Hydraulic tunnel thrusters are available from 16″ to 86″ diameter and range from 35 to 2000 HP. The hydrostatic transmission provides proportional propeller speed control in both directions, thereby eliminating the need for controllable pitch propellers.
Each thruster comes as a complete package, with a short tunnel assembly and a robust four-blade, high-thrust propeller on a large diameter shaft. The shaft is directly driven by Thrustmaster’s exclusive hydraulic propulsion motor. The motor is housed inside the dry pod of the thruster.
Each thruster is available in steel (for steel hulls) or in aluminum (for aluminum hulls). The steel thruster uses a steel tunnel and bearing housing, an Aquamet® propeller shaft, 316 stainless steel seal housing, manganese bronze or NiBrAl propeller, and stainless steel hardware. Steel parts are provided with a serious marine coating (Ameron polyurethane over epoxy on inorganic zinc primer), and the inside of the tunnel is provided with a ceramic coating for extreme corrosion and erosion protection.
The aluminum thruster uses a tunnel assembly, strut, pod and bearing housing of marine grade aluminum. Other than that, it is the same as the steel thruster.
Precise Control When You Need it Most
Tunnel thrusters are primarily used for docking and undocking, slow speed maneuvering, emergency steering and station-keeping at zero or slow forward speed. Tunnel thrusters provide a significant advantage to vessels where adjustments in their heading at zero speed are critical to their operation, where maneuvering in tight quarters is required of where frequent docking occurs.
Thrustmaster hydraulic tunnel thrusters are designed for heavy-duty seawater service. They are used in fishing trawlers, ferries, offshore supply vessels, crewboats, river cruise vessels, sightseeing boats, bunkering tankers, and military craft, to name a few.
They are built to last for the life of the vessel. Many units are used in dynamic positioning applications where they work continuously around the clock. They can be used in pairs or multiples for easy installation in skegs of larger vessels or in the bow of vessels with limited draft.
Smooth and Forgiving Hydraulic Drive
Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc., pioneered the concept of hydraulic propulsion for the marine industry using technology originally employed in the offshore oil fields. Thrustmaster’s hydraulic bow and stern thrusters are the benchmark for efficient and reliable maneuvering under severe marine conditions.
The hydraulic drive is extremely resistant to damage. Foreign objects ingested by the tunnel, (a disastrous event with a mechanically-driven bow thruster) will not damage the hydraulic drive train, as the hydraulic system instantly relieves any transmission overloads.
The variable-flow hydrostatic drive system allows for infinite propeller speed control in port and starboard direction. This allows perfect vessel station-keeping as well as instant thrust response. Full thrust can be reversed within three to five seconds. This instantaneous and fully proportional speed control gives performance better than a controllable pitch propeller (CPP) without the cost, complexity, fragility or maintenance problems of the intricate CPP control system with all its drive shafts, levers and feedback mechanisms.
Thrustmaster hydraulic tunnel thrusters require no routine maintenance, and rebuilds are recommended only once every 40,000 hours of operation. Very few tunnel thrusters reach 40,0000 operating hours before their 20th year of use.
Efficient and Reliable
Thrustmaster’s hydraulic drive is simple, quiet, efficient and extremely smooth. The prime mover driving the hydraulic pump can be a non-reversible electric motor or an engine running at constant speed because the hydraulic transmission controls propeller speed and direction of rotation. The prime mover drives a hydraulic pump. The propeller is driven by a hydraulic motor. In between are fluid conductors. There are no drive shafts, gears, bearings or other mechanical components to fail. The hydraulics are virtually maintenance free and provide years of reliable operation while performing in the harshest marine environments.
Many Thrustmaster tunnel thrusters have been in continuous commercial use for more than 20 years, providing flawless operation without any component failures.
There are very few rotating parts. The simple design of the direct hydraulic drive, without right angle gear transmission or drive shaft, provides for extreme reliability and very easy maintenance. There is no scheduled maintenance to the tunnel thruster other than normal maintenance to the hydraulic system and prime mover. Because all bearings are lubricated by the hydraulic fluid, there are no grease points or oil levels to check. The hydraulic transmission separates and dampens engine and propeller vibrations.
Superior to Diesel-Electric
Thrustmaster’s hydraulic tunnel thrusters are superior to diesel-electric driven thrusters in terms of response, efficiency and maintainability. Moreover, hydraulic propulsion is more affordable in many applications.
The units are available in steel or aluminum construction. They come complete with a section of tunnel, facilitating easy installation.
Thruster design and construction is in accordance with the United States Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register and other major classification society rules. Certification to a specific class is available as an option.
FACT
Two smaller hydraulic thrusters often cost less than one thruster twice as big. Two or more thrusters can be operated in unison, as if it were a single thruster, saving money while providing redundancy.
Flexible Convenient Installation
A Thrustmaster hydraulic tunnel thruster can be installed at its most favorable location while the prime mover with hydraulic pump can be installed in the engine room or any other convenient location, optimizing weight distribution and eliminating the requirement for a separate thruster room or additional inspected machinery space. There are no shafts or couplings to align or requirements for additional ventilation, lighting or floor gratings.
You may use a simple AC induction motor or an auxiliary drive off a generator or main propulsion engine. Alternatively, a separate dedicated thruster engine without a clutch or marine reversing gear may be used to drive the hydraulic pump.
Hydraulic Systems
Thrustmaster tunnel thrusters can operate in either open or closed-loop hydraulic systems at intermediate to high pressures. A dedicated thruster hydraulic system is not necessarily required. An existing hydraulic system on the vessel may be used to drive the thruster. Alternatively, Thrustmaster can furnish a system that powers a variety of vessel devices in addition to the thruster, including deck cranes, winches, capstans, hydraulic cylinders, etc. Contact your Thrustmaster representative or our applications engineering department in Houston.
