Search the Community

We bought our boat with a non-working Nobels bowthruster which we are now trying to get working - there are some mysteries I need to solve. Apologies for length of description here I recall vaguely that the previous owner said the charging was rubbish (2 x battery at front charged via 60ft of cable from back) and they had not bothered replacing batteries when they died. But he said he turned the motor manually every now and again to check it wasn't seized (no idea if this was true). When we viewed the boat he took a domestic battery and tried to operate the bowthruster. It grunted a bit but wouldn't do much - sounded like the battery was being flattened trying. So we agreed we'd buy the boat as having no bowthruster - it wasn't a priority. He removed the old dead batteries before we took the boat - presumably for scrap. We've not investigated anything since - 2.5 years. We can't contact the previous owner. We have the boat in dock this week and have decided to see if we can get the bowthruster working. (if the unit is working then we'll improve the charging system with a charging unit near the front of boat, and invest in new batteries) With the help of a friendly local electrics-savvy chap at Hawne Basin we have managed to discover the following: Motor turns as does impeller - nothing seems seized. Good news, as we should be able to do any repair work while back in the water so no rush this week. From the control panel with ignition on, the motor will operate left but not right. I suspect a dodgy connection. Next step is to go through and check/improve all contacts, as some of the 'chocolate block' connections are decidedly iffy. Is there any other reason this might be happening ? Anything specific I should be looking for? Big mystery - the chain is disconnected (see pic below). It has two bits of wire tied round it to stop it dropping completely into the oil bath. Why would someone have done this? Would it be to stop it seizing up dry when not in use? Is there any other reason? I am very confused. When we pull on the chain in either direction the impeller turns, but we've not done full rotations because of the wire. Also not connected chain to motor yet. All thoughts gratefully received!