Bow thruster installation UK

[marc.phoenix46]

Hello Hello,

i'm about to lift my oyster 46 hp out of the water and she's gonna stay on the ground for a couple of months.
i need to do some maintenance work but it would be also the perfect time to install a bow thruster. i'm planning to do a lot of short handed sailing and it would be a great help to get in and out of marinas with little to no crew.

after thinking about it a lot, i was thinking of going with a retractable bow thruster, compared to a tunnel thruster the price is consequentially higher but i really don't like the idea of having an horizontal whole on the bow creating additional drag.

after looking online i it seems that i'm going to be spending 5-10k just for the thruster, and unless i can find someone to install it without making that price jump too much, i plan to install the thruster myself.

what i'm looking for in here is some advice from the community on:
- which thruster to buy
- things to look out for
- advice on installation or contacts for trusted engineer that can do the job

specs are:
- the boat is an oyster 46 hp
- tonnage about 23T
- the thruster would have to be 12V or 24V (24 preferred)

thans for the help