RMC Bow Thurtser
Printed From: myHanse.com
Category: Hints & Tips
Forum Name: 461 / 470
Forum Description: 461 / 470 Hints and Tips
URL: https://www.myhanse.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=10759
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 01:23
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: RMC Bow Thurtser
Posted By: chrisn
Subject: RMC Bow Thurtser
Date Posted: 04 May 2018 at 19:56
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Hello, The RMC retractable bow thurster on my Hanse 470 stopped working. Not sure if it's the control board or the piston but RMC seems to be out of business. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks, Chris
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Replies:
Posted By: lucca
Date Posted: 14 May 2018 at 12:43
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Lewmar bought rmc. first they sold the original rmc Truster und lewmar label. RMC has previously bought the engine and transmission from Lewmar. Lewmar has developed new 185 series now. But they still sell old spare parts. |
Posted By: Borjebus
Date Posted: 14 May 2018 at 17:07
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I guess the little fuse has blown and the thruster is "out of sync" - it is not in the position it believes it is. The problem is that there are no limit switches that tell the control box weather it is OPEN or CLOSED. If the initial position is known and it starts moving, it will stop when the current goes over a certain limit. Then the control box knows it is in the other end. I suppose the little fuse close to the control box is blown. Shut off the power and loosen the outer end of the piston. Replace the fuse and after power on, run to known position. Shut off the power and re-connect the piston. Now the system should be in sync again. I did this two times and then Lewmar replaced the control box with a one with higher current limit. After that, no more problems. ------------- BÄSK, Hanse 370e #82 from 2006, Yanmar 3JH4E/SD50, 3-blade Flexofold, RMC(Lewmar) 185 Bowthruster, Vulcan 9, Simrad+B&G instruments |
Posted By: chrisn
Date Posted: 29 May 2018 at 18:13
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The part that failed is the control board and Lewmar was not able to (or didn't want to) help me. They say they are coming out with a new 185 swing thruster but won't give a timeline. I'm researching building my own control box using a programmable logic controller. https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Overview/Catalog/Programmable_Controllers/DirectLogic_Series_PLCs_(Micro_to_Small,_Brick_-a-_Modular)/DirectLogic_205_(Micro_Modular_PLC) |
Posted By: Borjebus
Date Posted: 30 May 2018 at 07:50
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Sorry to hear about Lewmar's support but it's an interesting solution you are thinking of. If you go for that solution consider to include limit switches in both ends to avoid the present "current limit switch". Keep us posted! ------------- BÄSK, Hanse 370e #82 from 2006, Yanmar 3JH4E/SD50, 3-blade Flexofold, RMC(Lewmar) 185 Bowthruster, Vulcan 9, Simrad+B&G instruments |
Posted By: chrisn
Date Posted: 01 June 2018 at 23:09
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I purchased the components and I'm moving forward. Can you elaborate on "current limit switch"? I'm sure there I'll run into some unknowns so I'll take all the help I can get. Chris
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Posted By: Borjebus
Date Posted: 04 June 2018 at 07:42
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There are no physical limit switches on the actuator, instead the movement stops when the current goes over a certain limit. Without physical limit switches you cannot be 100% sure if the thruster is in or out. If you have a jam, or if you shut everything off in the middle of a movement, it is very easy to get out of sync - the thuster is out but you can't run it because it believes it is in. With at least one physical limit switch it is easy to define "thruster in" as home position. ------------- BÄSK, Hanse 370e #82 from 2006, Yanmar 3JH4E/SD50, 3-blade Flexofold, RMC(Lewmar) 185 Bowthruster, Vulcan 9, Simrad+B&G instruments |
Posted By: chrisn
Date Posted: 04 June 2018 at 14:03
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My thruster uses an Okin OmegaDrive actuator which is designed for lift chairs and recliners and is the same unit for the Lazy Boy recliner in my living room. Similar to this: http://medicalcentersupply.com/products/6204-omegadrive-motor/
A while back I disassembled it and discovered it does have two limit switches on either end of the screw piston that stop the arm when it's fully extended and fully retracted. Based on experimentation, I discovered you can apply power to the unit and it will extend and if you reverse polarity, it will retract. I don't believe voltage is a factor for this particular unit. The PLC should be arriving today and I'll start programming right away. I plan to post the details on the forum in case anyone else runs into the same issue. |
Posted By: chrisn
Date Posted: 01 July 2018 at 19:29
| Someone on the forum connected me with RMC in Sweden. Apparently, they sell only wholesale but they were nice enough to express mail me a new control box for a fee. |
Posted By: Wild
Date Posted: 25 October 2018 at 16:23
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hello Chrisn can you give me the info to contact the people of RMC please? in the past I have a contact with Mister Albert Ström but I lost his emailadress. I needed a controlbox too for my truster. You can send me this info by mail :deswe@telenet.be thanks ------------- Wild and Wet Belgium 545e#268 |
Posted By: Samurai
Date Posted: 04 January 2020 at 13:15
