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Thruster specs
VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 385: specs, price and the boats it fits
The Bow Pro Boosted 385 belongs to the 400 series VETUS introduced in 2022 for large yachts of about 100 to 120 ft. It puts out 849 lb of push from a brushless motor, with joystick control and a built-in charger feeding its own batteries.
Not sold in the US right now. No US store or distributor lists the VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 385: we checked Defender, Fisheries Supply and Citimarine on October 15, 2026. Its specs and parts stay here for owners of boats built or bought abroad. For one to buy here, see the models on the VETUS thruster review that have a US price.
VETUS quotes it through its dealers. The very large tube, a control panel, a main switch and fuses add about $1,181 to $2,119, and the bow needs a four-battery bank of its own, which with its cable we put at $4,080 to $4,349. Installing a tube this size is serious yard work, so get a quote for the whole job. The parts list is below.
VETUS’s installation manual rates it for 6 minutes at a stretch, or 6 minutes in any hour at full power, where the smaller BOW PRO models get 10, so plan on briefer pushes. Brushless, so no brushes; change the zinc each year. The three-year warranty expects servicing by an authorized dealer.
Fitting it yourself? The installer section has every spec, and the VETUS thruster review sets this model against the rest of the VETUS range.
Where this summary comes from (6 sources, read 12 October 2026)
- VETUS webshop, BOWB385
- VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 400 mm installation manual 020816.02 (BOWB385, 420)
- VETUS BOW PRO user manual 020810.04 (thrust not dependent on battery voltage; run time limited by the batteries)
- VETUS Maintenance and Warranty Manual for thrusters, 020901.02
- VETUS warranty policy (three years since 2011, claimed through the dealer)
- VETUS, Our Legacy (founded 1964, first bow thruster 1982, Yanmar Group 2013, BOW PRO 2018)
Key facts
- DIY level 2 of 5 Wiring prep only
- Thrust 849 lb 385 kgf, VETUS's rating
- Boat length 100 to 120 ft VETUS's own range
- Price No US price None is published, so there is no fitted cost to work out
- Fitted by a yard No total No price to build on
- Voltage 24 V or 48 V As sold
- Mounts Tunnel Fixed mount, bow or stern
- To fit it Haul-out The boat comes out of the water
- Run limit 6 min At a stretch, the manual's S2 rating
Every figure here is the maker’s or a dealer’s. No US price is published, so there is no fitted cost to 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: 4 to 16 h Yard: 32 to 70 h Electrician: 2 to 4 h Plus a haul-out.
- Cut, bond and fair the tunnel; fit the gear leg, motor and propeller Yard 32 to 70 h The low end is two crew over two days, the job as owners describe it on the forums. The high end rises with boat length between two real billed figures: 32 hours at 35 ft, and the largest invoice we hold, 70 hours at 47 ft.
- Mount the battery box, switch and fuse holder; run and secure the cables You 4 to 16 h 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 h Our estimate. Nobody publishes a time for the final connections and test on their own.
Your part needs:Heavy battery cableCrimping big lugs
A qualified marine electrician should make the final connections and test them before first use. 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 VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 385 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 at the bow 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.
| Boat | Full thrust at 15 knots | Still a fit, in lighter wind |
|---|---|---|
| Pontoon & tritoon | Not listed. A pontoon has no hull body between the logs to bore a tunnel through, and nobody sells one for these boats. | |
| Sailboat | No length. More thrust than the boat needs. | |
| Houseboat | No length. Outside the maker's length range. | |
| Catamaran | No length. More thrust than the boat needs. | |
| Trawler | No length. Outside the maker's length range. | |
| Motor yacht | No length. Outside the maker's length range. | |
| Bass & flats | Not listed. Nobody sells a tunnel kit for these hulls, and a bass boat’s shallow planing bow has almost no depth to hold one. | |
| Wake & ski boats | Not listed. Nobody sells a tunnel kit for these hulls. | |
| Express cruiser | No length. More thrust than the boat needs. | |
| Center console | No length. More thrust than the boat needs. | |
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.
