Had a big hole cut in my boat yesterday!!!

Nice install! I would have liked one last Friday when I was backing into a tight space with a river flow from the port side wanting to punch me down river. Now pulpits on my left and boats on my right. A few thruster bumps would have made it more comfortable!
 
Love my bowthruster! In fact it was a prerequisite to buying my 450. You just need to get used to the snide comments of the jealous mob. "Sissy stick" is my favorite remark, but I could not hear the rest over the sound of the bowthruster swinging the boat around.

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I mean it's a tool...right? I like to use tools to make my life easier.

I could run 10 screws into a board with a manual screwdriver but I prefer to pick up my cordless drill.
 
Quint4 said:
I mean it's a tool...right? I like to use tools to make my life easier.

I could run 10 screws into a board with a manual screwdriver but I prefer to pick up my cordless drill.
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Sure is the most expensive tool I ever bought...:smt101
 
Not in my budget but I would like to have one on my boat (it is a sail in a cross wind).
 
Congrat's ! We went the first season with our 450 without one. The first winter I had the boat hauled and a bow thruster installed, 10-inch tube with a 10 horsepower Side Power, joy stick and remote control. It was 8.5 years ago and it was around $12k. I have not regretted it for a second. I single hand the boat quite often and docking by yourself is a piece of cake under most circumstances....

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Love my bow thruster. Congrats on your install. It is a great tool.


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I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but after having our boat with the bow thruster for 6+ years, this year I discovered a new use for it....

When we're coming into the locks or approaching a dock, I am coming in at an angle. I used to use the props to adjust that angle and that meant a change in the speed, which some times was not a desired effect.

I found out this spring when entering a lock that I can tweak the thruster to move the bow just a couple of degrees. That changes my approach angle to the wall/dock without changing the approach speed. It makes docking and locking much easier.

Another tip--get the remote control for the thruster that you wear around your neck. Having that means you don't have to take your eyes off where you're headed to find and use the joystick. I hold the remote in one hand and use the shifters with the other. Eeesy Peesy.
 
Stee6043 said:
I had second thoughts about cutting a hole in my cockpit for a speaker. The thought of a project like this would give me an ulcer! Very cool though. Looks like a quality job. Thanks for sharing the pics!
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I think I have an ulcer just looking at the pics of this job. I don't think I would relax until it's been in the water without leaks for several months. Maybe I'm just not the right person to ever cut a big hole in my boat!
 
I'm boat shopping now, and I'd really like to get one with a bow thruster. If I find a really nice one that doesn't have a thruster I may be reaching out to you to get info about your installers.
I dock alongside my bulkhead, and most times there is never a problem, but if the afternoon wind blows out of the east at 20 mph, it is sometimes a challenge to get the boat against the bulkhead and hold it there until I can get the lines. A bow thruster would make life a lot easier on those days.
 
Congrats on the install! It has been the best addition we have ever done. We boat where there are a lot of boats and sometimes docking is tight and it's so useful, especially when windy or a fast current. We had the same folk install ours, did a great job although they nicked a water line but they did pay to have it fixed. BTW, you do get used to all the jealous comments.....eventually:)
 
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mnm99 said:
loss of Docking skills? OKAY.. I have pretty decent south winds by me that keep a lot of people from not going out during the season. I wanted not to worry as much when coming home and the winds picked up by 15-20mph.. It is not a something that I needed, It's something that I wanted!
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It's never about Need but always want.
My thought was would I spend that kind of money on a thruster for a 340 with twins. First thought was no.
Then I went back to my #1 rule. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Your boat your money GO FOR IT.
 
It amazes me when people talk bad about what someone does with their own money. good for you, I boat in almost every condition and even on my "little boat" I've considered it. I dock beam to current and wind all the time and have a light weight bow that gets pushed easily. I can only counter that with speed and sometimes the wife can only move so fast with the lines.
 
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