Seven years later.
We're in one of Copenhagen's popular harbors at the moment and you can hear the sound of thrusters almost every time any
boat is joining the crowd or leaving. Almost
all boats have bow thrusters and quite a few of them have stern thrusters as well (as do we).
I've never had a stern thruster before but now that we do, the difference in being able to control the
boat is quite amazing. But sure, it means a lot less practice in doing everything the "old school" way, without any thrusters.
Still, it's good technology, I think, and it's allowing people to have more and better
boating experiences.
In the latter part of the 1990s when I first started sailing, there were still some people looking down on other people who docked using used the
engine instead of just sailing in. Quite a few people were actually sailing/cruising with engineless sailboats (some are still, I guess), and were really good at handling them.
Today, here in Copenhagen, I haven't seen anyone sailing in, and I think most people would think it unnecessary and risky to do so. Unless, of course, you've had an
engine failure, in which case a) it would be good to know how to do it, and b) you'd receive many praises and taps on the shoulder for good seamanship after successfully having done so without crashing into anyone or anything
As to catamarans -- I've seen both Outremers and Gunboats fitted with bow as well as stern thrusters, so I think the progress here is clear and inevitable. Bigger boats, more bow thrusters, stern thrusters, and dynamic positioning systems.
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