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Thruster specs
DockStar Smart Thruster, pontoon: specs, price and boat fit
On a pontoon the outboard steers the stern, so the bow is where control runs out, and this is DockStar’s answer: the Smart Thruster on a stanchion bolted to the front of the deck. It gives 90 lb of push, slides down its rail to dock and lifts above the deck once you are moving, so nothing hangs in the water at speed. DockStar sells this track for pontoon and deck boats of 20 to 30 ft.
At $4,570 for the unit and the pontoon track, it is the complete job: the thruster carries its own battery and remote, so nothing is wired through the deck and nothing is added. Bolts hold the stanchion base, and two braces take the twisting load in either direction. Those bolts must grip solid deck, so keep them out of hollow aluminum sections. See every part.
It usually goes on afloat, though a pontoon with a splash guard under the deck may have to come out so the nuts can be reached. Run slowly with it down; the manual asks for three knots or less. Ten minutes of pushing per charge is plenty of dockings, and a household outlet refills it in about five hours. The two-year warranty covers the battery. I run a DockStar at the stern of my trawler.
The full spec sheet for a yard sits lower down, and the DockStar Smart Thruster review covers DockStar’s whole range.
Where this summary comes from (5 sources, read 13 October 2026)
- DockStar Smart Thruster user manual, v.260305 (specs, intended use, deployment, care)
- DockStar pontoon installation guide (stanchion, two braces, solid deck)
- DockStar build and price, read 13 October 2026 (unit and every track)
- DockStar buyer’s guide (DIY install in one to two hours, no haul-out)
- DockStar limited warranty, v.260828 (two years, first owner, battery covered)
On real boats: where it goes, fitted
Key facts
- DIY level 5 of 5 Owner install
- Thrust 90 lb 41 kgf, DockStar's rating
- Boat length 20 to 30 ft The intended use in DockStar's manual
- Price $4,570 full kit, dockstarthrusters.com, 17 September 2026
- Fitted by a yard $4,730 to $5,110 Our estimate at 24 to 30 ft, unit and job
- Voltage 12.8 V, its own battery Nothing is wired to the boat
- Mounts External Removable, bow
- To fit it Afloat The maker says it goes on in the water
- Run limit 10 minutes Per charge, the manual's figure
Every figure here is the maker’s or a dealer’s, except the fitted cost, which is our estimate. The full spec sheet is further down.
How much of the install is yours
DIY levels
- Level 5: Owner install. No yard, no electrician.
- Level 4: You fit 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 fits 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 DIYYou: 1 to 3 h Yard: none Electrician: none No haul-out.
- Fit the track and the unit; charge it You 1 to 3 h DockStar’s own figures: 1 to 2 hours in its buyer’s guide, 2 to 3 hours on its About page. No wiring to the boat. Source.
Your part needs:Hand toolsDrilling above the waterline
Hours are labor only.
Is it right for your boat?
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. The maker gives one range for every boat.
The table below tries the DockStar Smart Thruster with pontoon track 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.
| Boat | Full thrust at 15 knots | Still a fit, in lighter wind |
|---|---|---|
| Pontoon & tritoon | 24 to 29 ft | 30 ft onlyfull thrust to just under 15 knots at 30 ft |
| Sailboat | Not listed. Its maker sells it for another kind of boat. | |
| Houseboat | Not listed. Its maker sells it for another kind of boat. | |
| 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 | Not listed. Its maker sells it for another kind of boat. | |
| Motor yacht | Not listed. Its maker sells it for another kind of boat. | |
| 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. | |
Reading the two length columns. 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 falls short of what the boat needs by no more than 10 percent, and gives the whole figure only in the lighter wind named. On a boat shorter than the first column’s shortest length, the unit is more than the boat needs.
It is sized for one kind of boat here. For your own boat, the finder gives an answer that also counts your drive and who does the fitting. The compare page sets this unit beside others.
What it costs fitted
These totals are our estimate of a yard job: the unit’s price, plus a yard’s hours at $160 to $180 an hour. The unit carries its own battery, so there is no cable, battery or other part to buy. The hours come from what owners and yards report. Your own yard will have its own opinion. The cost page builds the same figures line by line.
