Thruster remote control

[Dahveed]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of buying a 2013 R-31CB. During the survey sea trial, the thrusters worked from the lower helm station, but they didn't work from the remote. The current owner stated the batteries were likely dead in the remote. The boat is now back on the hard and she has replaced the remote batteries. She says the thrusters will only work with the engine on and so the remote cannot be tested until it's back in the water.

Is this correct? If so can it be tested another way while on the hard?

The remote control aspect of this is important to be as I will be single handing the boat.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dcsqatar]

I have a 2020 R29S so not sure how relevant my comments are. Having said that, my thrusters can be used without the engine running. Also on my model there is a dash switch that must be turned on in order to use the thruster remote. Good Luck!

 

[Ralf H]

Hi there,

You don't need to have the boat in the water to test the thrusters. That is a separate system, running off of a separate battery. It has its own rotary switch. The only thing you may need to do, if it does not initially work, is to re-pair the remote with the receiver. Can't give you exact instructions, as I don't know which exact remote you have, but you should easily be able to find a manual for it online if the current owner doesn't have the original. Just make sure everyone has their fingers clear when you test. 😉

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Ralf

 

[YukonRon]

On both our past R25 and our current R29 we had remotes that were damaged because the batteries were left in during the storage and sale process. The battery contacts were corroded beyond repair in one, and the other I was able to repair with some soldering. Check and clean those battery contacts periodically, and make sure you remove all remote batteries for winter storage.

 

[F Farkel]

Assuming it has the same setup at my 2013 R29, you need to confirm the accessory switch #2 is on. You can find it next to the wiper switches. It took me 2 weeks to find it when I bought the boat in 2019. And I changed the remote batteries too.
Also I recommend while setting up to dock the boat, test thruster operation by the remote. Don't ask how I figured this out. 😱

 

[jimv]

The engine should not need to be running to run the thrusters,

One word of caution however if testing them with the boat on the hard -
According to Side-Power:

With the boat on land, only run the thruster for a fraction of a second, as without resistance it will accelerate very fast to a damaging
rpm. Also, while the thruster is in air, make sure to avoid direction changes while the thruster is still running, as it might cause
damage to the thruster.

Hope your purchase goes well and welcome to the RT family!

~Jim