Bow thruster for SO 45.1

[simonthepom]

Hello fellow Jeanneau owners,

this is is my first post on here but I have spent a bit of time reading some really useful threads so thanks for your collective wisdom already!

I became the proud owner of a 1995 Sun Odyssey 45.1 earlier this year. She is currently on the hard in Preveza Greece. I'm from Sydney, Australia and will be going to Greece in March to firstly prep the boat and then start cruising in the Ionian - can't wait!!!

Whilst I'm relatively confident handling her, I've decided to fit a bow thruster to give me a bit of comfort in those tricky situations. She does have a bit of windage as I'm sure you can all appreciate.

I've done a fair bit of research around brands and size of thruster, but I'm getting different stories from different people. So with this in mind, I thought this would be a good place to get some info from the horses mouth.

So, fellow 45.1 or 45.2 owners, if you've had a thruster fitted can I ask a.) what size did you get - both power and tunnel diameter? And b.) where did you fit it? - one installer has told me it'll only just go in the bosons lockers forward.

I'd massively appreciate any info or advice you can offer.

many thanks in advance!

Simon

[dbostrom]

Simon, while I don't own a Jeanneau 45.x and can't make a brand or power recommendation based on spending my own money I've chartered a 45.x with a retrofitted Maxpower 7.5 HP thruster and indeed it was in the forward locker. It's actually a good location in terms of applying leverage to the boat and being so far down does not take up a lot of useful space. The thruster was quite authoritative and was indeed useful for making tricky maneuvers in tight spaces with inclement winds easier.

One thing I'd be careful of is to provide a plate or other protection above the thruster, for people to stand on while rummaging in the locker. It's too easy to stand on the tunnel, motor or other thruster appurtenances while down in the hold; cautions become nags as crew are introduced to the space. The tunnel's probably quite robust but the other bits are probably "no step."

*Can't remember if it was .1, .2, whatever.

Edit: I can't help but remark what a killer feature that locker is. I'm not sure if the boat I chartered was built this way or if it was an owner modification but the locker sported substantial, seemingly structural watertight bulkheads fore and aft, had its own bilge pump and I have to think was big plus in the robustness of the vessel, let alone the utility of the vast capacity. Plus of course you've got a built-in brig for unruly or mutinous crew. 

[alex1949]

Hi Simon,

I owe a 2005 SO40 DS . I am from Israel (Mediterranean)

This boat comes normally with a factory installed tunnel BT. My boat like the last 25 hulls of this model came without the BT.

Being a pure cruiser I decided to put a BT onboard.

Like you I made researches and checked on all models in the market.

Finally I opted on a relatively new concept made by Side Power (Norvigian leading company in the BT industry) .The Xturn is an external BT that is attached to your boats bow it has a torpedo like shape and that's why you suffer almost no speed reduction.

I installed mine alone by myself in a meter of 2-3 hours. No fiberglass  working just one 50 mm hole and another two 18 mm holes.

Unit is 24 Volts and very easy to install it's elec. system. No big internal space is required.

Having it installed on my boat for almost a year ,I am very satisfied .

Mine is the Xturn 230 with around 80 kg thrust. (40' Deck Salon boat). Price excluding batteries and charger was around 3200 Euro.

I would recommend the Xturn 300 for your 45' boat.

I would be happy to assist if more information is needed.

This is a real personal experience information

Alex

[ubuysa]

We have the same boat (same year too). We don't have a bow-thruster and in the 10 years we've lived aboard her (in Greece) we've never felt the need for one. Proper preparation and a well worked out escape plan have meant that the times we've run into trouble in tight spots can be counted on two fingers. Take the time to get used to the boat and you'll find you can manage without the extra expense (and maintenance) of a thruster.

[vasko]

the external version is very good , but fit a powerful one as in Greece when you need a bow thruster you need a powerful one,  just average bow thruster in Greece is useless as the problem there is not with the tight space in the marinas, but with the extreme side winds in some harbors ... 

[hoppy]

Welcome form another Aussie with an Ionian based Jeanneau.

4 years ago when I bought my SO40 I was 100% certain I needed a BT. In the end I never ended up getting the BT and I have never felt myself regretting not getting a BT. In tricky conditions I do need to plan the marina & med docking manoeuvres carefully in advance, but as I am solo a lot, it is a good idea anyway.