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Could you get me in touch with someone from RMC, please? I also need a new control panel Thank you Thomas
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Posted By: Samurai
Date Posted: 25 July 2020 at 09:01
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Hello, do you know if the control panel from Sweden is still available? Can you mail me a contact? to thomas@schreiner.pt ? Many thanks
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Posted By: Samurai
Date Posted: 25 July 2020 at 09:03
| Do you have the contact in sweden where to order the new panel? |
Posted By: Wild
Date Posted: 25 July 2020 at 14:19
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mikael@rmcab.se Is the contact you need to order RMC parts ------------- Wild and Wet Belgium 545e#268 |
Posted By: Idratherbesailing
Date Posted: 20 September 2021 at 11:13
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185 RMC 24v Swing thruster Control Box issues. Any guidance appreciated.... The control box failed - would not operate the actuator to deploy or retract the thruster. Well, not the end of the world, it can be done manually using a screw driver instead of the shear pin. Got in touch with the 'RMC' chap in Sweden. £1000 for a compatible control box and new control panel (have to change that as the new box is Vetus unit and has it's own control panel). Many hours later, it does not work. To be fair it works once then you have to turn it off and on again. While one-shot is better than no thruster, hardly ideal. So I see if I can get the box repaired. IER (Letchworth) will do it for about £250. They do, it comes back, works great, life is good. Then it fails again, different problem, the chip has blown, IER cannot repair this fault. US dealer says they have one - but struggling to get that confirmed. Lewmar UK says "nothing to do with us, can't help you". I send them pictures of the Lewmar branded one and the Lewmar installation manual. Pointed out that the public needs to know it Lewmar does not provide spares for their products after a few years, people might want to to go with a better supported product range in the future. Anyone had any success in fixing or replacing the control box? Would rather not have to install a whole new thruster, and not a Lewmar one! Meanwhile boat handling improving with every trip.... ------------- gpw |
Posted By: Wild
Date Posted: 24 September 2021 at 07:14
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e-mailadres mikael@rmcab.se 2 years ago the sent me a new controlbox,panel(Lewmar) and actuator (Made in Swiss I believe) for arround 800 euro
------------- Wild and Wet Belgium 545e#268 |
Posted By: Idratherbesailing
Date Posted: 24 September 2021 at 10:01
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Interesting. They sent me a new contol box (Vetus) and a panel. But the combination did not work. Sent it all back. ------------- gpw |
Posted By: psousa
Date Posted: 16 December 2021 at 16:58
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Any news on this? Have someone fixed it with other solutions beside the RMC solutions reported here? Thanks
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Posted By: Granny
Date Posted: 26 March 2022 at 16:36
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Found this while tried to find the rubber. Had the same issue. I teared old one and reverse engineered it. No intelligence inside. Replaced it with no-name panel and pushbutton & led.This is how mine was hooked, colours are from the cable connecting panel to "main unit" Thruster is RMC branded installed 2008/2009. Schema and picture of the cable here how it was before, see link. I Removed the black tape and there was a connector. Pictures here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1T-JQ7RrpNoo-vQYMzoMk5XteDBGghMKk?usp=sharing" rel="nofollow - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1T-JQ7RrpNoo-vQYMzoMk5XteDBGghMKk?usp=sharing |
Posted By: Idratherbesailing
Date Posted: 28 March 2022 at 08:31
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Have also no gone down the build a simple version with switches and relays. Up - down, Left - right. No control box to worry about. ------------- gpw |
Posted By: psousa
Date Posted: 05 April 2022 at 11:55
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I also found a solution. As Granny wrote, the switch it's quite easy to understand. I've ordered a Lewmar panel (the 589223 on this catalog https://www.lewmar.com/sites/default/files/Thruster%20Controller%20Systems_0.pdf) and, with the help of a multimeter, I found the Lewmar connector mappings without opening it (roughly wrote on the attached picture). Everything is working well for me, now. New panel mappings: https://ibb.co/L5KfWLd" rel="nofollow">  Old panel mappings: https://ibb.co/s9dqkjk" rel="nofollow">  Just a note regarding the light and the buzzer. The buzzer I bought and connected separately (out of the lewmar panel) as I think this panel has no buzzer. Regarding the light, I'm using only the green (this panel is prepared to get errors from blackbox on red/amber led while our RMC blackbox flash the green led - speed flash for overheating, for instance). Lewmar panel manual: https://www.lewmar.com/sites/default/files/559232%20Thruster%20Controls%20Iss%201%20%28GB%29.pdf RMC manual: https://www.comstedt.se/files/manual/59914001.pdf
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Posted By: kevindr
Date Posted: 30 May 2023 at 16:11
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I have a 2011 Moody 41, with the swing thruster. The black control box says RMC, not lewmar. Looking at your posting, am I correct in assuming your diagram of the plug, 1-4 on top, and 5-8 on bottom, correspond to the numbers/colors on the original unit ?