- The unit$4,570
- Yard labor$160 to $5401 to 3 hours
- Total, 24 to 30 ft$4,730 to $5,110Our estimate
The DockStar Smart Thruster with pontoon track fitted by a yard. It comes to the same at every length it is sized for. Our estimate.
Fitting it yourself. Tell the finder you will fit a DockStar yourself and it takes the yard’s labor off. With that off, the total is $4,570. That is the unit’s price alone.
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.
What else you buy
What follows comes from DockStar’s Smart Thruster user manual, version 260305, 2026, read 30 September 2026.
- In the box
- The thruster, the charger and its cord, the remote, antenna, two propellers with pins and nuts, lanyards, rope, the quick start guide.
- Bought separately
- The track assembly for the hull, and extra remotes.
- Charging
- Nothing is wired to the boat. A 12.8 V, 15 Ah lithium pack inside, and a 4 A charger in the box.
The manual’s words, page 12: “To charge the Smart Thruster, connect the Battery Charger to a 110V power outlet and insert the Charger Plug into the Charger Port/Setting Port. It takes about five (5) hours to fully charge.”
Other parts to buy: none. The box holds everything the unit needs, and nothing is wired to the boat.
The cost page has the whole list with what every maker says about each part.
For the yard and the installer
The full spec sheet, grouped the way a yard reads it. Every figure is the maker’s or a dealer’s, with its source.
| Thrust and motor | |
|---|---|
| Thrust | 90 lb (41 kgf) As printed: 90 lb, second generation |
| Motor | 1.01 kW (1,008 W): two 12 V PMDC motors at 42 A each |
| Voltage | 12.8 V, its own battery |
| Power | Rechargeable, internal: 12.8 V, 15 Ah lithium (LFP), about 5 hours to charge from empty. |
| Fitting | |
| Type | External, removable |
| End of the boat | Bow |
| What it does to the hull | Four 2 in 1/4-20 bolts through the deck for the track, and three 10-32 for its brace, with no wiring |
| Haul-out to fit it | No: the maker says it goes on afloat |
| Maker’s boat length | 20 to 30 ft, the intended use DockStar gives |
| Price and ordering | |
| Price | $4,570 full kit, the maker's own price, dockstarthrusters.com, 17 September 2026 |
| Part number | Not held for this listing |
| Documents | |
| Manual | User manual (PDF)on the maker's site |
| Installation guide | Pontoon track installation guide (PDF) |
| Warranty | DockStar gives 2 years for recreational use and 1 for commercial use, which needs its written approval first. It covers the first owner only, and it covers the battery. You pay shipping on a claim. DockStar's limited warranty policy, v.260828 |
| The site’s review | DockStar Smart Thruster review |
What holds up
Each point names the fact it rests on.
What holds up
- It goes on with the boat in the water. No haul-out is needed to fit it.DockStar's own statement
What the manual and listings say
This is the note we keep on the DockStar Smart Thruster with pontoon track, written from the maker’s manual, its product pages and the dealer’s listing.
In the box: A complete kit: the battery and charger inside, a wireless remote, two propellers. The hull track is bought separately.
Our note
Priced as the unit plus the pontoon track, which is the Stanchion Track (Extended) on DockStar's build-and-price list, read 17 September 2026. The track bolts to a stanchion on the edge of the deck, above the deck or to a plate under it, and DockStar publishes a guide for each. The unit is self-contained, so it draws nothing from the boat.
About 10 minutes of run time per charge is many dockings. Recharge is about 5 hours from empty on a 110 V outlet, so plan on shore power or an inverter.
Videos
Two of DockStar’s own videos, from its YouTube channel: the unit on a pontoon boat, and the unit docking a trawler in a breeze. They are the maker’s pitch. Watch them for what the unit looks like and how it goes in, and take any claim back to the figures above.
Other sizes and close alternatives
The same 90 lb unit, sold for other mounts:
- On a bow track: DockStar Smart Thruster, bow, $4,380 to $4,500.
- On a stern track: DockStar Smart Thruster, stern, $4,270 to $4,570.
DockStar makes the unit in one size only.
No other maker’s priced unit of this style sits within a quarter of its thrust. The compare page lists every model.
Every model with a page here is listed, maker by maker, on the thruster index.