Adelaide
Senior Member
I'll offer up a fairly contrarian opinion:
There is no need for either a bow or stern thruster.
Island Eagle is 60 feet, single screw, and has plenty of windage as you can see from my avatar. With that said, I have never encountered a situation where I have not been able to dock her in complete safety. Yes, you have to plan it out. Yes, you have to get your spring lines in place. Yes, you have to practice. Yes, you have to know your boat.
Here's my advice: try living without a thruster, and practice! One really great way to practice is to throw a life jacket overboard and then go around and put the boat right beside the life jacket. Your partner in the cockpit should be able to grab it with a boathook. The other great way to practice is by approaching a mooring buoy. You should be able to just kiss it.
For "normal" boats in the 30 to 40 foot range, learning to handle the boat is actually a lot of fun. Try it!
Scott Welch
Island Eagle
Honestly, have you ever had transmission issues? I can dock my boat just fine without my stern thruster, but man, I do have to use my transmission 90% more than I do when I use my thruster.....and I almost never have to fling it in reverse to get the prop walk. I'm convinced that a thruster is better for an engine's transmission.
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