Dual SideShift Stern Thruster Install
Posted: May 17th, 2021, 2:18 pm
My new to me 2000 Carver 396 came with a Side Power 12v bow thruster which for most situations was adequate for docking, but the marina we are in has strong wind and currents, so I decided to add a stern thruster. This boat has extremely limited internal space at the transom so an most brands of thruster would not work. I opted for a dual 24v SideShift ST350 configuration to limit the needs for interior components.
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!
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!
Nice install. I know I have both factory installed bow and stern thrusters, oh my they come in handy. 
Then again there is the crowd that say if you learn how to handle your boat you will never need thrusters, yeah right. 
