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Drawing of a pod thruster under the hull: a teardrop pod on a faired collar, with a small tunnel through it. — Our drawing of a external thruster, the same for every maker. It is not Yacht Thruster’s own design.

Yacht Thruster · external thruster · bow or stern

Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S: specs, price and the boats it fits

It gives 207 lb (94 kgf) of push. Yacht Thruster sells it for boats of up to 55 ft. It runs on 24 V.

Haul-out to install
DIY 3 of 5: split with the yard
2-year warranty

Quick stats

Thrust 207 lb 94 kgf, Yacht Thruster's rating
Boat length Up to 55 ft Yacht Thruster's own range
Price per lb of thrust Not worked out It needs a price and a thrust figure
Voltage 24 V As sold
Battery at 24 V 175 CCA Two batteries, near the thruster
Run limit Up to 5 min Continuous, with an automated shutdown
To install it Haul-out The boat comes out of the water
Mounts External Fixed mount, bow or stern

About the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S

The Simplex 300S is Yacht Thruster’s workhorse: a slim aluminum pod that bolts to the outside of the hull at the bow or the stern, so there is no tunnel to cut and nothing takes room inside. Yacht Thruster rates it at 207 lb at the bow, for boats up to 55 ft; that is a “thrust equivalent”, its push times 1.4. Our size tables use the push, 148 lb, the maker’s own stern figure. It is made for displacement boats, trawlers and sailboats among them.

Yacht Thruster prints no price and quotes through its contact form. Every kit comes with a joystick or touchpad and the control box. The unit runs on 24 V, so a 12 V boat needs a 24 V bank of its own; batteries, cable and a charger come to about $700 to $731 on our estimate. See every part.

Installing it takes one 2 in hole for the sealed cable fitting and two small holes for the mounting rods, with no fiberglass work, though the boat has to come out of the water. The maker puts the unit itself at one to two hours, cables extra. Keep the pod in antifouling over an aluminum primer. It runs up to five minutes at a stretch. The FAQ says two years of warranty and the product pages three, so get yours in writing.

Installers will find the wiring figures and dimensions further down. For the rest of Yacht Thruster’s line, read the Yacht Thruster and ezDrive review.

Where this summary comes from (5 sources, read 13 October 2026)

Will the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster steer your boat?

52 FT TRAWLER · BOW · 15 KT WIND

Size forThis page always opens on Steering.

Every knot figure here is wind speed, not boat speed or current.

Steers her at 15 kt

On a 52 ft trawler the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster (207 lb, which counts as about 125 lb on its own lever here) steers her in a 15 knot breeze. Her bow needs about 133 lb from an external unit at the very bow to steer her in a 15 knot breeze. Its 125 lb lands within 15 percent of that figure, which this site counts as enough.

The finder leaves it off her list. We found no published price for Yacht Thruster, and the finder lists only units it can price.

An external unit at the bow of a 52 ft trawler 133 lb ★ this unit · 1 to 2: the two cheapest others that steer her at 13 kt or more, installed

★ Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster this unit 207 lb · pod under hull no US price Steers her at 15 kt
1 Sleipner EX95S 148 lb · pod under hull from $12,263 Steers her at 15 kt
2 Sleipner EX180D 287 lb · pod under hull from $20,563 Steers her at 19 kt

The Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster on a trawler, by length

25 ft31 kt
30 ft25 kt
35 ft22 kt
40 ft19 kt
45 ft17 kt
50 ft15 kt
55 ft14 kt
60 ft12.5 kt
65 ft12 kt
70 ft11 kt
75 ft10 kt
80 ft9 kt

Outlined: the finder does not list it at that length (under 13 kt, far more than she needs, or outside Yacht Thruster’s own length range).

Two of them, one at each end

With a unit at each end she turns in her own length. One thruster on its own cannot turn her that way. On a 52 ft trawler:

Turns her in her own length

Turns her at 21 kt

Bow one way, stern the other, and she pivots about her middle.

Under 10 kt
10 to 15 kt
15 to 20 kt: the sweet spot
Over 20 kt: more than she needs

Prices are the low end of the installed total, from our estimate. For your own boat, drive and installer, the finder prices each unit.

Is it right for your boat?

What Yacht Thruster says Up to 55 ft The maker's own range, from its listing

What our sizing says 52 ft Full thrust in 15 knots, across the kinds of boat it fits

Every kind of boat it fits, by length ten boat types

Which boats it fits, by length
Boat	Full thrust at 15 knots	Still a fit, in lighter wind
Pontoon & tritoon	Not listed. Its maker does not name this kind of hull.
Sailboat	36 to 52 ft	53 to 60 ftfull thrust to about 13 knots at 60 ft
Houseboat	Not listed. Its maker does not name this kind of hull.
Catamaran	Not listed. An external unit bolts to the side of a single hull at the bow or to its transom, and a cat has two narrow hulls with a bridgedeck between them, so there is nowhere forward to hang one.
Trawler	36 to 52 ft	53 to 59 ftfull thrust to about 13 knots at 59 ft
Motor yacht	36 to 52 ft	53 to 59 ftfull thrust to about 13 knots at 59 ft
Bass & flats	Not listed. This site lists no external bow unit for a boat that planes.
Wake & ski boats	Not listed. This site lists no external bow unit for a boat that planes.
Express cruiser	Not listed. This site lists no external bow unit for a boat that planes.
Center console	Not listed. This site lists no external bow unit for a boat that planes.

The Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster against each kind of boat, in a 15 knot wind. Our sizing, from the finder’s own rules.

The first column is where one unit gives all the thrust the boat needs in 15 knots. The second is where the finder still lists it: the unit steers her in a 13 or 14 knot wind, within 15 percent of the 15 knot breeze this site sizes for. On a boat shorter than the first column’s shortest length, the unit is more than the boat needs.

How we size it

Our figure is the longest boat one unit can steer in a 15 knot wind. It is a range because each kind of boat catches the wind differently. Here every kind of boat it fits gets full thrust to 52 ft. The maker gives one range for every boat.

The table is sized on the bow figure, 207 lb. At the stern Yacht Thruster prints 148 lb.

The table tries the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster on each kind of boat, at every length that kind of boat is built in. The wind is 15 knots and the rules are the finder’s own. A length counts as a fit when the unit gives the thrust that boat needs where it mounts and the maker lists it for that length.

A boat up to 10 percent past the maker’s range still counts here, as it does in the finder. So the table runs up to 60 ft, just past Yacht Thruster’s own range (up to 55 ft).

It is sized for three kinds of boat here. For your own boat, the finder gives an answer that also counts your drive and who does the installing. The compare page sets this unit beside others.

What it costs installed

No US dollar price is published for the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster, so we build no total for it. The yard’s share of the job is on the cost page.

The sizing and the costs on this page are estimates, for guidance only and without warranty. They are no quote, and nobody has inspected your boat. Check them against the maker’s manual and your yard before you rely on them. Terms of use.

DIY breakdown

DIY 3 of 5: Split with the yard. The yard does the below-waterline part; you do the wiring.

DIY levels

Level 5: Owner install. No yard, no electrician.
Level 4: You install it, electrician connects. You mount and wire it; a marine electrician makes the final connections.
Level 3: Split with the yard. The yard does the below-waterline part; you do the wiring.
Level 2: Wiring prep only. The yard installs the unit and does the hull work; you do the wiring prep.
Level 1: Yard job. A qualified professional does all of it.

You Yard Electrician. The bar is labor hours; a haul-out is a note.

How we rate DIY

You: 4 to 16 hours Yard: 1 to 2 hours Electrician: 2 to 4 hours Plus a haul-out.

Your part needs:Heavy battery cableCrimping big lugs

Every step, and who does it three steps

Bolt the pod to the hull below the waterline Yard 1 to 2 hours The maker’s figure, as Yachts International reported it: one to two hours for the thruster itself, without the cable connections. Source.
Mount the battery box, switch and fuse holder; run and secure the cables You 4 to 16 hours Our estimate. No maker times this step, and a first-time owner is slower than a yard, so the range is wide.
Final connections at the battery and the motor, load test Electrician 2 to 4 hours Our estimate. Nobody publishes a time for the final connections and test on their own.

A qualified marine electrician should make the final connections and test them before first use. Hours are labor only.

Know before you buy

What sets this model apart, what it costs to keep, and what to weigh.

Price per pound of thrust

There is no US price to divide by its thrust.

Controls

The through-hull fitting, its seals and the control box come with it.

The panel your manual names, no US price found.
The control cable your manual names, no US price found.

Service and warranty

Yacht Thruster's FAQ gives 2 years, and its product pages give 3.

See Yacht Thruster’s warranty Yacht Thruster's FAQ.

Special mentions

Battery: at 24 V it wants two batteries of 175 CCA, sized to the draw. The cheapest that meets it is the Lifeline GPL-1400T AGM starting, $256.72. Check your own bank.

Charger: a NOCO GEN5X2 two-bank shore charger, $146.41. It is the one our estimate prices.

Yacht Thruster sells it for either end, so it can go at the bow or the stern.

Dealer prices at Fisheries Supply, read 26 October 2026.

What to weigh

The boat comes out of the water to install it: it needs three small holes, below the waterline.

It bolts under the hull about 10% of her length back from the bow, not at the very end, so the boat tables on this page count its 148 lb of push as worth about 125 lb from a unit right at the bow.

Yacht Thruster's 207 lb is a "thrust equivalent" that already adds credit for the position, so we judge it on the push and work the position out ourselves.

No US dollar price is published for it, so we can work out no installed cost.

Parts for the Yacht Thruster Simplex 300S Thruster

Search for the number as printed here, with no spaces. Prices are each dealer’s on the day shown, before shipping and tax. Check the plate on your motor before you order: some parts change with the tunnel size, the voltage or the year.

Find a part

For the install what the box leaves you to buy

10 parts

From Yacht Thruster’s Overview and FAQ pages, read 30 September 2026.

In the box: The thruster with its through-hull fitting and seals, the rods and seals of the mounting kit, the control box and controls.
Bought separately: Fuse, switch, cable and battery are not named on either page.
Charging: A 12 V unit may share the boat's supply, even a windlass feed if a specialist agrees. A 24 V unit on a 12 V boat needs a bank of its own. Neither page names a charger.

In Yacht Thruster’s words, from the FAQ: “In order to run a 24V Yacht Thruster with an on-board voltage of 12V, an additional 24V battery bank will be required.”

A yard job adds these parts on top of the unit: $88 to $268 for the priced ones, at Fisheries Supply’s prices on 26 October 2026, plus the batteries, cable and charger. The cost page has what every maker says about each part.