Proportional Control Means Quick and Efficient Thrust Response
A drop-in style bridge remote control panel comes with a proportional joystick for infinite thrust control in both port and starboard directions. Prime mover controls and dynamic positioning interface can be included on the thruster panel. Additional bridge wing stations or other controls are also available.
Specifications
Technical data are listed below for thrusters with tunnel diameters of 16-inch (406mm), 24-inch (610mm), 30-inch (762mm), and 36-inch (914mm). For larger tunnel diameters, please contact Thrustmaster’s Sales Department.
| Thrustmaster |
Power |
Thrust | Hydraulic Power Required |
||||||
| Tunnel Size |
Model # | HP | KW | Lbf | KN | USGPM | PSI | LTR/Min. | Bar |
|
(406 mm) |
16TT30 | 33 | 25 | 600 | 2.7 | 32 | 1750 | 120 | 120 |
| 16TT40 | 43 | 32 | 800 | 3.6 | 35 | 2100 | 130 | 145 | |
| 16TT50L | 52 | 39 | 1000 | 4.5 | 48 | 1850 | 180 | 130 | |
| 16TT50H | 55 | 41 | 1000 | 4.5 | 38 | 2500 | 145 | 170 | |
| 16TT60L | 62 | 46 | 1200 | 5.3 | 50 | 2100 | 190 | 145 | |
| 16TT60H | 65 | 49 | 1200 | 5.3 | 40 | 2800 | 150 | 195 | |
| 16TT70L | 72 | 54 | 1400 | 6.2 | 60 | 2050 | 230 | 140 | |
| 16TT70H | 74 | 55 | 1400 | 6.2 | 52 | 2450 | 200 | 170 | |
| Thrustmaster |
Power |
Thrust | Hydraulic Power Required |
||||||
| Tunnel Size |
Model # | HP | KW | Lbf | KN | USGPM | PSI | LTR/Min. | Bar |
|
(610 mm) |
24TT60L | 61 | 46 | 1250 | 5.6 | 55 | 1900 | 210 | 130 |
| 24TT60H | 60 | 45 | 1250 | 5.6 | 47 | 2200 | 180 | 150 | |
| 24TT70L | 70 | 52 | 1500 | 6.7 | 57 | 2100 | 215 | 145 | |
| 24TT70H | 71 | 53 | 1500 | 6.7 | 50 | 2450 | 190 | 170 | |
| 24TT80L | 82 | 61 | 1700 | 7.6 | 60 | 2350 | 230 | 160 | |
| 24TT80H | 80 | 60 | 1700 | 7.6 | 52 | 2650 | 200 | 180 | |
| 24TT90L | 90 | 67 | 1900 | 8.5 | 62 | 2500 | 235 | 170 | |
| 24TT90H | 91 | 68 | 1900 | 8.5 | 54 | 2900 | 205 | 200 | |
| 24TT100 | 101 | 75 | 2150 | 9.6 | 64 | 2700 | 240 | 185 | |
| 24TT110 | 112 | 84 | 2350 | 10.5 | 66 | 2900 | 250 | 200 | |
| Thrustmaster |
Power |
Thrust | Hydraulic Power Required |
||||||
| Tunnel Size |
Model # | HP | KW | Lbf | KN | USGPM | PSI | LTR/Min. | Bar |
|
(762 mm) |
30TT100L | 100 | 75 | 2200 | 9.8 | 69 | 2500 | 260 | 170 |
| 30TT100H | 98 | 73 | 2200 | 9.8 | 56 | 3000 | 210 | 205 | |
| 30TT125L | 125 | 93 | 2600 | 11.6 | 92 | 2330 | 350 | 160 | |
| 30TT125H | 127 | 95 | 2600 | 11.6 | 73 | 3000 | 275 | 205 | |
| 30TT150L | 152 | 113 | 3000 | 13.4 | 116 | 2250 | 440 | 155 | |
| 30TT150H | 150 | 112 | 3000 | 13.4 | 95 | 2700 | 360 | 185 | |
| 30TT175L | 177 | 132 | 3400 | 15.1 | 119 | 2550 | 450 | 175 | |
| 30TT175H | 177 | 132 | 3400 | 15.1 | 98 | 3100 | 370 | 210 | |
| 30TT200 | 203 | 151 | 3800 | 16.9 | 120 | 2900 | 454 | 200 | |
| Thrustmaster |
Power |
Thrust | Hydraulic Power Required |
||||||
| Tunnel Size |
Model # | HP | KW | Lbf | KN | USGPM | PSI | LTR/Min. | Bar |
|
(914 mm) |
36TT150L | 149 | 111 | 3200 | 14.3 | 109 | 2350 | 410 | 160 |
| 36TT150H | 149 | 111 | 3200 | 14.3 | 85 | 3000 | 320 | 205 | |
| 36TT175L | 177 | 132 | 3750 | 16.7 | 132 | 2300 | 500 | 160 | |
| 36TT175H | 174 | 130 | 3750 | 16.7 | 115 | 2600 | 435 | 180 | |
| 36TT200L | 201 | 150 | 4300 | 19.2 | 138 | 2500 | 520 | 170 | |
| 36TT200H | 210 | 157 | 4300 | 19.2 | 120 | 3000 | 454 | 205 | |
| 36TT225L | 225 | 168 | 4750 | 21.2 | 143 | 2700 | 540 | 185 | |
| 36TT225M | 226 | 169 | 4750 | 21.2 | 125 | 3100 | 475 | 210 | |
| 36TT250L | 251 | 187 | 5250 | 23.4 | 148 | 2900 | 560 | 200 | |
