Cheap Homemade Houseboat Bow Thrusters

by Sam
(Kentucky)

For anybody thinking of making a homemade bow thruster for a houseboat. I had been thinking about how to make an inexpensive bow thruster since the commercial ones were too much for our budget.

It has been one of the BEST THINGS that I could have added to our small single engine 40 ft houseboat. Now I feel in total confidence when leaving or arriving at the dock!!! No more waiting for the wind to calm down.

To make the bow thruster, I ended up using two Motorguide or Minn Kota 55lb thrust 12 volt electric trolling motors. They were installed in an 3.5" ID aluminum tube. I wired them up so that when I activate them, they will work in tandem, example: one spins in forward, while the other spins in reverse.

I mounted the aluminum tube with the two electric motors to a 3/8" x 24" long aluminum plate that is bolted to my keel on the hull. I used the 50" tubes to bring the wiring above the waterline, and enter the hull through some liquid-tight electrical fittings.

The trolling motors use about 60 amps total, and I have them connected to our house batteries, since the thruster only gets used for 10-30 seconds at a time. It's amazing how much thrust that they provide.

My wife was so impressed with the outcome of the whole project, that she even compliments me in front of all my dock buddies!

Now my next project is to redo the roof :(

Sam & Carol, Kentucky.