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bow thruster or not?


Bobgrif

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Never had one on any of our narrow boats but at that time they were rare anyway. After buying our barge in Belgium I realised that almost every cruiser had one and the big commercials had really powerful ones. Some of the commercials had a type that dropped down under the bows and could be turned through 360 degrees. I watched a 55m reverse over 3 Klm  through 2 lift bridges-using one of these most impressive.

I also saw 30 ft cruisers who actually steered by bow thrusters and an English owned 22m barge moored up because the bow thruster was broken and he wouldn’t or couldn’t steer without one. In the end a friend came and took the barge back to its base.

If you have one it should not be relied  on as essential for maneuvering but an occasional aid or you will get in big trouble when it breaks which the electric one seem to do often 

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Haven't got one, never had one. Would I have one? Too right I would. Its not needed when just travelling along but trying to hold a position above a weir whilst waiting for a boat to exit a lock and watch said boat trying to load the dog on board, send the crew off to buy baguettes or prat about with a knotted rope is no fun especially if the bow won't come round because the wind has sprung up and the weir is getting closer. I reckon I am averagely skilled but the wind and current can overcome a single propeller and a flappy rudder.

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34 minutes ago, Dav and Pen said:

Never had one on any of our narrow boats but at that time they were rare anyway. After buying our barge in Belgium I realised that almost every cruiser had one and the big commercials had really powerful ones. Some of the commercials had a type that dropped down under the bows and could be turned through 360 degrees. I watched a 55m reverse over 3 Klm  through 2 lift bridges-using one of these most impressive.

I also saw 30 ft cruisers who actually steered by bow thrusters and an English owned 22m barge moored up because the bow thruster was broken and he wouldn’t or couldn’t steer without one. In the end a friend came and took the barge back to its base.

If you have one it should not be relied  on as essential for maneuvering but an occasional aid or you will get in big trouble when it breaks which the electric one seem to do often 

These things have a steerable pod at both ends but no rudder peniche-anne-marie-canal-de-provence-croisieurope-navigation-canaux-de-france-slider-jean-beveraggi

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Many thanks for the helpful replies, I'm not sure that I know if we'll get a boat with one or not yet, but it won't be a decisive factor as I had reasonable skill at reversing before (and hopefully will remember ?).  I don't really want an extra maintenance task and it will be something else to break down at a most inconvenient moment

This has helped me to clarify my thinking a lot

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1 hour ago, Bobgrif said:

Many thanks for the helpful replies, I'm not sure that I know if we'll get a boat with one or not yet, but it won't be a decisive factor as I had reasonable skill at reversing before (and hopefully will remember ?).  I don't really want an extra maintenance task and it will be something else to break down at a most inconvenient moment

This has helped me to clarify my thinking a lot

I suspect that you have so far not had an entirely balanced response.

 

The forum 'old guard' will mock and scorn the use of bow thrusters as a compensation for inadequate boating skills.

 

Those forum members who find them very useful for whatever reason will probably keep stum for fear of ridicule for suggesting they might help.

 

I personally never felt the need for one but I respect the opinion of someone who can see an advantage to having one for them and their crew.

 

The best thing you could do is actually try a boat so fitted.

 

And decide for yourself. 

 

Bearing in mind of course, it will need maintenance, that isnt in doubt.

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I’ve never been particularly bothered by one but my sons persuaded me to have one on our new boat in 2015. In fact our boatbuilder said that he would put a tube in even if we didn’t want a bow thruster fitted as he had seen too many people wanting to retro-fit them.


I don’t often use it but every now and again it’s a godsend. Particularly when we had to reverse a mile from the top of Bosley locks a couple of months ago to avoid the closure. My elder son regularly uses it just to irritate me - both of them are at least as competent as I am.

 

I saw the most bizarre use of one on the Staffs and Worcs in August. Someone was using one to avoid touching the sides of a narrow lock.

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27 minutes ago, John Wareing said:

 

 

I saw the most bizarre use of one on the Staffs and Worcs in August. Someone was using one to avoid touching the sides of a narrow lock.

I have seen that and steering out of a lock. They really are not very effective when the boat is traveling forward, but if at a stand sill you can swing the bow and handy for steering going backwards 

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Find the boat you want and if it has a bow thruster thats nice, but not a deal breaker. We have one and use it occasionally, mostly whilst waiting to go into locks with crosscurrents. I've often wondered how much drag they introduce as water must dance around in the tube when going along normally?

