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Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
- RussL
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 69
- Joined: August 24th, 2020, 5:17 pm
- Vessel Info: 2000 396 Motor Yacht
- Location: Kenmore, WA
- Has thanked: 18 times
- Been thanked: 9 times
Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Day 1, Out of the water!
The physical mounting of the thrusters through the transom was pretty straight forward other than some major contortion work to get my hands in to secure the back plates. The process of laying them out and installing them took about 5 hours total, and the installation kit was pretty complete. It came with two sets of bolts. One shorter all threaded and one longer with about ¼ of the bolt threaded. Murphy’s Law… I did end up needing to make run to the hardware store to get new bolts because hull thickness was in between the two sizes.
Day 2, Get these things mounted!
Wiring was a challenge. For the thrusters was a challenge, mostly because the instructions are a little too simplistic. Key take away if you decide to put these units in yourself…. This unit is controlled via the ground side of the circuit rather than the positive side. The diagram shows the ground wire from wireless receiver going to “common ground”. I connected it to the negative side of the battery which feeds the system and it did not work. I had to sleep on it to figure out what was wrong. The ground wire MUST! be connected to the ground lug of the motor control unit for the single to work. Here is my configuration. I ended up drawing this for the tech support people at Sideshift because of what I will explain next.
Days 3-4, Wire it up and try and make it look nice! (Don't forget trouble shooting....)
After everything was done the controls did not work. They were supposed to be factory programmed, but they were not.… I am not sure if I did it during the install or if they were not programmed when I received them. It took several conversations with them to get it sorted. If you hold the bow joystick to the right while connecting power it clears the programming. Their site has reasonably good instructions for single or bow and stern thrusters…. Murphy’s Law…. They didn’t work for me, because I have 2 stern thrusters and a bow. Here is the link to the instructions for single bow and single stern. (https://3bs9qa1fgvxs28kkjc10h4u9-wpengi ... -Stern.pdf) . If you have dual stern thrusters, follow the same process but instead of holding the bow joystick to the right and pressing the power button to program the stern, hold the stern joystick to the right and press the power button. This is not documented anywhere.
After everything was done the controls did not work. They were supposed to be factory programmed, but they were not.… I am not sure if I did it during the install or if they were not programmed when I received them. It took several conversations with them to get it sorted. If you hold the bow joystick to the right while connecting power it clears the programming. Their site has reasonably good instructions for single or bow and stern thrusters…. Murphy’s Law…. They didn’t work for me, because I have 2 stern thrusters and a bow. Here is the link to the instructions for single bow and single stern. (https://3bs9qa1fgvxs28kkjc10h4u9-wpengi ... -Stern.pdf) . If you have dual stern thrusters, follow the same process but instead of holding the bow joystick to the right and pressing the power button to program the stern, hold the stern joystick to the right and press the power button. This is not documented anywhere.
Day 5, Programming! (Don't forget trouble shooting....)
Got everything buttoned up, and I also add some underwater lights so my kids can see fish at night. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on them though, so I decided to take a chance on the Husuku SOOP3 lights from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088GYJFP2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. They are really bright on land, but I haven’t tested them at night in the water yet. I will post an update after I get a chance to try them. I also used a wireless control unit that has a key fob so I didn’t have to try and fish wires up though boat. This thing works great! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JFH6VQH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5SKNTXJR172NPYW381P0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1.
Finished Product!
- RussL
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 69
- Joined: August 24th, 2020, 5:17 pm
- Vessel Info: 2000 396 Motor Yacht
- Location: Kenmore, WA
- Has thanked: 18 times
- Been thanked: 9 times
Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
- g36
- Admiral
- Posts: 1939
- Joined: April 7th, 2014, 6:07 pm
- Vessel Info: 1997 Carver 405
- Location: Soddy Daisy TN.
- Has thanked: 7 times
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Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Crusader xli
The Black Pearl
Soddy Daisy Tn.
- Midnightsun
- CYO Supporter
- Posts: 2838
- Joined: March 27th, 2016, 2:27 pm
- Vessel Info: The Midnight Sun
2007 41CMY
Volvo D6-370's - Location: Montreal, Canada
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- Been thanked: 1095 times
Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
- RussL
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 69
- Joined: August 24th, 2020, 5:17 pm
- Vessel Info: 2000 396 Motor Yacht
- Location: Kenmore, WA
- Has thanked: 18 times
- Been thanked: 9 times
Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Oh, forgot mention. If anyone wants to do this type of install on a 396, there is enough room under the bed in the aft cabin. You just need to make sure you use AGM batteries.
- RGrew176
- Admiral
- Posts: 6211
- Joined: August 17th, 2015, 4:07 am
- Vessel Info: 2022 Stingray 182 SC
- Location: Southgate, MI.
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Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
2022 Stingray 182 SC
2004 Past Commodore
West River Yacht & Cruising Club
- Tireless
- Commander
- Posts: 460
- Joined: October 16th, 2018, 4:51 pm
- Vessel Info: 2006 Carver 44 CMY
Volvo Penta D6 370 HP - Location: Port Severn, Ontario
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Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Greg
- RussL
- Deck Hand
- Posts: 69
- Joined: August 24th, 2020, 5:17 pm
- Vessel Info: 2000 396 Motor Yacht
- Location: Kenmore, WA
- Has thanked: 18 times
- Been thanked: 9 times
Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Tireless wrote:Source of the post I would like some feedback on how effective using two of these thrusters will be for your boat. I have been researching stern thrusters and this particular brand. One would be insufficient to be effective on my boat, however, two is an interesting concept.
Greg
Initial use of them I am really pleased. Very powerful... I have to be careful not to over correct. My in-laws have a 55 Symbol with 2 ST340s (12v version) and they work well on a boat that is considerably taller and weighs 58,000 lbs. That is another reason I opted for this brand. Your boat is close to the same weight as mine, so you would have no issues at all with either ST340s or ST350s. I would have gotten the 12v version but I got a really good deal because the dealer had these sitting in his office all winter. If you decide to do it please read the part of my post about programming. The docs don't cover having 2. Also, if you order them I recommend asking them to have the joystick configured to have a 15 minute time out. I believe it is 5 by default. My father in-law complains about it shutting off all the time while he waiting to dock.
- RGrew176
- Admiral
- Posts: 6211
- Joined: August 17th, 2015, 4:07 am
- Vessel Info: 2022 Stingray 182 SC
- Location: Southgate, MI.
- Has thanked: 72 times
- Been thanked: 464 times
Re: Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
2022 Stingray 182 SC
2004 Past Commodore
West River Yacht & Cruising Club
-
- CYO Supporter
- Posts: 5803
- Joined: July 10th, 2015, 9:58 pm
- Vessel Info: 1989 Carver 3807 Aft Cabin
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