Bow Thrusters

[DaveC]

My wife said of a boat with an electric bow thruster "sounds like that boat has a bad case of indigestion!".

 

We don't have a bow thruster, but we do have a pram hood over our sociable stern AKA cruiser stern - and it is WONDERFUL.

 

We also have a cassette toilet.

 

Dave

 

Edited to add: We also have a Rosie and Jim but they live at home and only go on the boat when we do.

Edited October 27, 2012 by DaveC

[JDR]

Can't say I see the need for bowthrusters myself, and I do find it strange when they are used for simple tasks like approaching/leaving locks/mooring etc but I think a case can be made for them, they are obviously useful for reversing, can make manouevering in crowded marinas easier, can make boating easier for people who may may have some form of physical disability, and I've seen them used to good effect on the Thames to help barges turn in spaces I wouldn't attempt on a 60' narrowboat, so ultimately a subjective choice but can anyone explain any possible reason for stern thrusters?

[Ray T]

Can't say I see the need for bowthrusters myself, and I do find it strange when they are used for simple tasks like approaching/leaving locks/mooring etc but I think a case can be made for them, they are obviously useful for reversing, can make manouevering in crowded marinas easier, can make boating easier for people who may may have some form of physical disability, and I've seen them used to good effect on the Thames to help barges turn in spaces I wouldn't attempt on a 60' narrowboat, so ultimately a subjective choice but can anyone explain any possible reason for stern thrusters?

 

Ask the owners of Whitefield.

 

 

http://www.fernwooddesigns.co.uk/blogwhitefield.aspx

[Chagall]

Aren't they equivalent to Park Assist on some newer cars?

 

more like power steering on a car and I wonder if those folk who have it don't like it and never use it.....

Edited October 27, 2012 by Chagall

[Paul C]

Can't say I see the need for bowthrusters myself, and I do find it strange when they are used for simple tasks like approaching/leaving locks/mooring etc but I think a case can be made for them, they are obviously useful for reversing, can make manouevering in crowded marinas easier, can make boating easier for people who may may have some form of physical disability, and I've seen them used to good effect on the Thames to help barges turn in spaces I wouldn't attempt on a 60' narrowboat, so ultimately a subjective choice but can anyone explain any possible reason for stern thrusters?

 

Stern thrusters are incredibly useful on ro-ro ferries, where they must dock backwards (for the car ramps) and need to do a 180° turn quickly and in full control, in a busy port in all (most) weather conditions, with limited room for maneouvre. For a canal boat? Not sure its any more than very limited use?

[johnmck]

Well, he say's preparing for the flack....

 

We have a Pram hood AND a Bow thruster, Love them both. The hood is only deployed when stationary and gives valuable shelter.( Semi trad ) The Bow Thruster is a great tool, especially when reversing. i really do not know why such items bring out the Luddite mentality, but hey ho!

[JDR]

Stern thrusters are incredibly useful on ro-ro ferries, where they must dock backwards (for the car ramps) and need to do a 180° turn quickly and in full control, in a busy port in all (most) weather conditions, with limited room for maneouvre. For a canal boat? Not sure its any more than very limited use?

 

A lot of RO-RO ferries also have a propeller and rudder at the front for manouvering backwards. I know all the Spirit class onwards Townsend Thoresen/P&O ferries had them. I know the props at the back were variable pitch but not sure about what they did with the front prop when the boat was moving to reduce drag in the water.

[Theo]

an additional nono:

 

Sternline coiled and hanging on the tillerpin.

 

N

 

PS

 

Bow thrusters used to move away from the side was the bank down into the cut unless it is piled.

 

Nick

[nicknorman]

Bow thrusters are good on boats that don't handle well - ie they are a substitute for good design.

 

This morning we reversed 50 yds from our overnight mooring below junction lock at Fradley back into the lock. One application of fwd steering was required, and didn't touch the sides entering the lock. We don 't have a bow thruster.

 

Better to spend your money on a good hull than a tube through the hull that can sink the boat and loudly advertises your or your boat's inability to steer

[Higgs]

I've got a Joy Stick not a Girlie Button.

 

One day, when bowthrusters take over the world - you'll all be sorry !!!.

 

 

We are not afraid. We will fight you in the winding holes, in the basins, against those banks (shored up with piles).............we will never give in!

[Tuscan]

If you want a bow thruster get one they can be a useful get out of jail card on shallow canals. In the main if you have one I suspect you will rarely use it.

[mark99]

It's like on motorbikes with modern traction control buttons "what's wrong with your right hand"

[Taslim]

The Forum finds these features to be unacceptable:

 

• a 14' widebeam
• 50 foot long
• cruiser stern
• fibreglass hull and wooden roof
• Vinyl Roses and Castles
• Shiny camouflage paint scheme of the Acme C.C.C.C.C.Co
• Registered at Watford
• with a pram hood
• all electric
• 24 volt
• no front cockpit
• pump-out toilet
• wheel steering
• Rosie and Jim dolls
• fishing rod
• extensive roof garden
• log pile
• collection of 'useful items' on roof
• cruising with fenders down
• when not moored on a lock-landing
• No license displayed
• Diesel stove withe Ecofan
• supplemented with an Eberspacher
• with an electric bowthruster

 

Richard

A new angle to get a boat on the cheap! Buy an unpopular type of boat. Do you think if I bought one like the one described & stripped it back to basics I could be onto something cheap but good? I won't need a pirate flag, I've got the costume.

 

taslim

[MtB]

The problem with bow thruster is they are subversive.

