External Stern Thruster

[grant.temeraire]

Does anyone have a recommendation on the merits of an external stern thruster for a 65 foot vintage steel sailboat? We cannot take a bow thruster.

[skipmac]

In general a stern thruster of any type by itself will be much less use than a bow thruster.

If I may ask, why can't you use a bow thruster?

[MicHughV]

I've seen " bolt-on" thrusters that can be attached to the bottom of the hull. Don't have much information on these, so can't attest to their performance.
They are American football/torpedo shaped, with the propellor rotor at the rear. They may come in different sizes to suit particular length boats, and they bolt onto the bottom of hull. Obviously would need to drill a hole for the electrical power.
A search of the internet will find these.
Might suit your needs.

[Sailmonkey]

I wouldn’t bother with a stern thruster. Your rudder can move the stern.

[tkeithlu]

There is a massive amount of "cool" to being able to dock without. I think that I would take pride of ownership in such a beautiful boat, and practice approaches and pivots in any space large enough to keep your mess-ups out of the You Tube Fails of the Week. My situation is somewhat similar, and yes, I have to admit to dockmasters that my boat will not reliably get into the tiny slips marinas allow nowdays.

I did have one dockmaster tell me that it was perfectly OK if I took out a string of sailboats because they hadn't paid their slip fees in months....

[Joh.Ghurt]

It may sound snobbish, but consider learning to handle your boat without the thrusters. You have a steel-hull, you can be nearly as ruthless as a commercial fisherman. And in case you really need a bow- or a stern-thruster do what these guys do: Push it with the dinghy. (on the image, a tiny small part of the dingy can be seen on the port side)