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9 hours ago, John Wareing said:

In fact our boatbuilder said that he would put a tube in even if we didn’t want a bow thruster fitted as he had seen too many people wanting to retro-fit them.

No way would I want to use a boatbuilder with that approach.

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12 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Its called a "girly button" for a reason.

"better to have and not to need than need and not to have  " Alan ( especially true for us Girly's )

Your quote hopefully answers the OP question ?

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10 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

I suspect that you have so far not had an entirely balanced response.

 

The forum 'old guard' will mock and scorn the use of bow thrusters as a compensation for inadequate boating skills.

 

Those forum members who find them very useful for whatever reason will probably keep stum for fear of ridicule for suggesting they might help.

 

I personally never felt the need for one but I respect the opinion of someone who can see an advantage to having one for them and their crew.

 

The best thing you could do is actually try a boat so fitted.

 

And decide for yourself. 

 

Bearing in mind of course, it will need maintenance, that isnt in doubt.

agree.

 

I had a marina mooring for a widebeam that required me to reverse past a line of yachts on the eastern side which mostly had bowsprits or davits sticking out into the narrow 'navigation channel' leading to my mooring, while I was very exposed to the westerly winds blowing beam on to me. 

 

Perhaps some magician could have managed it without risking multiple insurance claims, but I found the BT was essential.  

 

Possibly someone who has never experienced such conditions will not understand that it is 'horses for courses'.

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28 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

Doesn't it take too long to re-install it when needed?  I suppose it won't go rusty in there, though.

Yeah, I might need a rethink. I once had a short circuit and spent a scary full 2 minutes going in ever decreasing circles to starboard whilst trying desperately to get my dungarees off! Luckily, it tripped out before I disappeared...

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2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Yeah, I might need a rethink. I once had a short circuit and spent a scary full 2 minutes going in ever decreasing circles to starboard whilst trying desperately to get my dungarees off! Luckily, it tripped out before I disappeared...

..............  into a black hole ??

 

the mind boggles.

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A sunny Sunday afternoon on the Thames.   

The lock can almost be heard holding its breath while a 50ft 3-storey gin palace, huge blue balls dangling and helmed by a very skilled gentleman wearing a peaked cap being admired by a couple of casual ladies sipping bubbly on the flybridge, moves into the dead centre of the lock at a snail's pace, stops, then starts making groaning noises accompanied by pools of disturbed water appearing alternately at the back and front. 

Eventually (sometimes after as much as 5 minutes from casting off from the lock landing) lines are thrown ashore (a good 2ft - what a couple of experts!) by younger people to the ever patient and long-suffering lock-keeper.   

The whole business is routinely done with such gravity and ceremony that it almost becomes compulsive viewing.

Of course the occupants of the flying bridge are so high and mighty that they are unlikely to observe the sniggers and rolling eyes from the hoy-polloi far below them.

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16 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

Just a personal opinion, but I wouldn't have a BT even if it was a gift; I have seen them let people down so many times (blocked, jammed, electrical problems etc). In any situation that requires manoeuvring you can either position yourself for rudder steering or for BT steering, they require the boat to be in different places &/or to be differently angled, and if your thruster lets you down at the wrong moment the position can be irrecoverable.

 

My most dangerous moment came on a motorised 80-ton 19th century Dutch Barge, one with a huge propeller that was half-way out of the water to act like a sideways paddle-wheel and guaranteed to turn the boat 45 degrees to port whenever you selected reverse. Travelling down the Thames, the owner positioned the stern in line with a lock and then pressed the BT button; the shear-pin broke and we had no BT! The bow was already pointing partly towards the weir, and to engage reverse would have swung the bow straight over it. The only option was to engage full throttle forwards, put the wheel hard over, and hope we could manage the U-turn in the limited space of the lock cut. We made it round ok (scattering GRP cruisers in all directions) and on that day I swore never to touch a BT again.

I think your problem was the propeller rather than the BT. 

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Have you asked your wife's opinion on this? My wife also has mobility problems and is a nervous steerer. Ten years ago when her mobility was better and she could operate the locks and we had a wide beam we found that a bow thruster allowed me to position the front of the boat precisely enough for her to able to get ashore safely. Now that we have a 60ft narrow boat she is happy to steer through the locks having the security of the bow thruster available if needed, especially if there are bypass wires. 

The "learn to steer properly" argument is fine for the macho boater but in the real world of people wanting to boat into their senior years a bow thruster can make all the difference

 

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