Finishing up the project! | DIY bow thruster install

[@williamshelton9688]

Nice video…very instructive…love all the hand craftsmanship…I will be installing a unit in the near future….thanks

[@jacobkollerup]

Thank you for your kind comment:). Good luck with your own install

[@olelaustsen8657]

Feeeed video mand!

[@Cherfield-D-Blessedman]

Wow, so great without reading diagram and plan you made it good.

[@SCFoster]

Thanks for doing the video series. Just last week I got caught out by a stiff wind while leaving the slip. All was fine as we cast off the final spring line. At that moment, the wind shifted and without the proper steerage, we got pushed up against the pilings, with a 20 knot wind broadside. A bow thruster would have given the needed steerage to avoid this. Your point about relieving the stress of docking is well taken. I've done plenty of docking classes and yes a bow thruster is not essential. However, I want to sail single handed. This will make things a LOT easier.

[@jacobkollerup]

You’re welcome! Yes exactly my point why I love having a bow thruster. I actually try to use it as little as possible to perfect my skills when docking, but sometimes it’s just physically possible to keep the bow in place and avoid hitting the neighbor boat

[@DarkSevariant]

Great Job...Very Precise..!!! 👊⛵

[@jacobkollerup]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@theubiquitusgastronaut8273]

Thanks so much for sharing. A fantastic improvement 👏

[@torstenhansen4308]

Thank you for an excellent series on your bow thruster installation, nicely done. I just subscribed a few minutes ago and became #250. Now the count stands at 251 - before you know it, your face will be famous among sailboat DIYers! You installed the fuse after the emergency shutoff, which leaves an unfused switch and length of cable. In the (unlikely) event of a dead short at the switch you will have unwanted excitement. You clearly gave a lot of thought to the install and I am curious about your reason for the layout you chose. Looking forward to more videos.

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks!. I must admit that you might be right about the fuse placement!. I remember that I looked at tons of forums to figure out what is best-practice, but at some point I must have had a brain-short when I did the final wiring!. Think I'll change it during the winter.

[@torstenhansen4308]

@@jacobkollerup Good move. Check pages 238-39 in Nigel Calder’s manual, fourth edition. For electrical and electronics, you may also like Pacific Yacht System’s KZbin channel. Happy sailing.

[@TraceyHall-t5u]

Wot a great install, video Looked a bit like an engineer fit. All I can offer to that perfect install is invest in getting some hole saws. Just less work. Well done 😎👍

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks a lot! Yes, I did search all over for a suitable hole saw, but the ones I found basically costs the half of the bow truster! So the old jigsaw came to the rescue🤗

[@lanesteele240]

Positive wire from the battery should go directly to the fuse. Then the switch. You will have less “unfused” wire that way

[@marceldegeus4040]

A Factory could not have done a better job.👍👍👍

[@jacobkollerup]

Thank you so much 😊

[@ricardoguerreiro2074]

Fantastic, congrat 👌

[@johnsare]

Great job! 👍

[@fourscarriers7551]

i love the detail, makes me fee like and do mine. Can you by chance put a link in to where you purchased the unit

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks, and happy to here. I bought it from a Swedish shop. Not sure it makes sense for you if you’re located in the US?

[@stefanomaletti3085]

Bravissimi lavoro pulito! Complimenti

[@jacobkollerup]

Thank you 😊

[@Thomas-ts2gl]

Great job on the install and making the video. I can see a problem with the weight of that motor breaking the tunnel over time. You might want to consider an brace from the top of the motor to the bulk head for extra safety..

[@R.E.HILL_]

Nice installation.. All electrical connections... dielectric grease... 😉🙂

[@chriscorrigan988]

Love it! Great help

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks 😊

[@edistopirate9550]

Nice job! Why a start battery and not a deep cycle?

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks! So the reason for going with a starter battery is basically down to the very high current drain for a short period of time. Realistically the thruster is only on for short bursts of 2-5 seconds, so under normal circumstances it never really sees any real discharge. Remember that the diesel is mostly also on meaning that the alternator is also pumping 60A into the battery

[@TraceyHall-t5u]

Well done anyway s. Might get you to help on my install of bow thruster 😎👍

[@batemanriver6536]

Great job very informative. I'm trying to decide between hydraulic or 12 volt. This seems easier.

