More boats in the area are switching to electric thrusters

I've seen at least five work boats get electric thrusters installed this year. The captains say they're quieter and don't stir up as much silt. It makes our bottom surveys way easier, honestly.

4 comments

4 Comments

drew_patel1mo ago

Just make sure they've got the battery bank to back it up. Friend of mine learned that the hard way... maintenance is way easier on those things too, no more oil changes.

corah751mo ago

No oil changes sounds nice until you're getting towed in with dead batteries.

brian_taylor151mo ago

Totally get what @corah75 means, my buddy had the same tow back last season.

the_hugo1mo ago

Yeah, the part about battery banks is so true... a buddy of mine runs a survey boat and they switched his to electric last fall. He loved the quiet until he tried a full day of station-keeping in a stiff current. The system just shut down by mid-afternoon... they totally misjudged the drain. Had to get a tow back to the dock, which was pretty embarrassing for a pro. He says it's great now, but they had to double the battery setup after that.