[nornaj]

May be of limited relevance in view of relative hull sizes, but here goes.
We found our SO39i quite difficult to handle in tight situations mainly because of its large turning circle, high freeboard and windage. After three years and several scary moments, we bit the bullet and installed a bow thruster. In retrospect a very good decision, albeit an expensive one at about $12k all in.
With practice it provides some really neat manouevring alternatives.
The unit is a Lewmar 185TT 4Kw 12V 5.4HP.
It had to be position very low in the hull in order to get the required clearances, which was a challenge. Otherwise it was a relatively simple installation. It appears to have had no effect on speed through the water.
We installed a fwd battery bank that powers both the thruster and the windlass.
Hope this helps.
NornaJ

[simonthepom]

thanks for your replies everyone, some good advice there.

I guess the debate about whether to install one or not is definitely valid, but we've really already made that decision. For us it's a question of comfort /ease; could we get by without one? absolutely, but there is no denying that a BT makes life easier / less stressful right? If we have the means to do it and the fact the boat is currently on the hard, its really a no brainer to get it done before we launch her.

Whilst I've sailed all my life, this is by far my biggest boat to date. Our "plan" is to sail back to Sydney over the next 3 years, so there will no doubt be situations where we are glad to have it - I might be wrong here, but perception tends to be reality...

alex1949 - I've looked into the external thrusters and to be honest, I'm not a fan... Personal taste I think, any kind of external appendage to the hull sounds dodgy to me (I'm not criticising your advice or judgement here, as I said, just personal taste).

Anyway, I've emailed Jerome at Jeanneau (thanks for the email address on this forum!) to ask if he can provide drawings or advice given a BT was an option from the factory. 

thanks again!

Simon

[electricmonk]

I've been sailing for the best part of 55 years, 5 years ago it was decided to fit a bow thruster to our SO43, it was not an easy decision as I had managed without incident for 50 years without one.

Obviously you can dock a boat without one - we all do.

BUT on the odd occasion when you need another crew member you have one at the touch of a button. Worth its weight in gold. Do we take more risks, no, if the manoeuvre looks t o be too difficult without a bow thruster I wont attempt it with one. So what's it for? All the manoeuvres you cant do without one. I can get of a berth sideways and into the wind, you cant do that without one unless you have a tug. Steering going asterm laying out anchor chain, you can do that without one but when you try with one you wonder why you didn't fit the thing sooner. Turning the boat round in its own length, you can do it with warps but much easier with a thruster.

Fitting it, try not to be lured into having a tunnel that's too big, you need the centre of the tunnel to be at least 1.5 tunnel diameters under the water (mine is 1.8), more if possible. With that in mind if I were fitting one again I would have a retractable, more work and more expense but worth it. Advantages are you can service the thing without lifting the boat and the thruster prop will never cavitate, the underwater lines of the hull are not compromised. Lastly don't skimp on wire size for the charging wires, assuming your thruster batteries will be in the bow. If you end up with a relay to control the charging make sure you have a fuse on the charge wires - they have been known to catch fire.

[vasko]

Dec 13, 2014 22:15:02 GMT nornaj said:

May be of limited relevance in view of relative hull sizes, but here goes.
We found our SO39i quite difficult to handle in tight situations mainly because of its large turning circle, high freeboard and windage. After three years and several scary moments, we bit the bullet and installed a bow thruster. In retrospect a very good decision, albeit an expensive one at about $12k all in.
With practice it provides some really neat manouevring alternatives.
The unit is a Lewmar 185TT 4Kw 12V 5.4HP.
It had to be position very low in the hull in order to get the required clearances, which was a challenge. Otherwise it was a relatively simple installation. It appears to have had no effect on speed through the water.
We installed a fwd battery bank that powers both the thruster and the windlass.
Hope this helps.
NornaJ

IMPORTANT for the forward ( and any new battery bank)  - did they install ventilation vents ?  it quite crucial for the battery bank to be ventilated if lead/acid/agm/gel etc, type  - sometime including a very slow turning fan ( e.g. like for a computer desktop case) can payoff too 

[vasko]

Dec 14, 2014 10:32:03 GMT electricmonk said:

I've been sailing for the best part of 55 years, 5 years ago it was decided to fit a bow thruster to our SO43, it was not an easy decision as I had managed without incident for 50 years without one.

Obviously you can dock a boat without one - we all do.

BUT on the odd occasion when you need another crew member you have one at the touch of a button. Worth its weight in gold. Do we take more risks, no, if the manoeuvre looks t o be too difficult without a bow thruster I wont attempt it with one. So what's it for? All the manoeuvres you cant do without one. I can get of a berth sideways and into the wind, you cant do that without one unless you have a tug. Steering going asterm laying out anchor chain, you can do that without one but when you try with one you wonder why you didn't fit the thing sooner. Turning the boat round in its own length, you can do it with warps but much easier with a thruster.

