Hydraulic Systems
As with anything, if you start the conversation with the dealer by outlining your concerns he will move on to the next most expensive solution and scare the hell out of you by playing on those concerns. Our experience was no different. We were told we could get an electric thruster for about 5000 Euros installed but that it would only run for about a minute and a half before overheating. Actually this is true but that is a long time to run the thruster. We were steered away from the thrusters on which the motor was located in the tunnel on the grounds of maintenance. This left an assortment of units that would suffice but always with the short running time.
We had also heard that the best thing in barging was to have a spike or steel beam that is lowered into the mud below the boat to hold you in position at anchor. In Holland this is a big advantage because many of the locations in which you moor are in lakes with muddy bottoms and in which a fore and aft anchor is not always the most secure in a blow.
We combined the two requirements, since the spike had to have hydraulics and the thruster was best served by one. We had the shop put in the drive motor, tank, and three sets of pipes, leaving one set forward but with no device to drive. This cost some 22,500 Euros for the equipment and 4,000 to instal. The equipment included the piping, bowthruster motor, and winch for the spike. We also have hydraulic steering on a separate system but this is included in the sail away package.
Now if we want to add a car or motorcycle lift we can do so at a relatively minor cost. Having used and perhaps overused the bowthruster I have to admit it is a very good investment. As for the spike, we used it a lot in Holland and plan to use it when we are waiting for lock gates to open in France. It is not effective on a stony bottom since the spike is lowered rather than driven into the ground, but we are satisfied with the performance.
