The Vetus Bow Thruster

[AlMar]

Russ (new owner) and I got to communicating locally, and the subject of Bow Thrusters came up. Has anyone had any problems with the Vetus? Is there a need for regular maintenance? Personally, I change the shear pin whenever I pull it, but haven't done any real "service" to it. Recommendations?
AlMar

[Mariner]

We've only had ours one year, but haven't done anything. They should be essentially maintenance free save for replacing zincs if required.

[Denis]

Can anyone tell me where the zinks are on the bow thruster?
My manual mentions one but doesn't show where it is. I e-mailed Vetus and they never replied.
The only problem I had with mine was that the brushes were getting hung up in the housing. After moving the wires that feed them everything worked fine after that.

[chiefrcd]

I have a Side Power thruster and the zinc is on the outside in front of the propeller. I have seen other boats where the zinc is missing (used up) and only the screw was left. On mine there is also a oil reservoir under the v-berth which supplies oil via a small plastic hose. I'd check to see if Vetus has that as well. I will add, my AC is under the v-berth and the previous owner had no filter at the intake. The entire compartment was filthy with dust and dirt. My bow thruster had to be replaced and I have since placed a filter over the intake opening to catch as much dirt as possible.

[furma2n]

I have the Vetus thruster on my 36........I had a major problem with the wires overheating due to corrosion at the contacts. Almost had a fire, as Albin did not put either a switch or circuit breaker in the thruster circuit. You will want to take off the cover and check those contacts regularly to keep them clean.

The zinc is located on the bottom of the unit if I recall correctly.........the yard changed mine last spring, but the boat has not been out of the water since then.

The Vetus manual also recommends changing the oil yearly.............I did not know this until I was researching the wiring problem, and the oil drain is in the gearbox under water, so I will change it when the boat is pulled for the winter in a few weeks.

Thanks for the tip about the air filter.........I will also check this out soon.

[Russell]

The Vetus manual is a bit confusing because it covers all models. I have the 23 kgf and the manual first states that the tail stock is permanently lubricated. Then it says to check the oil and change if it is black or smells bad. It holds 0.2 liters of something undecipherable in Dutch. The previous owner wrote in "no reservoir" making me think the oil change applies to the other models. The brushes are also supposed to be replaced periodically. The BP129 zinc for the 23kgf screws in the bottom and is availble at go to marine as well as other chandleries: http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=89250F
Fairly expensive for such a small zinc.
If anyone knows if the 23 kgf has a n oil reservoir, please post.
Thanks,
Russ

[SpaceCoaster]

I have the vetus thruster on my 28. Although my post here is not directly related to regular maintenance of the thruster, it's probably worth covering since I caused avoidable damage to the thruster on my Albin. I want to share my experience here so others may avoid my mistake.

In any case, I noticed one day that the thruster was dead. All I heard was a clicking noise from the area where the motor is located, but the prop didn't appear to be turning. After some discussion with the guys at Florida Bowthruster we determined that I'd burned up the solenoid in the thruster. The vetus I have has a solenoid of some sort that is relatively expensive to replace; somewhere in the $335 range for just the part (part no BP94 for my unit).

The following is what the tech at FL Bowthrusters told me:

"What causes the solenoids to burn is low voltage. When the batteries are low the contact points do not close and open correctly and they burn and arc. When this happens they either weld shut and stay on, don't work or they click and can't make contact due to burnt points."

Moral of the story... Always make sure to keep up with the health of your batteries. Especially the one that powers your thruster.

If this happens and you attempt to repair/replace the unit yourself, I was further advised...

"There is a way we can check the solenoid which is to take it apart and check the contact points. If you remove a solenoid take pictures of it. I have a lot of people who remove them and try to put them back together and they cause more damage."

BTW... the guys at Florida Bowthrusters (www.floridabowthrusters.com)
seem like very capable folks. Although they've not done any direct work for me, I've visited their shop and have talked to their technicians. They appear to run a top-notch operation. I wouldn't hesitate to call them if I needed something.

Jorge

[Veebyes2]

Owning a boat that is now over 10 years old I have had my share of thruster problems.

When I purchased the boat at 4 years old I noticed that there was no zinc on it. In fact the zinc holder/plug was barely hand tight which let water into the gearcase of the thruster.

