Bow Thruster Instalation

[Brian Degulis]

We will be hauling our 61' MY for a bottom job and to get the tube put in for a bow thruster. I got a Vetus 11" unit I'm planing to have the yard put in the tube and mount the unit and I'm going to put in the battery bank and wire it. Any tips from those that have done this or had it done would be apreciated.

Brian

 

[captddis]

I did a 61 in 99. I used a 10 hp Wesmar with a 12 " tube. It was a lot of work. The shelf in the fwd compartment had to be cut back and the two Galley Maid motor/pumps had to be pushed aft. Doing the seperate batt bank is the way to go. I used the 24 volt unit connected to the 32v banks. [ with Wesmars blessing] However even using both 32 banks, the systems monitor goes off from low voltage when using the thruster. Running the 4/0 cable was fun too. The Vetus units seem to have more thrust than the Wesmars. The 11hp will work great. Dave

 

[Brian Degulis]

That's funny I just got done removing those two gally maid pumps and cutting a section of shelf away on both sides. I'm hoping that the tube can be set low enough to allow the shelf to be put back together with the pumps in the original position?

Brian

 

[mississippi river rat]

Hi Brian. I Installed The Thruster In The Sea Ranger. Call Me If You Have Ouestions .
George Richter 305 289 0271

 

[Brian Degulis]

Hello George Hope you and your wife are well shoot an email to trainman484848@aol.com and let me know what your up to. I can give you the poop on the DRIFTWOOD also.

Brian

 

[cjd]

How to Install Bow Thrusters was the topic on "Ship Shape" this past week end. You should check it out. Pretty cool how they were installed.
Good Luck
CJ

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Was that the one where they installed a 3/4" guide arbor and made the cutout with a die grinder? Thats ingenuity! Now if that guy would quit suiting up to mix a spoonful of epoxy it would seem less like a BOB VILA production LOL. ws

 

[Diver Down]

Brian,
We had the same Vetus unit installed in our 58YF last June and are very pleased with how responsive it is. The installers (from FL Bow Thrusters) expected it to work well because of how deep and forward they were able locate the tube. On the attached pic you will see that the tube is forward of the bow drain.

 

[Brian Degulis]

Brian,
We had the same Vetus unit installed in our 58YF last June and are very pleased with how responsive it is. The installers (from FL Bow Thrusters) expected it to work well because of how deep and forward they were able locate the tube. On the attached pic you will see that the tube is forward of the bow drain.

Is your a 9" or 11" tube?

Brian

 

[Diver Down]

Brian,
I believe the tunnel is 10" I.D. and I'm fairly certain they used a 10.5 inch hole saw (with a very long pilot bit).

Michael Ewing
Southern Comfort, 1977 58YF
Chesapeake, VA

 

[Brian Degulis]

I think vetus goes from 9" ID tube to 11" ID tube so if yours required a 10.5" hole it's proubably 9" ID. I'm glad to here it works well I'm hoping that the larger unit will kick but hate to have one that's to small.

Brian

 

[mississippi river rat]

hey brian. driftwood had a 10 inch. it was the biggest vetus had at that time.but cutting the hole is tricky.like they say read the instrutions twice cut once. because of the angles a hole saw won"t work. will catch up on email latter. GEORGE.

 

[Brian Degulis]

Driftwood is 9 7/8" which is one size down from the biggest electric they make today which is 11 13/16. I even wanted to get the 48V model cause it has a little more power but it wasn't available in the US.

Brian

 

[Diver Down]

The hole saw was impressive! The installers drilled about two-thirds through on one side and then moved to the other side where they made a complete cut. Then, back to the first side and finished the hole with a reciprocating saw. The drilling operation took less than one hour. The hull in this location was about 5/8 inch thick. I confirmed that my unit does have the 9 7/8 inch ID tunnel. Brian, you'll be surprised at how easy that larger thruster will turn your boat.

 

[Brian Degulis]

Mine will end up in about the same spot. I had a 55' with the 9" unit and it worked very well. Vetus actually recomended that unit for this boat I'm sure it would have worked well. But this is one of the many things where bigger is better.

Brian

 

[34Hatt]

Was that the one where they installed a 3/4" guide arbor and made the cutout with a die grinder? Thats ingenuity! Now if that guy would quit suiting up to mix a spoonful of epoxy it would seem less like a BOB VILA production LOL. ws

Didn't see that show but that is how I did one 3 years ago. Did it with a rod and made a bracket to hold my roto zip worked like a charm. It was on a Albin 36 fun part was spending 3 hrs in the front hole glassing the tube in. I had a hard time walking when I first got out!!!