bow thruster shear pin??

[g.spier]

I think my shear pin broke for Vetus bow thruster because of lack of use and barnacle growth. Can it be replace while boat is in the water or does it need to be hauled??? I was thinking about doing the, bring boat on beach routine and repairing at low tide???

[Mariner]

I'm not familiar with it, but I would imagine it can be done in the water with a mask and snorkel. It might actually be preferable to sitting in the mud to do it.

If you do beach your boat, be careful to do something to keep it level. I've seen well-intentioned boat owners create an environmental disaster by beaching their boats and spilling diesel fuel out of the tank vents. I once spent three hours on a Saturday holding buckets under a tank vent because I misjudged the tide and let the boat go dry at the dock.

[JackK]

There is a thread here somewhere about replacing the pin.

The shear pin is located at the junction of the motor and the drive gears. You remove the hex head screws from the top of the motor and lift it up. The shear pin is on the coupler at the bottom of the motor. No need to go swimming except to remove the barnacles. Rotate the coupler by hand before you replace the motor to ensure things rotate freely. You don't want to snap another pin when you hit the switch.

On my unit the wiring is too tight. I must disconnect the cables and then lift the motor. Make sure you label all of the connections before you disconnect anything.

Jack

[JackK]

Just noticed we are both in Portsmouth, RI. I'm at Brewer's Sakonnet. If you have any problems send me a msg.

Here's the original post about shear pins -

viewtopic.php?t=556

Jack

[Pitou]

Replacing the break pin on the 55 kgf is done from inside the boat. Been there. 1st remove the 2 bolts holding the electric motor to the intermediate flange. Lift the motor complete from the flange. Remove the retainer clamp from the motor axle and replace the break (shear) pin. Reassemble. Be sure everything is lined up. Always turn off or better yet disconnect your batteries.

Make sure you didn't just lose your prop from someone not tightening the prop nut when the zinc / anode was replaced. That's what happened to me and "I thought" I broke the break pin. Mine sounded as if the motor was spinning free and I assumed. I learned more about my bow thruster than necessary at the time. If you do not have a manual on your thruster get one from VETUS. The link will bring you to their homepage / dealers, manuals online, etc.

http://www.vetus.nl/en/index.php[/quote]

[RicM]

I snapped my shear pin by reversing thrust before the prop had stopped spinning. You (I) (hopefully) only do that once. The thing I didn't do was mark the motor body when I removed it from the housing. The bolts that hold the motor down are small diameter and the threaded openings relatively narrow and unforgiving. Use a marker or scratch a line across the joint between the motor body and the housing. This will make it much easier when lining things up on the reassembly.

[JackK]

You bring up a big point Ric. Make sure you wait a second or two before switching directions on the thruster. The drive mechanism is like a flat blade screwdriver into a slot. If you keep stressing this joint by reversing direction, the spade will weaken and break.

Mine broke in the 2nd season and Vetus claimed it was from exactly what Ric described. Luckily, I had sent a letter to the dealer informing him of excessive grinding noises. Being a standup outfit, they agreed to cover most of the costs. If I had to pay the whole tab it was in the range of $1,400.

Vetus makes a new control that has a built in delay timer to prevent you from making this mistake.

Jack