 

I think when you have one, you are inclined to allow the boat into situations where the bow thruster is needed which you wouldn't otherwise, because you know it is there.

 

Then one day when it doesn't work, you find have lost the skill of steering without it....

[Tuscan]

The problem with bow thruster is they are subversive.

 

I think when you have one, you are inclined to allow the boat into situations where the bow thruster is needed which you wouldn't otherwise, because you know it is there.

 

Then one day when it doesn't work, you find have lost the skill of steering without it....

 

 

 

 

I've met quite a few who have lost the skill of steering (if they ever had it) who dont have a bow thruster - maybe they should get one.

[Tam & Di]

I've met quite a few who have lost the skill of steering (if they ever had it) who dont have a bow thruster - maybe they should get one.

 

 

I found one of those floating about in the canal many years ago, but nobody came to claim it so I kept it for myself. I have tried to give it back to various others since then, but most people say they'd rather bumble along and see if they can find one too. The one I found wasn't attached to a bowthruster though

Edited October 27, 2012 by Tam & Di

[ditchcrawler]

I found one of those floating about in the canal many years ago, but nobody came to claim it so I kept it for myself. I have tried to give it back to various others since then, but most people say they'd rather bumble along and see if they can find one too. The one I found wasn't attached to a bowthruster though

Hydraulic bowthrusters are OK though, aren't they

[Guest]

There are of course some situations where a BT becomes essential -

 

Humber Pride as I'd videoed in Castleford flood lock

 

 

and leaving -

 

[ditchcrawler]

In theory, how do bow thrusters work? What are they? And when or how should they be used?

A bowthruster is basically a tube about 8" in diameter running through the hull of the boat, below the water line and close to the bow. Inside the tube there is a propeller that is a close fit in the tube connected via a gearbox to a motor outside the tube. When you want the bows to move to the right the motor runs turning the propeller to thrust water out to the left. Likewise if you want the bows to go the other way the motor is reversed. They have very little effect if the boat is moving forward at anything over snails pace (a lot of bowthruster owners don't realise this and try to steer with them) but if you are stationary or even going backwards it should swing the bows for you.

Yes I have one, I also have a 24 volt electric system, Hydraulic drive AND PUMPOUT toilet.

[RLWP]

 

 

Hydraulic bowthrusters are OK though, aren't they

Shhh, hydraulic bowthrusters are brilliant!

Richard

[Tam & Di]

A bowthruster is basically a tube about 8" in diameter running through the hull of the boat, below the water line and close to the bow. Inside the tube there is a propeller that is a close fit in the tube connected via a gearbox to a motor outside the tube. When you want the bows to move to the right the motor runs turning the propeller to thrust water out to the left. Likewise if you want the bows to go the other way the motor is reversed. They have very little effect if the boat is moving forward at anything over snails pace (a lot of bowthruster owners don't realise this and try to steer with them) but if you are stationary or even going backwards it should swing the bows for you.

 

That it certainly the most common type, and probably with UK canal craft it's about the size too. You can also get one that is effectively a circular slatted disk in the bottom of the fore end which can rotate through 360 degrees. They would almost invariably have their own engine in the bow (so you're talking of a large craft) and e.g. trip boats in Paris are required to have a secondary means of propulsion they can fall back on if the main engine fails, and these are accepted for that. You can use them to drive (pull, really) the boat forward and by rotating them through 180 degrees they will bring it to a halt too.

 

I don't bemoan bowthrusters per se, though we never had them on any of the sundry vessels we operated in the UK, even our 3 little coastal ships. It is when I see (hear!!!!) them being used in an attempt to steer rather than using the wheel and engine that I cringe. That sort of answers the "when should they be used" by saying when they should not.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Tam & Di

[ditchcrawler]

It is when I see (hear!!!!) them being used in an attempt to steer rather than using the wheel and engine that I cringe. That sort of answers the "when should they be used" by saying when they should not.

Same

 

Yes I was referring to Narrowboats and cruisers of a similar size. I have worked on boats where the easiest way to repair the bowthruster motor is to cut a hole in the side of the ship and go in with a forklift. On the jackup rigs some of them have electrically powered pods that hang below the hull and can rotate through 350° But they are normally towed when going any distance.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

A bowthruster is basically a tube about 8" in diameter running through the hull of the boat, below the water line and close to the bow. Inside the tube there is a propeller that is a close fit in the tube connected via a gearbox to a motor outside the tube. When you want the bows to move to the right the motor runs turning the propeller to thrust water out to the left. Likewise if you want the bows to go the other way the motor is reversed. They have very little effect if the boat is moving forward at anything over snails pace (a lot of bowthruster owners don't realise this and try to steer with them) but if you are stationary or even going backwards it should swing the bows for you.

Yes I have one, I also have a 24 volt electric system, Hydraulic drive AND PUMPOUT toilet.

Thanks, that's all I needed to hear. I did google them too. And as I thought they're for a sideways motion when pretty much stationary.

I have watched the tug boats in Falmouth bay piloting ships. I think they have several that turn 360 degrees pushing and pulling in what ever direction they need. Fascinating to watch

But I wondered how they applied to a narrow boat.

I'm doing rivers heading up stream for the first time and I have to be pretty quick tying the bow. So it just got me wondering

[RLWP]

<snip>

 

I'm doing rivers heading up stream for the first time and I have to be pretty quick tying the bow. So it just got me wondering

 

Tie off temporarily with the centreline first, then you don't have to rush

 

Richard

[Guest]

Wot he said ...