Thrusters on a single sterndrive 270/280 Sundancer?

Nope! I definitely wouldn't trade in my Admiral, she is one of a kind... She turns a blind eye to all my hobbies. My HT/man cave, my movie collection, my high power rockets, my computer/gadget stuff, my home automation, my truck, my 270, and me spending a insane amount for a cruise on the "Oasis of the Seas" for the entire family this spring. The only rule I have to follow is "don't do anything that stresses her out". You can have a lot of fun keeping within that rule! :grin:
Kaoru.

Sort of sounds like a "kept man" if you know what I mean.
 
So I requested a quote from Florida Bow Thursters over the weekend, not expecting a reply til Monday, and almost immediately got a reply from Tom. :thumbsup: $7900 installed here in Ottawa; a most excellent price for two days work plus parts. According to Tom, for my LOA/weight, a Vetus BOW55 (121 lbf) is recommended which I concur since it's better to have a little more thrust than to little.

My local Sea Ray dealer hasn't gotten back to me yet with a quote, but I assume that it will several more $$K over this quote. The only downside is that I can't have the installation done at the marina due to their rules. This means I'll have to unmount my satdome, mast light, etc. and trailer the boat somewhere. It's never a perfect world.

Cheers,
Kaoru

Local guy will be $7899.
 
Sort of sounds like a "kept man" if you know what I mean.
Definitely not a "kept man" by any definition. I'm the "chief cook and bottle washer" in the family. I do the lion share of the cooking (actually almost all of it; I enjoy it), the cleaning (the heavy duty deep clean stuff), the laundry (towels, sheets, & wash-n-wear; I don't do "frilly" :lol:), the driving (I'm the chauffeur but with a "I drive; my rules" policy), the shopping (since I'm the cook and chauffeur), and the book keeping (also because I'm the cook and chauffeur). :wow: The Admiral takes care of the rest which is the kids. I consider it an even trade since I get perks and my daughters don't rob me of my sanity. Of course, I have standing offer to trade places but the Admiral hasn't taking me up on it yet... 18 years and counting. :grin:

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
The local will definitely not be cheaper. If anything it'll be times two...

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
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As Jason says, pulling it around and pulling it safely are two different things. Toyota has some of the best advertising I have ever seen when it comes to this. My 280 on my 2500 is on the border line and my truck weighs 7500 empty. I know they advertise it, but just think of the weight ratio of the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle. You have to have enough weight up front to control the weight in the rear. What tongue weight are you setting at when you are fully loaded?

My F150 has a 0.5 ratio between truck and boat, using your 7500# 2500 the ratio is 0.68. A difference of .18 doesn't necessarily mean better control or handling since it really comes down to the weight transmitted through the tires (and number of tires) on the road. In simple terms, it's how your truck and trailer is setup that is the most important for handling and control. Any truck (that has the capacity) will tow better if the trailer/tongue weight is correctly set. In the case of my F150, I require a weight distributing hitch when towing anything over 5000#. Moreover, I wouldn't attempt a tow unless my tongue weight is 10% of my load, which is 1100#, I have a weight distributing hitch, and the hitch/safety chains are rated accordingly. The rest is common sense; ties downs at bow, mid, and transom; well maintained trailer; and safe driving with plenty of lead time.

In Ontario Canada, you have the matter of MTO regulations... By this I mean that there are limits on registered gross weight (RGW), class of licence, etc. If the trailer weighs more than 6176#, the RGW for the truck's registration has to be the combined weight of both truck and trailer (actual weight transmitted to road). On top of that, if your RGW is 9920# or more, you require an annual inspection for BOTH truck and trailer. With out 1) proper registration (higher RGW means more $$), and 2) annual inspection sticker on truck/trailer, fines/seizures could result. Note that normal class "G" license is ok (in Ontario anything over ~24000# requires class "A" or "D"). Here's a link to Ontario's guide for towing... Sort of confusing because it doesn't mention boat trailers specifically. Recreational Vehicle Information for Drivers of Motor Homes, Truck Campers and House Trailers

Just an aside: Towing a heavy load usually means the speed limit is LESS than what's posted. You can be pulled over/ticketed (at least here in Ontario) for speeding while driving at posted speed. Even worse, at the discretion of the officer, you can be charged with dangerous driving if he/she believes that given the weather conditions, driving speed, size of load/tow, and not having proper safety equipment, is a danger to the public. The OPP/MTO has cracked down on such things more recently.

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
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Well, to get this thread back on track here's an update on my thruster(s) install. The good news is that I pulled the trigger on getting the bow thruster as I mention in The official 2009 270DA ~ 2010 280DA thread. The bad news is that, with all my research, I could not find a practical way of installing a stern thruster on single stern drive. Of course, it was only an exercise for my curiosity any way so not really bad news.

So... today Hurst Marina has my boat in the fibreglass shop installing the bow tunnel according to Sea Ray specs. Those specs put the tunnel under the v-berth floor and not in the v-berth storage compartment. Obviously an access hatch is being put into the floor to get at the thruster. It's kind of weird looking at your boat with a 125 diameter hole in the bow... The only issue is that they had to rip up the carpet that was glued down; I'm thinking that instead of replacing it with more carpet, to go with an hard wood floor. The jury is still out on that one.

As I mentioned in the other thread, the thruster is a Side Power SE40/125, an Optima SC34M AGM battery, Blue Sea remote battery switch (#7700), and a Blue Sea current limiting automatic charging relay (#7600). At the time I bought the parts, Side Power had a deal which for every thruster, they threw in a free wireless controller. This is a bonus for me for two reasons. One, I got a $700 wireless controller and two, I now don't have to worry about the bow getting away from me as I step away from the helm and onto the dock. If I get a gust of wind, a quick push on the remote and voila the thruster rectifies the problem. It's a little piece of mind for free.

Hopefully, I'll have pics of the install...

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
Best of luck. I'm sure you will enjoy the thruster.
 
Just curious about the pricing you were quoted on a 2010 310 with Axius? I recently purchased one almost fully loaded (a/c, seacore, gen, gill, dual tv, etc) and was Curious what someone else thought was a good deal on the boat. (Of course, I bought mine in May of 2011 and the boat had sat for at least a year on the lot). Would be nice to have some reassurance I got a good deal. I actually upgraded from your exact same boat. Same year and everything...like you I just got tired of the stress of the single screw and no thruster. Plus, I have to admit it's nice being able to use the rest room without having to have the bathroom door open for legroom. :) Mainly though it was the Axius that sold me. It wasn't worth the stress. Plus I was able to sell my 270 at about a 10k loss. SUCKS...I knew I'd lose. Not to bad all things considered. Oh I I wish I could have stretched for the 330. :) :) Anyway...just curious...good luck with the thruster....I think it will make a world of difference!!
 
Just curious about the pricing you were quoted on a 2010 310 with Axius? I recently purchased one almost fully loaded (a/c, seacore, gen, gill, dual tv, etc) and was Curious what someone else thought was a good deal on the boat. (Of course, I bought mine in May of 2011 and the boat had sat for at least a year on the lot). Would be nice to have some reassurance I got a good deal. I actually upgraded from your exact same boat. Same year and everything...like you I just got tired of the stress of the single screw and no thruster. Plus, I have to admit it's nice being able to use the rest room without having to have the bathroom door open for legroom. :) Mainly though it was the Axius that sold me. It wasn't worth the stress. Plus I was able to sell my 270 at about a 10k loss. SUCKS...I knew I'd lose. Not to bad all things considered. Oh I I wish I could have stretched for the 330. :) :) Anyway...just curious...good luck with the thruster....I think it will make a world of difference!!

When I explored moving up to a 310, the quote I got was based on my trade (my 270). I would have taken a $30K hit on the original price AND lose the $$ I put in for upgrades (radar, etc. but not the thruster) which weighs in at about $15K. A $30K loss plus the cost of the upgrade plus $15K more to get the same gadgets, it wasn't worth it. It was better for me to foot the bill for a thruster and wait until the market price comes back up. I can sell my 270 privately and not take such a large loss. From my experience, it sounds like you got a great deal...

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
As promised, here are some pics of my bow thruster install.
IMG_1067.jpg

Here is the bow thruster in the space located at the v-berth. I don't have pictures of the tunnel (from the outside) since the boat is already in the water. I'm currently waiting on some hidden hinges and gas lift bars to complete the hatch.

IMG_1068.jpg

Here is a close up of the thruster, notice the AGM battery, the remote battery switch, bus bar, and controller. The ACR is located in the bilge and allow 60 amps across to charge the battery from the house battery; which is another AGM battery (but way bigger; had the original house battery replaced). In a pinch, I can combine the batteries in a emergency allowing 120 amps to burst across (before the current limiter kicks in). This setup saved me $$ (both parts & labour) on the extremely large gauge cables needed for the thruster as you can see from the pic.

IMG_1072.jpg

The controls; both a wireless remote control and helm control. Not pictured is the remote battery rocker and ACR rocker controls.

DSC_0528.jpg

Here is a pic of the thruster in action...

Cheers,
Kaoru
 
Enjoy!!
 
Looks like they did a great job. How is it performing for you? Does it handle better in windy situations? Do you feel more confident with the thruster?

Thanks for sharing.
 
After seeing this install, this is exactly what I want done. I didn't want to give up my v-berth compartment. What a great install!!!.

It sure would have been nice if Sea Ray had finished that area off for more storage though.
 
Last week, the bow thruster was installed. I had some boat time with it this week. WHAT A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE! Using the bow thruster alone, I would guess the center of the boat rotates around a pivot that is is about 6 feet forward of the after end of the swim platform. I can practically walk the boat sideways now with little to no forward movement using the engine and the bow thruster. Because I boat often boat alone in river current, I possibly see a remote control in my future.

I'm looking forward to more docking now!
 
Last week, the bow thruster was installed. ... Because I boat often boat alone in river current, I possibly see a remote control in my future.

I'm looking forward to more docking now!

Glad to hear... I'm always using my remote. Which thruster did you get? If its a SidePower then the remote is an easy install...

Cheers
Kaoru
 
Sorry for the delayed response. I purchased a Vetus 5512 from Florida Bow Thrusters. Details below:

Florida Bow Thrusters did a great job. There were a few issues, but they made them right - thus proving they are a great provider. The Vetus control failed, and FBT installed a new one on a trip about 3 weeks after I reported the failure. At the time of the repair, I had them install the remote control. I would recommend their service.

FBT installed a Vetus 5512. That has around 55 kgf or around 120 pounds of thrust. It did not require an additional battery. When the bow thruster is operating, all the electronics have enough voltage to keep operating fine. I was a bit worried about that!

The bow thruster really moves the bow around!

I now have a greater margin for safely docking in the wind, current, and sometimes tight conditions of the Ohio river.
 
I'd like to hear from you later, when your confidance is higher due to having the thruster. My bet is useage will taper off dramatically as confidance goes up, as GFC was eluding to. I'm NOT being a smarty pants, just an observation. Most people lack confidance, but don't realize it.....untill they get a crutch.

Nice install BTW.
 
Yeah docking can be a "exciting event" sometimes. Have you considered keeping your boat in a more friendly slip? I have seen people use 2" X 6" cheater boards strung accross their piles to help them get into the slip and not hit the neighbors.

Can you elaborate on the setup of the "cheater boards" ?

-Rocco
 
i'm having mine installed in one month by Florida Bow Thrusters. after reading these posts, i'm really glad i made the decision. while i can get where i need to with my twins, i'm hoping this addition just makes things easier.
 
Can you elaborate on the setup of the "cheater boards" ?

-Rocco

Its a variation on the use of a fender board. A fender board is a board with lines on each end. You hang a fore and aft fenders, and then drop the fender board across the fenders. That way the fender board contacts the pilings, or a sea wall made out of corrugated caisson steel. GLP is suggesting that if you are in a slip where there are pilings, to hang a board between them.

Henry
 

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