BOW THRUSTER V2-10, V2-12, V2-16, V2-18, V2-20 Saddle Housing Installation Manual
Saddle Thruster Installation Manual JUNE 2012 Western Marine Electronics 14120 NE 200th Street, Box 7201 Woodinville, WA 98072-4001 USA T: (425) 481-2296 / F: (425) 486-0909 Email: cjones@wesmar.com Web: www.wesmar.com
Installation Table of Contents Introduction... 4 Bow Thruster Tube Instalation... 5 Hull Fairings (Optional)... 7 Thruster Mounting... 8 Oil Reservoir... 9 Flexible Coupling Alignment... 10 System Troubleshooting Notes... 11 Page 3
Electric Thruster Introduction This manual has been created as an aid to understanding bow thrusters, and to provide some helpful tips. Use it only as a guide. For saddle stern thrusters, see the seperate saddle stern manual. Installations should be performed by a professional boat yard or a competent marine service yard. One feature that distinguishes our bow thrusters from the competition is that all drive legs are stainless steel, and a sacrificial zinc nut is installed on the propeller shaft to reduce electrolytic corrosion (Fig. 1). When you receive your bow thruster, you should find the following equipment: Stainless steel bow thruster drive unit Stainless steel propeller(s) Zinc nut assembly including shaft key and pin Mounting flange bolts and washers Thruster gasket Owner's manual Figure 1: V2-12 Thruster Page 4
Bow Thruster Tube Installation Depending on hull material, consult a boat yard or naval architect prior to installation. can supply fiberglass, aluminum or steel tubes. Note: For fiberglass tunnels, ensure smooth surface area prior to seating tube gasket and saddle. Installation BECAUSE STEEL, AND ALUMINUM TUBES HAVE DIFFERENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE DIAM- ETERS, NOTIFY IF YOU WILL USE A NON-FIBERGLASS TUBE. Figure 2: The bow thruster must fit completely inside the tunnel. Due to ID and OD differences in some steel or aluminum tubes, you may have to build up the bow thruster saddle or have props cut to a particular dimension. Check prop clearances before installing tunnel. Tube Location For best thruster performance, position the thruster according to the following guidelines: Position the tube at least one tube diameter below the surface of the water. At an absolute minimum, the distance between the top of the tube and the surface of the water should be 1/2 the tube diameter. Make sure that the tube is between 2 and 6 tube diameters long. At these lengths, no part of the bow thruster should extend outside the tube (Fig. 2). Place the tube as far forward as possible while maintaining proper tube depth and width. To determine bow thruster tube length, be sure you measure across the widest point of the hull at the installation site. Give the tunnel exit a generous radius to ensure proper water flow (Fig. 3). Figure 3: The bow thruster tube should have a generous radius where it joins the hull to prevent cavitation. Family Tunnel Prop Size OD Wall ID V-10 10" schedule 40 pipe 9.5" dia 10.75".365" 10.39" V-12 14" schedule 40 pipe 12.6" dia 14.00".438" 13.12" V-16 18" schedule 40 pipe 16.5" dia 18.00".5" 17.00" V-18 18" schedule 40 pipe 18.0" dia 20.00".81" 18.38" V-20 20" schedule 40 pipe 20.5" dia 22.00".5" 21.00" Table 1: Steel and Aluminum Tunnels Family Tunnel Prop Size OD Wall ID V-10 Custom 9.49" dia 10.63".787" 9.84" V-12 Custom 12.25" dia 14.00".625" 12.75" V-16 Custom 16.00" dia 18.00".75" 16.50" V-18 Custom 18" dia 20.00".75" 18.50" V-20 Custom 20.0" dia 22.00".75" 20.50" Table 2: Fiberglass Tunnels Page 5
Electric Thruster Figure 4: Installation of the thruster tube. Page 6