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Posted By: psousa
Date Posted: 06 June 2023 at 15:44
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no. the numbers on the top diagram are pin numbers on new control. 1+7 port 8+7 sb means: pin 1 on new control will have green wire from RMC black box pin 7 on new control will have red wire from RMC BB pin 8 on new control will have brown wire from RMC BB
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Posted By: psousa
Date Posted: 17 October 2023 at 17:12
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For those asking on private message, BTN == button (which is the on/of button) I think I never took a picture of the new version Lewmar thruster's switch working with my old and discontinued RMC 185 after the proper wire mapping (described on my previous posts). Here are some rainy pictures: https://ibb.co/5kYjQYK" rel="nofollow">  https://ibb.co/Dtt5zhv" rel="nofollow"> By the way, low season next project will be to replace those cheap/ugly/dirty winch switches by these brand new Lewmar ones: https://ibb.co/rcZknbf" rel="nofollow">  https://ibb.co/549nnQF" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Tnm
Date Posted: 21 May 2024 at 21:20
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I could not have succeeded without this thread. Thank you. We have a Moody 45 AC. Our thruster control switches at the helm became waterlogged and despite many attempts to dry it out - it had failed. We tried to source a new one trying various avenues but they were all dead ends (including the ones in this thread that worked for others). The unit was clearly making a connection where it shouldn't and the bow thruster went on randomly which is less than ideal when in close quarters. It had to go. I was daunted by the wiring requirements described here but invested in trying to understand it and figured even the fancy new Lewmar controller was just a bunch of switches and an LED in reality. I have attached a whole bunch of pictures of this install including my final wiring diagram mapping from/to the old to the new unit. The Glarks were straight forward following a couple of YouTube videos. I am thrilled with the result and it works perfectly. The new Lewmar unit is so much better than the old controller with the added bonus of the LED indicating it is "on" being super bright and no needless noisy beeper making a racket when it was down (I did not bother wiring in something separate). Perhaps this may help someone with similar issues.               |
Posted By: Feeling 36 DI
Date Posted: 14 September 2024 at 17:06
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Hallo: My RMC swing bow thruster is no longer synchronized. The piston rod sends the propeller down and back up, however the control box is not allowing current to flow and operate the propeller in the down position. We will follow your procedures to cure the issue. Look for my next post, after we do the work. |
Posted By: Feeling 36 DI
Date Posted: 14 September 2024 at 17:20
| Thank you for your post. I am going to follow your procedures to get my RMC Swing bow thruster to operate. Perhaps the new stronger 12V battery tripped something, so will replace the control box with a higher circuit rating. I will advise. |
Posted By: chrisn
Date Posted: 03 August 2025 at 16:37
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It's been a few years since I've updated this post, so I'm going add what I've learned over the past few years in case the information is helpful to someone else. Back in 2020 my thruster control box cracked for the third time and stopped working. I think this is a common issue. I acquired a new control box from Mikel @ RMC Marine in Sweden and the thruster worked for a couple years until the control box broke again. At that point, RMC was out of the old style control box and offered me a new style control with a conversion kit. The conversion kit requires rewiring the power to the box as well as the wiring to the control panel. In a perfect world, the conversion should have been done in a few hours but the instructions were incomplete, so it took a lot of trial and error to get it working. I ended up working on it for several weeks - on and off. I eventually got the thruster to work in the sense I could deploy and retract it and thrust to both sides but it goes into some kind of protection mode after the second pulse and stops working. You can reset the thruster by retracting it and redeploying it, and it will again work for a pulse or two but goes back into protection mode. Mikel @ RMC helped me through the conversion and install of the new box but he is very slow responding and has now gone dark on me. The result is I spent a couple thousand dollars trying to salvage my thruster but ended up with a non-working thruster. As of 08-2025 my thruster is no longer working. My choices at this point are to glass over the hole and go without a thruster or replace it with a newer unit. I did contact my local boat yard about installing a new thruster and they gave me a bid of around $30,000USD, which is a tough pill to swallow. When I bough the boat, I was warned the RMC thrusters were problematic but I didn't anticipate it would be such a headache. I guess the silver lining is my docking skills are polished because I've been docking the boat without a thruster for most of the time I've owned it. PM me if you have any questions. |