No boat type and length in the table is a fit. 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
No US dollar price is published for the VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 385, 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.
What else you buy
What follows comes from VETUS’s BOW55D installation manual 020522.11 r08 and the BOW PRO Boosted manual 020808.04 r09, May 2026 and February 2026, read 30 September 2026.
- In the box
- The unit assembled or in parts, the zinc anode, insulated gaskets, the drill template, the solenoid switches and the 5 A control fuse on the motor. BOW PRO: the thruster fuse in the connection unit.
- Bought separately
- The tunnel, the main switch (BATSW250 or BATSW600), the main fuse (ZE) and holder (ZEHC100), the cable, the control panel and its cable.
- Charging
- Every VETUS manual wants "its own separate battery or batteries" near the thruster, sealed if it shares the motor's compartment. The BOW PRO Boosted units carry a charger (12 V, 80 A) fed from the boat's bank, with a fused feed cable. The other manuals show an alternator and a battery separator on the wiring diagram and say nothing more.
The manual’s words, page 22 of the Boosted manual: “By connecting the 24 Volt battery bank to the MCVB boosted charge connection, the 48 Volt, battery bank is charged. An additional charging facility is not required.”
A yard job adds these parts on top of the unit: $1,181 to $2,119 for the priced ones below, at Fisheries Supply’s prices on 30 September 2026, plus the batteries, cable and charger.
| Part | What it is | What to ask for | Dealer price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunnel tube | The fiberglass, aluminum or steel pipe the thruster sits in, bonded through the bow. | VETUS names none | $852–$1,315300 mm fiberglass tunnel tubes up to 60 in (1.5 m) long (Sleipner Side-Power), at Fisheries Supply, read 16 October 2026. No dealer we read lists a 400 mm tube. This is the 300 mm price, the largest bore listed. |
| Control panel | The buttons or joystick at the helm. One helm, one panel: a second steering station needs a panel of its own. | BPSE2 push buttons, BPJSTA joystick, BPJE2 or EZDOCK2 | $219–$374Side-Power touch panel and single joystick, VETUS push-button panel, Lewmar single joystick, at Fisheries Supply. |
| Control cable, panel to motor | The thin cable from the helm to the motor. Sold by length. | VETUS panel cable, by length | $29–$173Side-Power control cables, VETUS panel cables, Lewmar Gen 2 connecting cables, at Fisheries Supply. |
| Main fuse | A slow-blow fuse of the ANL type at the battery, in the size the maker prints for the model. | ZE series slow-blow, the rating in the yard table below | $18–$57Side-Power ANL fuses, Blue Sea ANL fuses, at Fisheries Supply, read 16 October 2026. |
| Fuse holder | The block the ANL fuse bolts into, with a cover. | ZEHC100 | $27–$93Egis and Blue Sea ANL fuse blocks, Side-Power ANL fuse holders, at Fisheries Supply, read 16 October 2026. |
| Main battery switch | The switch that cuts the thruster off from its battery when you leave the boat. | BATSW250 (BATSW600 on the bigger units), or BPMAIN12/24 for a remote switch | $35–$107Egis m-Series 300 A, Blue Sea e-Series 350 A and HD-Series 600 A on/off switches, at Fisheries Supply, read 16 October 2026. |
| Battery cable and lugs | The two heavy cables from the battery to the motor, sized to the length of the run. The wiring calculator sizes them. | VETUS names none | In the electrical line |
| Battery bank | A cranking-type bank near the motor, sized by the maker's cold cranking amps. The battery calculator checks it. | VETUS names none | In the electrical line |
| Glass, resin, filler and sealant | What bonds the tube or housing into the hull and seals the gear leg. | VETUS names none | Not priced |
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 | 849 lb (385 kgf) As printed: Thrust (kgf): 385 (VETUS webshop product page) |
| Motor | 18.4 kW |
| Voltage | 24 V or 48 V |
| Fitting | |
| Type | Tunnel, fixed mount |
| End of the boat | Bow or stern |
| Tunnel diameter | 400 mm |
| What it does to the hull | Tunnel bore below the waterline |
| Haul-out to fit it | Yes |
| Maker’s boat length | 100 to 120 ft |
| Price and ordering | |
| Price | No US price published |
| Part number | BOWB38524/48 V, 24 V DC / 48 V DC |
| Documents | |
| Manual | Installation manual (PDF)on the maker's site |
| Warranty | VETUS gives 3 years, or 1 for professional use, and it transfers to the next owner. Claims go through the dealer only. It is void unless an authorized VETUS dealer does the periodic maintenance, and transport, labor and lifting are excluded. VETUS's warranty policy |
| The site’s review | VETUS thruster review |
Draw, cable, fuse and battery, at each voltage
These are the maker’s own figures, at each voltage it is sold at. The cable is the size for the shortest run in the maker’s table. A longer run may need heavier cable, and the wiring calculator works that out for your own boat.