Hull Fairings (Optional) Installation Fairings placed around the bow thruster tunnel may reduce water resistance. Without a fairng, water is free to hit the aft wall of the thruster tunnel creating extra drag, noise, and potentially causing the thruster to rotate inside the tube (Fig 5A). There are two types of fairings that can help prevent this from happening. 1. The best solution is to create a recess in the aft side of the tunnel so that the inside face of the tunnel is no longer exposed to incoming water. Frequently, the recess is angled down to match the shape of the water flow in this section of the hull (Fig. 5B, 6). 2. Another effective solution is to create a deflector that sticks out from the hull on the forward side of the tunnel. The deflector should hide the aft wall of the tunnel from the incoming water flow (Fig. 5C, Fig. 7). Protective bars are sometimes installed to protect the thruster from debris. These bars should be installed length-wise on the hull, parallel to the water flow (Fig. 6). (A) (B) (C) Figure 5: A. Tunnels without fairings create drag B. Tunnels with fairing aft of tunnel reduces drag. C. Tunnels with fairing forward of tunnel Figure 6: Aft fairing with protective bars. Figure 7: Forward Fairing. Page 7
Bow Thruster Mounting Mount the thruster on the tube so the unit is in the longitudinal center. If you cannot mount the unit straight above the tube, it can be moved down on either side of the tube up to an angle of 90 degrees (Fig. 8). If installing the thruster at an angle, the oil fill plug to the lower leg (located on the flange), must be on the upper side. Flange, Gasket and Tunnel Electric Thruster 1. Use the supplied stainless steel saddle as a template for your fiberglass, aluminum or steel tunnel. Cut the tube to the inside dimensions of the flange/ saddle (Fig. 9, 10). Figure 8: The thruster can be mounted at any angle 90º from vertical. 2. The saddle will become a integral part of the tunnel and should be through bolted using customer supplied 3/8-16 flat head stainless steel bolts and nuts with locking washers. Nuts should be placed on the top of the saddle to allow for re-torquing. 3. Dry fit complete system prior to setting it in 3M- 5200 or similar sealant. Check drive leg mounting; make sure the props turn freely. The propellor blades should have all have the same clearnace to the tunnel walls. 4. To correct for machining and casting tollerances, an additional gasket may be provided in some instances to center the output shafts in the tunnel. Figure 9: Thruster gasket and flange. Figure 10: Fiberglass tunnel customer pre-cut to inside saddle dimensions Page 8
Installation Oil Reservoir An oil reservoir is supplied with V2-10 to V2-20 thrusters (Fig. 11). The oil fill plug is 1/4-inch NPT (Fig. 12, 13). Located on the drive leg, the oil fill plug is provided to allow installation of an oil reservoir (Fig. 14). It also acts as a visual aid for checking gear oil level in the lower leg. Install the oil reservoir no more than 2 ft above the thruster leg. Use a 5 oz. container filled with SAE 90W gear oil. So not fill oil reservoir with gear oil until vessel is ready to go back into the water. Figure 11: 5 oz. oil reservoir with 1/4" fitting A customer-supplied gear oil reservoir for models 6- and 8-inch V-6 and V-8s series can also be set up for the thruster. Install the reservoir above the thruster leg because it is gravity fed. can sell above optional 5 oz. reservoirs. Oil Vent Oil Fill Figure 12: Oil fill and vent ports on motor adapter. Oil fill Figure 13: Oil reservoir mounting. Figure 14: Oil fill and vent plugs. Page 9
Electric Thruster Flexible Coupling Alignment The provided shaft couplings have two setscrews in them each. One of these is aligned with the bore keyway. This setscrew must be tightened down against the key of the given shaft. Align the coupler halves such that both shafts have setscrews set against their respective keys and that the coupler halves firmly together about the hytrel insert. If a setscrew cannot be driven into its appropriate shaft key then the shaft and coupler alignments must be adjusted to correct this (Fig. 24, 25). Note: all setscrews must be tightened down prior to thruster operation. Figure 24: Improper shaft alignment prevents proper setting of setscrew against shaft key. Figure 25: Shaft re-aligned to facilitate proper setting of setscrew against shaft key. Page 10
Installation System Troubleshooting Notes Page 11
Electric Thruster System Troubleshooting Notes Page 12