guess that the hardest part would be the mental preparation necessary before taking a hole-saw to the hull, (keep repeating, "measure twice, cut once......measure twice, cut once". 😉
 
Levitation":2eddm5bd said:
A 3 or 4 horse OB motor mounted sideways on the bow would make a good thruster - on a swing up mount and remote controls :lol:
Click to expand...


Not as :lol: as you think. I convinced a guy with a houseboat (single engine, lots of windage) who was having problems in a crosswind to install a small electric trolling motor on the bow. Worked like a charm. Of course his installation was a whole lot easier and he had an easy time locating the battery.

I have actually considered it on our R21-EC, not necessarily for thrusting, but for trolling and fishing along banks. The Yanmar has too much power and, even if I were to run at dead idle, carbon becomes a problem. It would also work better on the bow than on the transom since the windage on pilothouse boats tends to make them turn off the wind. (We usually anchor off the stern when fishing to overcome that.)

When you come down to it, the suggestion by doke01 is basically that idea. (Guess I should have applied for a patent, that was 8 years ago).

Another suggestion is to build a docking line like I describe in my album at:
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=31864

I have just added a description of how to use it for docking.
 
FYI I just installed a replacement stern side power thruster. The cost for the motor alone was $1490 from IMTRA. The original went bad due to warer corrosion in the aft well. I corrected this problem prior to the new installation. Jerry Geisenheimer
 
A propeller is a good investment if you often have to enter and maneuver in a narrow port with the on-surface current.
If it is not the case, for a boat of this length it is useless.
I am in Corsica (France) and to us the current and the wind of surface are very strong. Furthermore, the entrances of quay are narrow, what doubles the difficulty of accosting.
I am thus very satisfied to be able to put in ideal position my R25SC during the operation of quay !
Cordially in all
Claud' in of Corsica
 
Sidepower is in New Bedford, not far from me on Cape Cod. My buddy keeps his 33 foot Mainship trawler in my yard (using my electric!) and decided to have a bow thruster installed for around $6000. They came on time, and did it in about a day while I watched. Took two of them, but it was a highly skilled operation. He had problems in the water (shear pin going) and Sidepower was there instantly, I think the president of the company intervened and came out. They fixed everything and made sure he was happy.

Yes it was expensive, but he got what he paid for. He has refit his 30 year old Mainship with a new interior and the luxury/safety of the bow thruster was well worth it as compared to buying a new boat. Sidepower makes a great product. I'd guess his installation was around $2500 of the cost, and the job was huge. Drilling a 6" hole through his bow, doing the fiberglass tube and and mounting under his V-berth and then doing the electric hook-up... Not such a bad price when you think about it.
 
PROBLEM SOLVED
I recently bought a nice 2009 R21 EC in Anacortes and brought it to Kemah,TX. It has a bow thruster. From this discussion I decided that having one installed was not practical and I would never cut a big hole in the hull to install it myself.
 
Try "'www.yachtthruster.com" , they handle a unit from Germany that attaches to the bow or stern without using a tunnel in the hull.
 
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