[C320-list] Bow Thruster

[Bill Culbertson]

Mark,
  Hello from a fellow Lake Erie 320 owner.  We have Harmony at Toledo Beach Marina on the Michigan shore not far from Bolles Harbor.  
   
  Don't know if you've been there or what you consider barely enough room but Pelee Row of TBM does not have gobs of room either.  Our slip is just under 14 ft wide for a just under 12 ft wide boat.  The fairway leading to the slip is 50 ft wide from the end of our pier to the end of the pier of the slip directly across the fairway from us.  It sure doesn't look or feel like 9 ft in front of me and 9 ft behind me when I've made the final turn to be pointed into the slip.  Probably at least partly because most everyone sticks out a foot or two beyond their pier.  And, of course, we have a port turn into a port-tie slip just to make it challenging.
   
  It can be a nail-biter in any kind of breeze (especially cross-breeze or tail wind) but you get better with practice.  So you'll want to practice, practice, practice.  Take a day when you don't have family or guests and just do it over and over.  There is no substitute for developing a feel for how the boat responds to your actions and conditions.  The more you do it the easier it gets.  Not only practice entering/leaving the slip but also turning the boat 360d in its own length, how long does she take to stop, how much does she continue to turn after you've "completed" a 90d turn, etc.  Are you familiar with the maneuver of wheel hard to starboard and alternating fwd and rev to spin the boat with no forward or reverse progress? That's a great one for retrying a botched slip entry before you hit anything.
   
  Avoid the mistake of dreading it so much that you don't go out when you should and won't go out singlehanded. If you only leave the dock when there is no wind to make the return easy, then the sailing won't be much fun.
   
   -bill
   Harmony #859
   
  Mtimney at aol.com wrote:
  We recently moved our 320 to a new location on Catawba Island, Ohio. Our 
slip is located in a very narrow channel, where there is barely enough room to 
make the turn in fair conditions. Has anyone investigated or installed a bow 
thruster in their 320? If so, which manufacturer/model, and what has your 
experience been with the unit?

FYI, I couldn't locate any past threads on this subject in the archives.

Mark Timney
Second Wind #349



 		
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