T&T: Bow thruster price

[C. Marin Faure]

 >I am thinking of having a bow thruster put on my new to me 44'  
trawler.


Having run a boat with an electric bow thruster (single engine GB36)  
I can tell you that you will want a thruster with more than the  
"minimum" power.  In this area (PNW) where one is often fighting  
strong currents as well as wind while maneuvering to or from a dock,  
a minimal bow thruster doesn't cut it.  There were often times when  
we wished the thruster had more power (I believe it was a Vetus unit  
but this was a charter boat so we didn't become all that familiar  
with the systems) and there were times when, because of its minimal  
thrust against currents and wind we needed to run it longer than the  
recommended burst of five seconds or whatever the limitation was.   
This was in the late 1990s so I imagine thruster technology has  
changed somewhat since then.  So perhaps the time-per-burst  
limitations are no longer a factor.  But if they are, don't buy a  
unit that has a run time limitation unless you know the boating you  
will be doing will not involve moving the bow against strong currents  
or winds.

Personally, I believe that bow thrusters are like the engines in the  
floatplanes I fly--- there's no such thing as too much power.   Of  
course there are size and cost limitations, but you get the idea.  If  
you're going to depend on your thruster, don't skimp on it.

Someone else has mentioned a stern thruster.  I can see where these  
could be handy for maneuvering up to or away from a dock, and their  
ease of installation reduces the cost considerably over a bow  
thruster.  There is even a stern thruster made (or marketed) here  
under the Cap Sante name that is designed specifically for trawlers  
like GBs and the like with very shallow-draft transoms.  However.....  
if what you are up against are strong currents and winds, I believe  
you're much better off with a bow thruster.  You can accomplish what  
the stern thruster does with prop thrust, the rudder, and inertia  
regardless of whether you have one or two engines.  But the only way  
to move the bow sideways is with a bow thruster (or a rope).  While  
we have a twin now which somewhat cancels out the benefit of a bow  
thruster, there have been a number of times, all due to adverse winds  
and currents while docking, that a bow thruster would have made life  
a lot easier.  I have never felt a stern thruster would have been of  
any value in these situations.  The challenge has never been moving  
the stern around--- that's easy, single or twin.  It's moving the bow  
when things get dicey.


____________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington