A27- Bow Thruster

[Jeremyvmd]

I watched a bunch of vids and did some reading last night (insomnia + boredom = finding the end of the Internet) and I've seen jigsaws, monster hole saws (crazy looking things) and routers used to cut the hole after marking it.

[JT48348]

Me too! The giant two foot hole saw appears to be a custom contraption you have to have made and costs $$$. That would be an awesome addition to my tool chest.

Seems like a great item to rent...if only

[sail149]

Hers some photos to throw in the mix.
The build up in front of the tube is deliberate and it there for hydrodynamic reasons.
They did a good job of getting the tube very low in the hull( lower than dons)
The inside is of course without the motor but you can see the extensive wiring etc involved.
My install has a seperate battery, just Fwd, of the thruster. I assume its a good idea , low line losses etc.
They used full size battery cable to feed charging to the battery, maybe overkill .
I think a $30 sawzall from harbor ft could do the whole job.

[Jay Knoll]

My install has a seperate battery, just Fwd, of the thruster. I assume its a good idea , low line losses etc.
They used full size battery cable to feed charging to the battery, maybe overkill .

Sounds like they knew what they were doing; I was in a marine electric wiring class years ago when a "I know it all type" in the audience pontificated that the instructor was full of it because he recommended full size cabling running to the forward battery which was, in this instance, powering a windlass. He insisted that some "good heavy wire" would be suffice because you would only be trickle charging the battery and the current flow wouldn't be great.

The instructor patiently described the situation where a low state of charge in the battery, coupled with a heavy draw would mean that the alternator would be putting out its max potential overloading the circuit and potentially causing a fire. The know it all wasn't convinced, I wonder if his boat is still floating.

[sail149]

Thanks Jay
That makes me feel good about the install.( I did like the install already just a little annoyed by the rusted steel parts in the motors!)
I did also wonder if back feeding from the thruster battery to start the engine in emergency would be possible , this would of course require appropriate wiring.

[Beta Don]

The kit comes with excellent instructions

You carefully measure both sides and drill a small hole (1/4 in my case) and use a home made jig to mark the hole

Cut it 1/4 or so smaller than the tube because the angle of the cut will be all wrong and then carefully enlarge the hole with a sanding drum in a drill or a high speed air tool (Harbor Freight $20 in my case). The finished hole needn't match the tube perfectly all around, but take your time & get it as close as you can

Don

[JT48348]

Thanks all for the pics and information. This looks like a project to consider