jhance
Senior Member
I have a 2003 Camano Troll and absolutely love the boat. However, wind presents a major challenge with docking/undocking. The boat is pretty light (10K pounds dry) with high windage, so any breeze really sends the boat moving. Especially when single-handing, this presents a major challenge when docking/undocking. Boat currently has a 5hp electric bow thruster. It's great, but any breeze over 10 knots or so and it doesn't keep up. I have had the boat for seven years and have had previous boats all my life, so I consider my handling skills to be very good, and I understand and exploit all the physics of boat handling. My goal is to be able to take the anxiety out of docking/undocking as much as possible and to have the most powerful thrusters available so I can more comfortably operate the boat better in wind. Also looking for modern technology of thrusters for better single-handing experience (Sidepower has a "pin to dock" function with remote so bow/stern thrusters keep boat pinned to dock).
So I am considering replacing the bow thruster and also adding a stern thruster. Maybe setting aside the discussion of price for the moment (latest bid to install both bow and stern thruster is $37K), I'd love to hear feedback. Price includes replacing the current 8" tunnel with the smaller tunnel for the Sidepower thruster. Below is my current model bow thruster (Keypower KP08E), and I am looking at going with the Sidepower models (SEP100). Stern thruster would likely be an SEP80 as I understand you want one size down on stern thrusters vs. bow thruster, considering the physics.
KP08E (current) - 5HP, 1200 RPM, 140# thrust, 320A, 12V, 8" tunnel
SEP100 (proposed) - 8.4HP, ? RPM, 256# thrust, 740A, 12V, 7.28" tunnel
Lots of hassle and very pricey, but if it lets me turn our nearly-perfect boat into a more perfect boat, may be worth it. The ultimate goal is finding that perfect boat, is it not?
So I am considering replacing the bow thruster and also adding a stern thruster. Maybe setting aside the discussion of price for the moment (latest bid to install both bow and stern thruster is $37K), I'd love to hear feedback. Price includes replacing the current 8" tunnel with the smaller tunnel for the Sidepower thruster. Below is my current model bow thruster (Keypower KP08E), and I am looking at going with the Sidepower models (SEP100). Stern thruster would likely be an SEP80 as I understand you want one size down on stern thrusters vs. bow thruster, considering the physics.
KP08E (current) - 5HP, 1200 RPM, 140# thrust, 320A, 12V, 8" tunnel
SEP100 (proposed) - 8.4HP, ? RPM, 256# thrust, 740A, 12V, 7.28" tunnel
Lots of hassle and very pricey, but if it lets me turn our nearly-perfect boat into a more perfect boat, may be worth it. The ultimate goal is finding that perfect boat, is it not?
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