Installing Thruster - 54' Donzi SF

I thought I would do a thread detailing the installation of the bow thruster on my 54' Donzi SF. The install is currently in progress.
We are installing a Side Power SE210, 24 volt with variable speed controller. This unit has a 10" tunnel and produces a max of roughly 13.4 hp of thrust. I don't really "need" a thruster but there have been times when I wish I had one for convenience sake so I decided to go ahead and put one in.
The install is being done at the commercial shipyard I am employed by and headed by one of our master craftsman.
We started by templating the best location and played around with a few options. We are able to get the depth below the recommended immersio but the tunnel length will be just slightly less than minimum recoomended. Unfortunately it just wasn't practical to move the tunnel any farther aft so I decided to live with a slightly shorter tunnel realizing I may get some cavitation at full thrust.
Here are pictures showing the boat going into storage, template, a rod put through the hull to confirm everything before cutting and cutting the hole using a Climax Machine, boring bar and cutter head.
I'll post more pictures as the install progresses. We are curently setting up to fair the hull aft of the hole and install the tunnel. In addition to the pictures, I have a few short videos of the hole being cut if anyone wants those, just pm me as they are too large of file to put on here.

All the cutting is done and the tunnel has been glassed in. The hull has been faired on the outside and gel coat was just applied (inside and out of course). All the removed interfearances are being put back in on the inside.
Electrician is starting to run the 4 aught cable from the batteries up to the thruster. We debated installing dedicated batteries but I really didn't want to add the weight up forward nor did I like the idea of batteries under my bed. After discussing with a lead tech rep from Side Power we were advised that dedicated batteries were not critical given that it is only about a 16' run from the starting battery bank to the thruster. My starting batteries are already 24v and both P&S are isolated 8D banks so we are coming off the starboard side. We are installing the Side Power automated main switch in the main power run as well.
We will also look at all the connections and likely upgrade them per recommendation of PacBlue - thanks for the advice!

PacBlue - which connectors are you recommending be changed? The main motor leads are all lugged so I'm guessing you are talking about the connectors on the S-Link cables? The only place we have connections are at the bridge console and 1 added cable that connects in the engine room. These are all dry locations so corrision shouldn't be an issue. Where were the connections you had trouble with?

Install of thruster is pretty complete now. Just need paint in the tunnel and final testing when the boat goes back in the water in early May. We made the internal bulkhead that goes over the thruster bolt-in so it can be removed to service the thruster if necessary.

We changed the S-link connector at the thruster motor and replaced with it with a Deutsche waterproof plug - thanks for the tip PacBlue
The thruster has been powered up and appears working well. As a precaution we installed a seperate emergency stop switch. The joystick control has on/off and Stop buttons but they are all controlled via the S-link. The actuated main switch has a seperate set of contacts to open the breaker so we ran a seperate dedicated line to the bridge and installed a switch to open the breaker in case something fails in the S-link and the unit won't shut off.
I'm looking forward to getting the boat in the water and seeing what this thing will really do.

As a final on this, the boat is back in the water and I've used it several times now with the new thruster. I can't believe how much power the thing has. I probably could have gone with the 170 but I guess it is better to have more power than you need. The speed controller is great and the convenience of a thruster is simply awesome. Hopefully I get many years of relaible service form this unit.

I didn't track the hours to install. We did the work in-house so I don't have a yard bill to refer to. This was the first thruster like this we had done so my guys took their time to make sure we got a quality install.
To reaffirm what others have said, this is possibly the best addition to the boat. I doubt I would own another boat without one or would certainly install one right away. I don't need it often but it sure makes getting into tight spots at the fuel dock or fish processor way easier. My crew is seldom the same folks so having the ability to put the boat exactly where I want it and hold it while those less familiar get some lines on really makes it nice.

You buy the tube as part of the package. It is properly sized for the thruster and has the mounting flanges built-in. There are minimum tube length and depth immersions you need to be aware of. On mine, we are right at the minimum tube length as we didn't have another spot for it. However, I have never noticed any cavitation but also have not had to use it at full power.