Hi,
I want to fit a thruster and the dealer recommends "Quick" thrusters. Does anyone have any knowledge of these ?
Thanks
Keith
I had a bow thruster installed 8 months ago and did a lot of research in advance. All the most experienced professionals I contacted advised either Side Power or Vestus. Lewmar generally makes good quality hardware, but most people told me that Lewmar was outside of their skill set when they tried to make a bow thruster. I never hear of Quick. I'd be suspect if I were you.
Also, find out if your installer has one of those monster hole saws to put in the tunnel. It's an expensive tool but makes for a much better installation. I would worry about the amount of epoxy filler and strength if the tunnel was not closely fit to the hole in the hull.
There's also a question of how to wire it. Nigel Calder is perhaps one of the most renown experts in boat electrical systems. I had Nigel Calder tell me that he regretted some details on how he installed his. He felt it was a little embarrassing, given his reputation, to use the thruster while docking and have it create enough of a voltage drop that is shut down his chartplotter and network. A long day of sailing and your batteries could be weak. That has not been a problem for me. I have it tied into the house bank, but with 400 Ahr of AGM batteries the house bank can easily support the 200 Amp load the thruster creates. The alternative way is to keep off the house battery and give it it's own battery and charger. Either solution works.
GJ
