![]() It also required charging cables to be run back to the existing start battery. This would have a local isolator and fuse installed forward between the battery and thruster. Install a high performance Hella Endurant CM1500 battery forward, adjacent to the bow thruster. Increase the existing start battery capacity and run 4 x 120mm heavy battery cables forward to the bow thruster via its own heavy duty battery switch and fuse,Ģ. A minimum supply of 1400CCA was needed.ġ. In many smaller installations you can power the bow thruster off the existing start battery, however in Colonsay he felt that the start battery, start battery switch and existing wiring to be too light to supply the new thrusters power requirements. He says it is very important that the minimum depth under water is maintained and that you get the bow thruster as far forward as you can. There’s also a flexible drive coupling, with no shear pin, an all up weight excluding the tunnel of 37kgs and the whole lot can be controlled from multi-stations. While the Vetus125 motor installed in Colonsay was in a vertical position because there were no space issues, the unit can be fitted on any angle from vertical to horizontal, however the motor requires support if it is placed on an angle. “We also have to consider the beam of the boat at the bow as we can’t have the thruster propellers protruding outside the hull”, added Nick. In order to ensure the best performance under all sorts of weather and water conditions, the bow thruster should be able to provide a thrust force which is suitable, or rather: most sufficient, for the boat in which it has been installed.īased on all the facts and after consultation with the technical people at Vetus, it was decided to install a Vetus Bow125. The 12v, Bow125 comes with a high quality, high output DC motor pushing out 57kW (8hp). It uses a bronze streamlined lower leg, with a single 6 blade propeller, specially designed to give maximum thrust, equal in both directions with less cavitation and less tunnel noise. The next and most critical decision was to install one that was suitable for the boat.Ī bow thruster delivers a side directional thrust force, so the greater the KGF (kilograms of force), the more powerful the thruster. WHEN THE ‘NEW’ OWNERS OF MY COLONSAY, A 15M, 29 YEAR OLD TIMBER SEMI-DISPLACEMENT CRUISER KEPT EXPERIENCING MANOEUVRING PROBLEMS ENTERING AND EXITING THE TIGHT CONFINES OF THEIR BERTH IN THE GULF HARBOUR WATERWAYS, THEY DECIDED TO LOOK FOR A SOLUTION.īeing a twin engine, 29 ton flybridge cruiser with a lot of windage, made it a somewhat nerve-racking exercise especially if there was a strong wind blowing. Easiest solution was to fit a bow thruster. After looking around at the many brands that are available, they decided on a Vetus, the company that in 1982 designed and introduced the first bow thruster for pleasure boats.
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