Bow Thruster

[PLKennedy]

We have a very tricky slip.  Boats on the other side, two behind us and a cross current of up to 2 knots every six hours.

So the Secretary of the Navy suggested we purchase a bow thruster.  Is there any experience out there for the 34 Mark II?

Peter

[hdevera]

I noticed that you have a pretty new Catalina 34 (based on your hull number).  I'd practice maneuvering your new boat and if it still is hard when you feel comfortable managing the boat under power, find another marina or slip.

[Stu Jackson]

Peter & Susan:

In addition to the earlier responses, I think you will find that there just isn't room for a thruster.  If you check the profile of your boat in your manual or in the brochures section of the website, you will notice that the depth of the boat underwater at the bow is minimal.  It slopes down gently, and by the time there is enough depth for a thruster, the beam has increased to make the installation impossible.  While the keel depth may be 5'-7" (or less with a wing), the depth of the hull itself is just not that much.

Oh well, guess C34s are not Tugboats R Us.

We, too, have sideways currents, which we have (sometimes painfully) learned to use to our advantage (mostly) when coming into our slip.  Sometimes the wind and current are in opposite directions.  While we have an "upwind" berth, most of us laugh at the marina designer's assignment of that particular choice.  Wind's on the starboard beam from the west all summer long, current switches twice a day, east-west, west-east.  Sometimes it's actually harder with no wind and just a wicked current.  As long as this condition exists, we've learned to try to balance the forces, and always check what the current is doing before we even enter the marina by using ranges as we turn into the marina from the water and then again into our fairway before we get to the slip.

One suggestion is to practice "putting your boat in one spot" of your choosing when you are out on the water with no docks around.  Pick a spot where the currents are running and the wind's doing its thing in the same configuration as your slip conditions.

When we first got our boat, we spent a full day just going in and out of the slip.  If you don't do this, the amount of time between trying to dock is pretty long:  it only comes once a day and at the end of the day at that.

I've also learned how to sail into our slip.  The wind is abeam to starboard when we enter the marina, and behind us as we turn to port into our fairway, then abeam when we turn right, into our slip.  I can report that other than a true upwind berth, this is possibly the best arrangement for being able to sail in.  The main's dropped, and the jib is either partially furled for final furling, or let out, depending on wind strength.

We know how fast (or slow) we need to be going when we turn into the fairway, and how much we'll generally loose as we coast down the fairway to our slip's location.  So far, so good.

Another trick is to use a springline.  If you run a line from your amidships cleat, and then hook this line to the aft cleat on your dock, and then take a turn or three around the winch at the boat end, you'll find the boat will snuggle up to the dock with the engine in forward at the lowest rpms.  This works very well when singlehanding, and in bad conditions.  You can find springline advice in most good nautical instruction books.  I suggest you try this even before you leave the dock to gain an understanding of how it works.  Better yet, find a longer side tie only dock and practice it there.

We haven't moved since we like our marina so much: location, cleanliness, facilities, dockmates, etc.

All this said, the C34 is still one of the nimblest boats around when it comes to manuvering.

Good luck.

[john daley]

The best help I got was reading the FAQ's on this site relating to reversing into a slip. I just about had a coronary getting into ours when we first got the boat and it was  a huge relief to find I wasn't on my own, but more importantly I got some real good tips from it on backing in. Its not always perfect, but we've done no damage except to my ego occasionally! Funny how  the whole world only looks at your boat when you're trying to get into the slip!

[Roc]

Goes something like this: The difficulty in docking is directly proportional to the number of people watching.  

Roc-

[kenkillian]

I know everybody has all but said that it is impossible, but there a couple shops putting them Catalinas in Washington state.  One is in Anacortes and was written up in one of the sailing magazines about a year ago and the other shop is in Seattle.  Cost, $4000-$5000 for a Cat 34.  The biggest factor to be considered is something that hasn't been mentioned.  They are electric of course, and are set up to have their own battery bank.  Thus you need space and reinforcing for the batteries, and you also have to consider weight and balance.  It is far more complex than just cutting a hole and inserting  thruster, but it is being done.  Lots to be considered.