Bow thrusters for your boat: start with the guide for your hull
The boat you already own has settled most of this before you price a single unit. Her hull sets how much wind the topsides catch, and whether there is enough hull forward to bore a A tube bored straight through the hull below the waterline, with a propeller in the middle of it. It is the conventional thruster. Fitting one is mostly a labor job rather than a hardware one. through. It also sets what already steers her at docking speed, and which units the makers say fit.
Each of the ten guides below works through one type of boat. Each gives the size she needs to keep steering in a 15 knot breeze, the products that fit, and what the job cost the owners who have already paid for one.
The short answer
- Want the quickest answer? Use the thruster finder, our free tool that matches a thruster to your boat. It gives the same answer the guides do, in about a minute.
- Want the full picture? Open the guide for your boat type. Slow boats: Pontoon & tritoon, Sailboat, Houseboat, Catamaran, Trawler, Motor yacht Fast boats: Bass & flats, Wake & ski boats, Express cruiser, Center console
- Each guide covers bow, stern or both. It says which end to fix first on that kind of boat, and when a unit at each end makes sense.
- Boat not listed? Pick the nearest guide, or see what to do instead.
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Pontoon boat thrusters
The kits you can order for a pontoon or tritoon, what each costs, which end first.
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Sailboat thrusters
Whether a tunnel fits your forefoot, the external alternative, and the push your rig needs.
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Houseboat thrusters
Tunnel, hydraulic or drop-down electric: what fits a houseboat and where the money goes.
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Catamaran thrusters
Why most cats need none, when windage wins, and where a tunnel goes on two hulls.
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Trawler thrusters
Sizing for a tall house, what trawler owners paid, and which end to fit first.
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Motor yacht thrusters
Why twin screws still want a bow unit, sizing for a flybridge, and what owners paid.
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Bass and flats boat thrusters
Why your trolling motor already covers the bow, and the stern kits worth paying for.
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Ski and wake boat thrusters
The aftermarket kits, what owners paid against the factory option, and the weekend install.
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Express cruiser thrusters
What the bow needs at 15 knots, whether a tunnel or retractable fits, and the price.
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Center console thrusters
The stern kits for an outboard boat, how little the bow needs, and when a tunnel fits.
What each guide assumes
Nobody has a windage figure for their own boat, and nobody is going out with a tape measure to get one. So each guide reads the wind exposure from the boat type instead of asking you for it.
The last column is the drive the guide treats as the usual case. The thruster finder asks about your drive instead, so a twin-screw trawler still gets a twin-screw answer.
| Boat | Wind it catches | Usually steers with |
|---|---|---|
| Pontoon & tritoon | a lot of wind | outboard |
| Sailboat | a fair amount of wind | single screw |
| Houseboat | a lot of wind | single screw |
| Catamaran | a lot of wind | twins |
| Trawler | a lot of wind | single screw |
| Motor yacht | a lot of wind | twins |
| Bass & flats | little wind | outboard |
| Wake & ski boats | little wind | single screw |
| Express cruiser | a fair amount of wind | sterndrive |
| Center console | little wind | outboard |
Boat not listed?
Pick the nearest of the ten guides. Or run the thruster finder with your own length. It gives the same sizing, the same products and the same costs the guides print.
Our page on cost by boat type prices the job for the common hulls in one table.