Bow thruster tunnel installation

[drfeno]

Hello,

I have an older silverton 31' convertible that I now have at my house, and am doing a pretty thourough rehab. I'm considering installing a lewmar 2.2kw bow thruster, and I'm trying to learn the technique for fiberglassing the tunnel in place. I can understand the hole cutting and placement, but I'm looking for the specific technique (type of cloth, type of resin, number of layers, configuration of the cloth etc.) for laying up the fiberglass to install the tunnel. Has anyone done this, or is there a good book or online resource? I have looked on line, and have found some info, but it is FAR from in-depth. any info would be great. Also, I'm not in any hurry.

Thanks

 

[rommer]

I had a thread on here from a few years back that showed an almost step by step pictorial of my bow thruster install. I can't find it thou but I'll repost it in your thread if you would like.

 

[drfeno]

Sure, if you can find it, please repost it. This rehab will take a while, since I plan to have the boat out of the water for a few years. I may do the tunnel install early(to go along with some other fiberglass repairs) and do the actual thruster later. We have a 14 month old daughter, and for us, the boating lifestyle is tough with an infant.

Thanks

 

[Dusty Rhoads]

If you have access to a West Marine, go to the area that has West System ( that is fiberglass repair). There is a free bok that shows the steps to use the systems, and flairing a bow to match the tunnel, is experience and patience. Ours was done this past yr. and I watched the guy do it, and he was excellent. He had the patience, I think I might have been done in the first 30min. This guy did the Flemings locally, and was pretty anal how it looked.

 

[rommer]

Note: I copied this post from another forum so the time frame is not relevant.

Our boat was pulled out yesterday and after power washing and cleaning some barnacles the bow thruster man was supposed to show early this morning. Due to bad brakes he didn't show till almost 11:30 and didn't finish the job in one day as promised but it should be done in the morning.

It was very disturbing to see the 2 gapping holes put in the boat and I thought I'd share some pictures of the process.

Here is the boat after power washing and pre-drilling. As you can see Regal designed a place for the thruster.

The dreaded hole saw of death!

and

Last chance to change our minds...

TOO LATE!!

Looking at the trailer hitch on the other side of our boat.

From the inside looking out. I don't think she's gonna float right now.

The current condition of our forward stateroom.

Dry fitting a thruster tube or plugging the hole!

Glassing her in...

I didn't take any pictures of the wiring runs yet as I can't "handle" the current condition of the boat. (Think major structural damage!

Should be finished by lunch tomorrow or so I'm told. Then 2 coats of paint and in the water on Friday.

All glassed in...

Very yellow...

Battery (AGM since it is in the main stateroom), fuse and charger.

Battery switch

A giant fan!

This was the biggest headache. Trying to locate the joystick on the helm within easy reach while still being able to use the shifters. This is tight but both of us can reach this spot.

Epoxy barrier coated.

And finally, fresh bottom paint. (Paint is still wet so it looks very uneven)

Second coat of bottom paint today and if all goes well I can try this baby out tomorrow!

 

[rnbenton]

quote:

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Originally posted by drfeno

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I'm just curious why you need a bow thruster on a 31' boat. On larger boats certainly. But a boat that small with twin engines?

Is there a local condition where you boat that would generate such a need?

Like I said, just curious.

Bob

 

[drfeno]

Thanks for re-posting the process. It shows most of the steps very well. The only thing it does kind of leave out is the acutal fiberglassing of the tunnel (on the exterior). I'm still undecided if I'll do it or not, but this will help a lot. As for why I would want a thruster, I think the more control you have the better. My boat has a lot of windage for a boat with not much dislplacement (12,000 lbs). I got pushed around pretty good a few times, and my slip was in a pretty tight area. Granted, I may have used poor judgement a few times and tried to dock in winds that were too high, but sometimes you don't have a lot of choice. So if the addition of the thruster gives me more peace of mind, and eases the stress in close quarters, I say why not. Also, I love this type of project.

 

[drfeno]

Hi John, Thanks again for posting the photos. I forgot to ask, since this was done a while ago, how do you like having the bow thruster? was it worth it? have you used it much in close quarters manuvering?

Thanks

 

[praetorian]

I'm having bow and stern thrusters installed on my 47' Marine Trader this winter. I've had it for 3 years without them. The first 2 were at another marina with a 4 way tie off. It was a bit tricky, but when you got the bow in, you pretty much had it made. Last year I moved marina's to a very windy place and 2 way tie off. I had a few days that were very unnerving docking experiences (one day I had to do over 10kt down the marina channel just to prevent being blown sideways into boats! The weather was getting worse so staying out wasn't a good option either).

I've seen lots of boaters with thrusters that use them as a crutch instead of learning to handle their boat fully. I've seen boaters overuse or misuse their thrusters, overcorrecting and causing more distress. I've also seen large boats maneuver into and out of some tight spots that simply couldn't be done by anybody without the aid of thrusters.

I agree with Drfeno that anything that helps is worth having. If you can afford it and it makes the job easier and less stressful, you should have them. I do fully believe that you should still be able to handle your boat without them and use them as an aid for maneuvering and not an excuse to learn boat handling.

I'm confident now that I can handle my boat in pretty severe conditions. I'm also sure that in those conditions, the thrusters are going to make the jobs easier. I'm really looking forward to the next time at the gas dock when I get sandwiched in between other boats and can just slip sideways out, spin around and leave without any drama!

Of course, now I have to listen to the comments about bow thrusters being for guys who can't drive their boat from guys without thrusters (and I can't really complain since I used to say the same thing.)