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Docking thruster project


agent462

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I wanted to share something I'm going to experiment with this winter from a kickstarter project.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847478159/the-t100-a-game-changing-underwater-thruster

Essentially, I want to make a little HDPE bracket that will easily attach/detach from the middle of the swim platform that will attach 1 or more of these thrusters. You can then just engage forward or reverse on the thruster to help kick the stern of the boat the way you want it to go.

They expect to ship this winter so it will be a fun little project. If anyone else is interested, jump on the pledging.

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I toyed with the idea for a couple reasons...anyway, those probably aren't big enough to do any good for a 21/23ft wakeboat.

http://www.hollandmarineparts.nl/?/calculator

That calculator is apparently for worst-case conditions at sea, not docking in calm water. The lowest their wind scale goes is Force 5, which means about 20 knot wind, 6 to 9 foot swells in open sea, and many whitecaps.

If you are in a calm harbor just wanting to kick your stern slowly to one side and have a minute to let it work, one (or two) of these thrusters might be fine.

Beaufort_scale_5.jpg

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I walk my boat on the trailer because it's very shallow and the ramp I go to is crap. I'm not looking for a complete drive system. I'm looking for something that will just kick the stern back and forth some. I'll have two of them so I'll experiment with one and two. I bought them just to play with but this sounded like a cool little idea. They also added a stretch goal for a T200 with 10lbs of thrust.

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Wow - when worlds collide!

I work with high school robotics (FIRST) and many of the teams also do SeaPerch and other underwater robotic competitions. Many of the teams / mentors are supporting this because these are more affordable to them and fill a need.

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Wow - when worlds collide!

I work with high school robotics (FIRST) and many of the teams also do SeaPerch and other underwater robotic competitions. Many of the teams / mentors are supporting this because these are more affordable to them and fill a need.

yeah $200ish vs thousands for a cool little project...can't beat that. If it doesn't work, I still had fun or I could always just add more.

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That's a great idea. The wind always seems to blow across our boat ramp so once the bow is in between the trailer guide the stern will inevitably blow left or right so a little thruster would do the job nicely to level her up. .

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