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks! Unless your boat is very big I would definitely recommend going with electric (either 12 or 24 volts)

[@OrvilleHarmison]

Thank You

[@jacobkollerup]

You are welcome! Did you start installing yours?

[@immolangon8780]

Thankyou for this great series, very informative. One Question, could you estimate the man hours you put in for the complete installation? many thanks

[@jacobkollerup]

Thanks!. It´s hard to estimate how many hours I spend mostly because the install took place from November to April, since I both had some cold weather (where I couldn't do any fiberglassing) and also my normal day job. However, if I had perfect conditions (20 degree C) and all the materials and components, I think I could do the complete install in about 40 hours.

[@immolangon8780]

@@jacobkollerup great to know, thanks, I think I will be embarking on the same adventure!

[@ahiparaa]

Mate you were doing a great job until I saw you use that crimper.....what were you thinking.😅

[@jacobkollerup]

It’s a great crimper😆

[@DIYglenn]

Borrow a hydraulic crimping tool, or purchase one. Even the $80 I got was great. It presses so hard that the copper becomes solid in the crimp.

[@TheJustonemore]

New to you guys,and a new sub

[@willimondo]

Hi again. I’m about done on mine, such a huge job! Just wondered, the yellow wire has a plug to plug into on the controller end, but nothing to plug into at the thruster end. The instructions don’t seem to be clear on what that wire does - maybe it’s an earth? What did you do with yours? Not sure I could see. Cheers 👍

[@jacobkollerup]

Great to hear! Yes, it’s takes some time! The yellow is only if you have installed an automatic switch. So if you have a normal manual on-off kill switch you don’t need to use it.

[@willimondo]

Ah OK, got it. Thanks for a quick reply! When I am totally finished I will do some sort of video. I took a lot of stills along the way so will stitch them together and make a video 👍

[@GM-Cars]

er den ikke alt for lille til din båd, hvis du har lidt vind/strøm

[@jacobkollerup]

Den er faktisk rigeligt stærk. Jeg regnede på momentet omkring bådens rotationspunkt. Hvis jeg havde valgt en større bovpropel, så ville den større tunneldiameter have flyttet tunnelen tættere på rotationspunktet. Så med en SE40 får jeg ca samme moment som med en SE60, da den lille tunnel kan komme meget længere frem:)

[@Joshua-1212]

On your tube of the bow thruster why is there a hump on the front of the tube all the others i see are flush? was that a design flaw or you meant to do that for a reason?

[@jacobkollerup]

It’s called a deflector or spoiler. The purpose is to guide the water from hitting the backside of the tunnel causing turbulence and noise. On power boats it’s normal not to have it since the tunnel is out of the water at speed, but on sailboats it’s very common. The only reason for not having it is to save cost

[@steegzor5161]

Hey and thanks for the nice video! I have one question though, how do you keep your bow thruster battery charged up?

[@jacobkollerup]

Hi. In our latest video I’m talking a bit about the charging. Currently I’m using a Victron DC-DC charger. It works ok, but not ideal. I’ll do some changes to my setup soon, so stay tuned for that :)

[@vladyoruhvsky9600]

Hey sir,, good day, may I know how that bowtruster cost? Hope you reply... Tnx

[@jacobkollerup]

Hi. I think total cost besides the actual kit, so fiberglass, epoxy, cables and so on were just under 2000 eur

[@BennyTheNerd]

Hvordan lader/charger du batteriet ved siden af trusteren? God instruktion :-)

[@jacobkollerup]

Uhh, det glemte jeg vist at få med!. Jeg bruger en Victron DC-DC converter der er monteret ved siden af thruster batteriet. Den får strøm fra hovedbanken og lader med 9A til thruster batteriet og holder det således på 13.8V. Fordelen ved dette er, at der ikke trækkes store strømme mellem hovedbanken og thruster batteriet. Forskellige batterier forbundet parallelt vil altid balancere hinanden, så hvis man fx dræner thuster batteriet, vil der løbe en stor strøm fra hovedbanken indtil begge banker har samme spænding. Det undgår man med en isoleret DC-DC converter. Håber at det giver mening:)

[@BennyTheNerd]

@@jacobkollerup Foer du installerede din thruster, undersoegte du da Jet Thruster ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/famcZKqnhMdkbNU ) eller er de dyrere, det laver i hvert fald meget mindre huller i baaden :-)

[@jacobkollerup]

Mindre huller, men mange af dem! Og alle ventiler og pumpen fylder godt op