Has anyone checked to see if there's room for a conventional bow thruster w/o removing the forward water tank in the MK II ? I'm sure the bolt-on thrust pod would work but that would certainly slow the boat.
Seems like the conventional tunnel based thruster gets no more than 6 to 10 seconds allowance from PHRF, which means about 0.1 knots impact on boat speed. I've been hesitant to take the boat out single handed in 20 knot winds since docking single handed in those conditions is just like playing bumper boats at the carneval, except you have to pay for the damages. A bow thruster would change all that.
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Greg Jackson
SV Jacqui Marie
2004 C36, MKII
tall rig, wing keel,
Don't know anything about bow thrusters except that I was able to operate one back in the day on a Mainship 34. Boy was that fun! I would love to have a bowthruster, if for no other reason, just for the coolness factor alone (the reasons you gave for wanting one ain't bad either!). But alas, I have many repairs and upgrades to do that have a much higher priority, so I don't think I'll be getting a bow thruster anytime soon :(
A guy can dream can't he???...
Joel Schwartz
s/v Get-A-Grip
1993 Catalina 36 Hull #1259
Newport Beach, California
Greg,
Take all the money you would spend on the bow thruster installation, and offer tempting snacks and beverages to have someone you like come sailing with you when you need an extra hand docking. :)
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
[QUOTE=deising;20918]Greg,
Take all the money you would spend on the bow thruster installation, and offer tempting snacks and beverages to have someone you like come sailing with you when you need an extra hand docking. :)[/QUOTE]
That is my preferred solution, but it gets expensive and can be difficult to schedule since I rarely do day trips. Mostly I go out for 2 to 7 days at a time and hit a number of ports.
Greg Jackson
SV Jacqui Marie
2004 C36, MKII
tall rig, wing keel,
Well, that is a bit of a sticky wicket, old chap.
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
Best thing I ever did....
36MKII 1998 (1704)
2unit
St. Pete, FL