Stern Thruster repair

[Sine Wave]

I was wondering if anyone out there has repaired a sealed Stern Thruster. It appears that the controller in mine has taken a dump. I want to make the Get-together at the end of this month in Palm Harbor but I am a little worried about going without my thrusters working. I doubt that I could remove it, send it the Mass, have it repaired and reinstalled in the amount of time that I have available. If so, what is the cost of the controller and was there any problem with re-sealing the unit? By the way, I am 90% sure that the problem is in the sealed unit as I have made the suggested tests.

Sine Wave
Wayne Cameron
N. Ft. Myers, FL

 

[Levitation]

A factory person is supposed to be at the 2nd annual gathering.
Come on to the meeting and we will ready to help if you need it.
It is a straight shot in from the intercoastal to the fuel dock and we can hand walk you from there if necessary.
If you are trailering in, we can look at it on the trailer.
Or you can get a lift truck to drop you in and hand walk you to the slip.
Lots of solutions - don't worry, be happy, mon
Perhaps one of the brain trust will be able to verify the defect and maybe even repair.

 

[Levitation]

Second thought - Have the factory ship you the parts and bring them with you.

 

[knotflying]

Yes, there will be plenty of dock hands to bring you in and many able and willing mechanics available to work on your boat. Don't let a thruster issue stop you. And perhaps the rep from Imtra can give a few pointers.

 

[Dale777]

Sine Wave,

Last winter when several Ranger Tugs were at Palm Island Marina, I broke the shear pin on my bow thruster as I was attempting to do a 180 degree turn in the narrow channel at the entrance to Palm Island Marina, as the dock master asked my to hold in the channel. With high winds and waves, I mistakenly tried to use my thrusters to help make a really tight 180 turn - bad mistake. With the thruster running and bow bouncing completely out of the water 2-3 times during the turn, the shear pin broke. I was very concerned with docking stern-in without my bow thruster, but there was no problem with all the dock hands and tugnut friends helping out. Same was true on departure.

So, if you arrive by water, just radio ahead and I'm sure you will get lots of assistance.

Also, there is a topic on this site about accessing and repairing both the bow and stern thrusters:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2013&p=18509#p18509

 

[commander bill]

My 2008 R25 had the sealed thruster which failed after 4 years. It started runnning anytime battery switch was turned on. Wefings removed the motor (about 1+ hours removal/reinstall each time) and shipped it back to the vendor. Total cost was about $1200 (half for vendor, other half was labor). After watching Dominac remove it I would say it is not a difficult job for someone younger and more agile than myself. However, it would have been a big job for me. Motor removes from inside and passes up near rudder behind sewer tank. No equipment had to be removed to take out the motor. Just disconnect wiring and use of allen wrenches is all needed. Took about 3-4 weeks for turnaround on rebuild. Mine had failed during a time of extreme moisture/condensate collecting on that part of boat. I was staying in boat in Florida and had left thruster battery switch ON overnight when it woke me starting and stopping. We never did completely find problem but vendor said motor was wet inside. I still have strong feelings that the problem may have been due to condensation collecting on the 4 pin connector which connects motor to the forward controls but that is only a feeling. It has been 12 months since repairs & I have yet to experience the same high humidity conditions again.

 

[sleepyboat]

After some extremely heavy rain two summers ago (Newbury Ma.), I was coming down river and starting to go under the only bridge on the river, when my rear thruster came on unannounced. It was very interesting keeping the boat going in the right direction and not coming in contact with the bridge supports. Turning the thruster on and operating did not help initially but it finally shut down after a minute but went on and off a few more times. It turned out that the water tight connector feeding the thruster, wasn’t and it had gotten damp from all the rain. Peter in Salem, Ma corrected the problem. I try (although difficult) to leave the rear locker and battery hatches open as much as possible to get some fresh air in and moisture out.

John DeCaro
Sallison R 27 (2011)

 

[Sine Wave]

I want to thank everyone who replied. I find it hard to believe that moisture alone can get into what is supposed to be an air tight container. These sealed units are supposed to have been designed to be explosion resistant for gasoline powered engines. I have tested everything I could and also have taken a hair dryer to the connector which feeds the motor but still have a problem. Has anyone repaired one of these "sealed" units without returning it to the factory?

Sine Wave
N. Ft. Myers, FL
Wayne Cameron