For many boat lovers, running your leisure boat in the open waters is a walk in the park. The problem starts when you find yourself in a busy or crowded harbour, which requires both skill and the right tools to move around with your boat. In this case, the right tools refer to boat thrusters. You need them to help you steer the boat in different directions, allowing you to move through tight spaces. Vessels with bow and stern thrusters have a high flexibility in the direction you can steer them. The best thruster will give high manoeuverability with a radius of movement as far as three hundred and sixty degrees. You can literally move in any direction! Here is a useful guide for the new boat lovers who want to go shopping for a thruster:
External Boat Thrusters
There are several reasons one should choose an external thruster over the types of thrusters available in the market. They are the first place you should look when your boat is low on space. Ideally, an external thruster suits boat owners whose vessel's cannot house a tunnel. They also come in handy for those whose vessels do not generate enough power when the thruster is installed in the boat's stern.
External thrusters sit outside the boat, held firmly to the body by robust mounting panels. Their positioning makes it easy to access them for repairs and regular maintenance. On the downside, these thrusters can have a 'drag' effect on the boat and lower the overall performance. You need to mitigate this by fitting the thruster in the transom.
Tunnel Boat Thrusters
Tunnel boat thrusters are the most popular on leisure boats. Here, the installation features a tunnel fitted within the bow. The thruster, acting as the propulsion unit, fixed inside the tunnel. The whole compartment sits below the waterline for optimal propulsion results. Most motorsport and accessory experts use tunnels made from fibreglass tube. The tube shields the thruster device and concentrates all the thrust coming from propeller. If your boat is a high-performance unit, consider getting deflectors for the front side to reduce the loss of speed resulting from extreme turbulence.
Retractable Boat Thrusters
Just as the name suggests, you can retract these thrusters into your hull when you do not need to use them. Removing them reduces drag on the boat and makes steering easy, something many sailors may want when they go for long voyages. However, it is worth noting that you need enough space to hold the thruster when you retract it.
For more information, contact a supplier of products like Vetus thrusters.