Smooth thruster control at Seawork

The old ‘full-on’ or ‘full-off’ control system options for thrusters have often resulted in a ‘jerky’ take up of power at low speeds, and, in some cases of unfavourable wind and tide conditions, the operator was not able to be as precise with docking as he could and should have been, with various bumps as a result.

So, Sleipner’s DC Proportional Controls (which come under the company’s Side Power brand) give a much easier handling of bow or stern thrust and fewer embarrassing mishaps.

The other important capability this system offers is the ‘hold function’ whereby the operator can now gently pin the boat against a quay wall or floating structure and hold it there, while the vessel is tied up securely, or while the operator is engaged with other jobs, such as helping offshore wind farm crew get off or on the vessel. This also enables solo or shorthanded operation of the boat.

In addition to a far smoother action, the Power Controller will extend the available run time of the thruster, if run at less than full power. If less than 50% of full power is selected, close to continuous run time can be expected, depending upon which size and type of thruster has been installed, as well as available battery power.

Operator control is via fingertip joysticks connected to an intelligent LCD panel offering real-time system information such as system status, amount and direction of thrust, temperature, remaining run time, and battery status. Visual icons and audible warning signals alert the user to any irregularities.

The controller can be located conveniently on the boat anywhere between the batteries and the thrusters. Any Side-Power DC electric thruster can be upgraded to DC Power Control specification.

Installation is based upon Side-Power’s S-Link CAN based control system, which connects all units in the system, similar to a computer network. This intelligent system allows an unlimited number of commands or information transfer on a single cable.