I thoroughly flushed it & got a couple more years out of it. Next came a failure of the control panel, the button type. Replaced that with a joystick type. Early in the season after that the brushes went. It took no small amount of effort to find replacement brushes from the Vetus HQ near Baltimore.

Went a whole season without use of the thruster. During winter layup new brushes were installed. Two weeks after launch is when the gearcase finally packed up. Another season, no thruster use. Should post a pic of that. It ain't pretty.

Bought new gearcase & installed it myself. Next season was troublefree. It seems to eat zincs. Very expensive. This year, mid season operation has become intermittent in one direction. Grrrrrrrr! Suspect a loose wire somewhere.

Good thing I have taught myself not to rely on the bow thruster. I do all my docking etc. on the assumption that the thruster will NOT work.

[gerygarcia]

Two years ago my bow thruster went dead.
My mechanic took a look at it and told me the wiring to the thruster was not up to the Vetus specifications causing the thruster to overheat.

I guess Albin did not use the correct gauge needed for the operation of the thruster. They do take up alot of juice from the battery when I do use it. Perhaps Albin has remedied this since our 28 is a 1994 model.

After replacing the wiring to a much heavier duty gauge, I have not had a problem with the thruster since. If anyone is interested, I will ask what gauge they used.

I did not know about the zincs needing to be replaced, since I never saw any when I first inspected our boat when we bought it. This seasons haulout, I will ask them to do so.

Thanks for the info!

Gery

[Denis]

Garygarcia, if you can, let me know what gauge wire they used to your thruster. I have a 94 also and want to find out if my wire is good or not. I don't have any trouble with it but but will change the wire if I need to. I also took a close look now that the boat is out of the water. I can't see any place for a zinc to go on the Vetus I have installed. Could it be that they grounded it in some way that it doesn't need one?

[Veebyes2]

Which one did they put in the 28s? My 96 32 has a BOW7512, I think, 2kg/hp. The zinc attatches to the bottom of the oil drain plug.

The Vetus zinc is hellishly expensive, about $20. Ive been using halves of small rudder zincs. No noticable difference in zinc wear or thruster performance.

[gerygarcia]

Denis

I must be going mad or the paperwork at the shop says they only replaced a fuse and cleaned the wiring connections. If that's the case, I guess it's just a maintenance thing. I have to dig up my files and records later tonight to look at what they actually did (and I paid for). I spoke to the mechanic and he can't remember the conversation we had about the bow thruster wiring being not up to spec. Maybe he or I am going senile!
Funny, my wife and I spoke about it and she remembers the bow thruster dillema we had and the wire gauge not being up to spec. Go figure...

Next time I am physically on the boat during the day I will inspect the wiring myself and tell you what I can (It will probably be this coming weekend).

Gery

[Denis]

Thanks , but don't drive yourself to drink over it. It's obvious that you and your wife are much more concerned about it than the mechanic is.
The Vetus unit I have installed is a 23 KGF. I don't see any place to drain any oil and I dont' see a spot for a zinc!
Appreciate your help.

[Veebyes2]

I have a 2004 Vetus catalogue. There is no 23kgf shown there. There are no zincs shown on any of the smaller models. The large ones have zincs on the prop shaft.

[JackK]

I have a 2003 28 with Vetus Bow Thruster.

The zinc is behind the prop. I was told to change it annually. The zinc is proprietary (meaning - expensive $39.50). I bought it from Standish (Albin Dealer) and it is in Vetus Packaging.

To get to the zinc ..

(1) Use a piece of wood (a piece of 1" x 1" worked good) to prevent the prop from spinning. I used a screwdriver just once, got the marks on the prop to prove it wasn't a good idea.

(2) Remove the nut on the front of the prop.

(3) Using same piece of 1 by, gently tap on the edge of the prop from the side opposite the nut. Move the block around the prop to wiggle it free. The prop doesn't slide off easily but it does slowly come off.

(4) The zinc is visible once the prop is out of the way. Two screws hold it in place. I bottom coat the tunnel at this point. It's easier to get in there and also keep paint off the plastic prop.

(5) Tap the prop back on and sock down the nut.


I have zero mechanical abilities and even I can do this one myself.

Jack