Fitting it, try not to be lured into having a tunnel that's too big, you need the centre of the tunnel to be at least 1.5 tunnel diameters under the water (mine is 1.8), more if possible. With that in mind if I were fitting one again I would have a retractable, more work and more expense but worth it. Advantages are you can service the thing without lifting the boat and the thruster prop will never cavitate, the underwater lines of the hull are not compromised. Lastly don't skimp on wire size for the charging wires, assuming your thruster batteries will be in the bow. If you end up with a relay to control the charging make sure you have a fuse on the charge wires - they have been known to catch fire.

I have a bow thruster ( Max Power) installed although I managed it on a modest budget and I like it, if I need to do it again I will 100% not install  tunnel etc. I will just use the outside/torpedo type ones - they have better performance ( a lot lower in the water then a tunnel), a lot cheaper solution ( you can install it yourself - no need to finish the small details yourself after a @expert@ engineer has charged you thousands), easy to maintain ( cleaning is very easy you just jump into the water and clean it ), quality is quite good  ( theer was a German brand with very good feedback from all customers)

[vasko]

Dec 13, 2014 13:28:40 GMT ubuysa said:

We have the same boat (same year too). We don't have a bow-thruster and in the 10 years we've lived aboard her (in Greece) we've never felt the need for one. Proper preparation and a well worked out escape plan have meant that the times we've run into trouble in tight spots can be counted on two fingers. Take the time to get used to the boat and you'll find you can manage without the extra expense (and maintenance) of a thruster.

after 7 years sailing in Greek waters with my previous boat I have always managed to get where I want in any weather - but have to confess had number of VERYYY CLOSE CALLS ! especiali in Vasiliki on Lefkada with 45knts side wind and with 56knts wind on Tinos  but still all was well and for my current boat because I did not wanted to have more close calls especially in my currents sailing area -  South Spain/France in the very crowded marinas with tiny spaces I've installed a bow thruster , but actually do not use it a lot.. it serves more like piece of mind..  

[ianpowolny]

We have a MaxPower 1000w 12v version on our 45DS. The tunnel runs under the forward bunk which makes getting at very easy once you've removed the bedding, mattresses and plywood plate. This leave a large area to work in. Three seasons ago, when we first had the boat, we relied on the bow thruster too much. Arriving at Troon one afternoon the thruster didn't work so from then on we tried to dock not using the thruster but it's always 'on' as we moor and has got us out of trouble a number of times. The 45DS does have a lot of windage!!!

[simonthepom]

Thanks for all the input guys.

After speaking with a couple more installers, I've opted for a RMC, branded as a Lewmar retractable unit. I went for a 12V 5kw model.

As I mentioned, I'm keen to make use of the bosuns locker near the bow and it was going to be very tight getting a 185mm traditional tunnel deep enough. So the retractable thruster makes a lot sense and is supposed to be 30-50% more efficient than a traditional one, according to the literature... 

Of course the fact that there is no impact at all on the hydrodynamics of the hull is a big plus for me. 

Price wise, yes was more expensive than a traditional thruster but not by a huge amount. Installation is actually cheaper than a traditional tunnel thruster. 

Work is being done early January so will post pictures of the install when done.

[dbostrom]

Please do ping back with reports of progress, quirks or whatever, Simon. 

Even if nothing else, now you'll be able to bark out "deploy the thrusters."  A crew member with a brow like Worf's will complete the picture. 

[triquerta]

any update on installation costs? From the January 2017 boat show in Toronto I am led to believe that a turnkey install of an 8 HP retractable systems will not be less than $8,000 U.S. dollars. This is based on 2 brands and several yard quotes. The most detailed quote shows 16 hours of fiberglass "fairing" and  battery compartment glass work.

Really? Is this a gross inflation and should I keep searching for another yard?

I am convinced the boat needs the thrust er to safely pivot the boat into our slip. The broker we bought the boat from has cautioned me that we will not recoup this expense at resale. Would appreciate any input from owners who have purchased a yard installed  thruster recently. Former Beneteau owners we absolutely love our SO 452, counting the days to launch.

Triquerta (2000 SO 452)

[alenka]

Simon,

We are down in Preveza for the last 10 days in March to get our boat ready for the water too. We are in Cleopatra.  If you want to wander over and have a look at our 7hp bow thruster installation, inside and out, come over and see us.

FAIR GAME

A very, very valuable addition that helps make docking much easier in tricky conditions.