Retrofitting Bow thrusters to steel yacht

[futuresteel]

hi

I've found a good steel yacht, but i would really like to have thrusters as single handing will be a thing..

anyone have experience doing this?

i presume it to be possible but not sure where and how much it might cost?

thank you

[hpeer]

Depends on construction. And what bits are ballast. I have seen various steel boats with thrusters. Essentially you just need to weld in some tube to make the tunnel. Its what is in the way that makes or breaks the deal.

[tkeithlu]

Think about it this way. You want the top of the thruster tunnel to be a diameter or so below the water line. Get into the bow, go that far down, and see if there is space for a pipe of that diameter, and enogh space above it for the motor and controls. The farther forward you can place it, the more it will thrust your bow, which is sort of the point.

If the space is there, working with a steel hull is really easier than fiberglass, because you cut and weld rather than having to build up a connection between the tunnel and the pipe. On the other hand, you may find that the manufacturers rather assume that you have a fiberglass hull.