Bow thruster removal...help reqd.....

[hullygully]

I'm in need of some advise please........I am currently trying to remove the vetus bow thruster for a general looksee and service...now I've had a look in the instruction that we have in our "boat file" and theres nothing in there about how to go about taking the thing out....

 

So I dives in, taking off the large cables and undoing the two screws in the top and removing them....this just removed the outa case and left the main shaft in situ....my question is...how to get the rest out ?

 

Do you remove the 3 big allen bolts in the base plate ? and then it lifts out ? I don't know....and I don't want to sink the boat by letting in water....that would be a bad day at the office !!

 

Over to you guys....

 

Thanks Hullygully...

 

[Robbo]

If you remove the bow thruster it will let in water. Depending on the design of the boat depends on where the water goes, mine is in a waterproof area so can be flooded. You should be able to remove the motor part without removing the base.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Robbo

[rgreg]

I removed my Vetus motor which, on my model, is secured to the impeller mechanism by two very long bolts from the top of the unit. If you want to also remove the impeller, which is sealed into the tube, that will need to be done out of water.

[pearley]

Our Vetus has 4 Allen key headed bolts that secure the motor to the gearbox. Remove those, the positive and negative cables and the 4 pin socket for the control cable and then pull the motor off the shaft. Don't forget to isolate the bow thruster battery first.

[Sea Dog]

This sounds like a classic case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"!

 

Mind you, it may very well need fixing now, so don't let my musings disrupt the stream of advice.

[Chewbacka]

The bow thruster tube is below the water line so if you open it up a lot of water is going to come out of the hole very quickly.

Best left alone.

[pearley]

The bow thruster tube is below the water line so if you open it up a lot of water is going to come out of the hole very quickly.

Best left alone.

Not if he just removes the motor.

[WotEver]

Not if he just removes the motor.

Indeed, but to what purpose? "general looksee and service" doesn't really say much.

[Mike on the Wey]

I replaced my broken MaxPower thruster last year. So this might or might not be relevant ... the MaxPower unit has no user-sercicable parts. I can't even take it apart; the two halves appear to be bonded.

 

I agree with "leave well alone", but if you don't the boat must be out of the water for removal of the thruster leg.

[pearley]

Indeed, but to what purpose? "general looksee and service" doesn't really say much.

To clean out all the dust from the brushgear perhaps. The brushes are serviceable on Vetus thrusters but can be difficult to find the right part as Vetus seem to have changed the part numbers over the years.

[Murflynn]

AFAIK all 'vetus' parts are bought in from electro-mechanical suppliers. For example the contactor unit is Albright International. Vetus put a ridiculous mark-up on spares, to cover the cost of keeping dead or slowly moving warehouse stock. If you search around you will find suppliers of brushes and the like.

 

The vetus manuals can be found here: http://www.vetusweb.com/manuals_68.php

 

it took me all of 30 seconds to find it on Google.

[WotEver]

I recall a thread a few years ago where Vetus wanted a huge amount of money for replacement brushes and someone found the same brushes on Ebay for eight quid.

[hullygully]

Thanks guys.....maybe I shouldnt have used the word...."looksee".....because it is broke...or doesn't work very well..so needs fixing..

 

Thanks Murflynn....for the link..I did look on several sites but couldn't find what was required...from what I can see I need to undo the 3 big allen bolts on the base, then the shaft should pull out...there seems to be a flexable coupling under here joining the shaft to the prop......

 

I'll give it a go next week, then send the lot off to the rewinder's to be serviced.....