Hydraulic pump to fit a Ford Lehman 80 or 120

[IolantheSF]

We're looking to convert to hydraulic bow thruster, windlass, winches, etc. We're getting a little old for all the work, and getting the boat into a slip in high erratic winds is problematic. The windlass wiring burned up on the previous owner, so we're thinking that 26 tons may be a bit to ask electrics to push around. Does anyone know if/where we can get a hydraulic pump to fit a Ford Lehman 80? Would hydraulic motors and control valving like what they use on tractors and such work, or do we need to buy the "yachty" versions? Any experience with on-demand vs. continuous loop hydraulics? Any and all advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you,

[Zach]

Put me in the camp for electric, as they are much closer to plug and play... If you have weight capacity and location for their own battery bank.

I installed a hydraulic bow and stern thruster on a boat with Cummins diesels.

I ran into the issue on a boat with out a dedicated PTO. I ended up having a jack shaft welded up that bolted to the crank snout, and couldn't get enough pressure to reach full torque on the thrusters at idle with a pre-existing non-load sensing two stage pump.

I would work backwards from Vetus or one of the other suppliers for the thrusters, to supply the pump and get a matched system so you can utilize it at slow speeds at the dock. Depending on how tight you are to the dock, throttling up to use the thruster may complicate things if you are "threading the needle" with current and wind.

On that boat we ended up removing the hydraulic system and going with a pair of Gel 8D life lines sitting beside new electric motor heads for the thrusters.

Cheers,

Zach

[IolantheSF]

Thanks for the experience, Zach. I still have the issues: No room for a set of 8D's, Wanting to run winches and windlass as well as the thruster. Needing really prolonged thrusting as I fuddle around trying to hit the slip with the wind gusting from 10 to whatever knots. The flip side as you've shown is that electrics are proven and readily available for a competitive price. The hydraulic systems I've looked at would cost a chunk for new Vetus, etc. That is why I'm wondering about agricultural grade pumps, motors, etc. They are affordable, and well proven, but they are all "open center".