Before you choose a thruster, you should check that it will be a suitable fit for your boat. This isn't just a question of matching boat size and power. You also need to think about where the thruster sits in the boat and how its position might affect its performance.

In some cases, it's worth looking at ignition-protected thrusters. Why?

Get a Safer Solution

You might need to house your thruster close to combustible parts and materials. For example, parts of it might sit in the same area as your engine, fuel tank or gas supplies. This is a potential safety risk. These areas can be full of combustible fumes. If they can get into your thruster, then it could cause an explosion when you turn it on. A spark could be enough to ignite the fumes which could then go on to ignite other fuels and fuel sources.

An ignition-protected thruster gives you protection against these events. These thrusters are specially designed to prevent fumes from getting inside the device, so they have robust and extra-tight seals. They also have fuses that you can reset from outside so that you don't need to open the thruster to do maintenance work. You keep fumes away from potential sparks at all times which reduces the chances of a combustion accident that could significantly damage your boat and hurt anyone on it.

Get a More Robust Thruster

Like any boat part, you want a thruster to last for as long as possible. You don't want to have to do a lot of maintenance or repair work on it. You don't want it to wear down or break down too quickly. The problem is that a thruster is exposed to difficult environments. Water and salt can corrode external metals. Humidity can force moisture inside the device.

If the external housing corrodes or moisture gets inside, then the internal working parts of the thruster could suffer. Metal parts might corrode; seals might become brittle or misshapen. The thruster might not work if its ignition gets wet.

If you install an ignition-protected thruster, then the device is sealed tight. While this extra protection targets fuel safety, it also helps keep the thruster in good nick. The internal parts of the device are closed off. They are less likely to suffer from the knock-on effects of external damage; they won't get wet.

To find out more, contact boat equipment suppliers. They can show you examples of ignition-protected products, like Vetus thrusters.