| Voltage | Draw | Maker’s cable | Fuse | Battery | Run limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 V | 480 Anominal draw | 2 x 3/0 AWG per leg for up to 6 ft of cable counted out and back. Longer runs take heavier cableinstallation manual 020816.02, r07, December 2025 | 500 Ainstallation manual 020816.02, r07, December 2025 | 4 x 220 Ah - 12 V, in amp-hoursVETUS installation manual 020816.02, r07, December 2025 | 6 min at a stretch, the manual's S2 ratinginstallation manual 020816.02, r07, December 2025 |
- At 48 V: size the cable for your run, or check the battery you have.
What holds up and what to weigh
Each point names the fact it rests on.
What holds up
- VETUS sells it for either end, so it can go at the bow or the stern.The maker's listing
- It is sold at 24 V and at 48 V.The maker's and dealers' listings
What to weigh
- The boat comes out of the water to fit it: it needs a tunnel bore below the waterline.The mounting: a bore through the hull, or a housing recessed into it
- No US dollar price is published for it, so we can work out no fitted cost.The maker and the dealers the database reads
What the manual and listings say
This is the note we keep on the VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 385, written from the maker’s manual, its product pages and the dealer’s listing.
In the box: A charger is built in (12 V, 80 A), fed from the boat's own bank. Proportional: the joystick sets how hard it pushes. The thruster fuse sits in the connection unit.
Our note
The smaller of the two 400 mm Boosted units, the series VETUS introduced in 2022. It runs at 24/48 V on four 12 V batteries in series. Boosted means the thruster runs on its own bank, charged from the boat's system through a built-in charger (120 A at 24 V maximum, fused at 125 A). So the feed cable is sized for the charger, not the motor.
It is brushless and proportional, so the joystick sets how hard it pushes instead of switching it on and off. The installation manual rates it S2 6 minutes: six minutes continuously, or at most six minutes in an hour at full power, the same figure the product page prints. The user manual says run time is mainly limited by the battery. The US press release's "unlimited runtime" appears in neither.
The manual gives 480 A at 48 V (540 at 42), an example battery of four 220 Ah 12 V batteries and a 500 A fuse. The cable table starts at two 2/0 AWG per leg (or one 300 MCM) to 6.6 ft of total run and ends at two 300 MCM per leg at 32.8 ft. We found no US dealer listing. VETUS publishes no price.
Videos
Two of VETUS’s own videos, from its YouTube channel: the BOW PRO range in short, and the full BOW PRO electrical and mechanical install. 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
These are VETUS’s next sizes in the same line, by thrust.
- One size down: VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 320, 705 lb.
- One size up: VETUS BOW PRO Boosted 420, 926 lb.
These are other makers’ units of the same style, for the same end, within a quarter of its published thrust. Each is that maker’s nearest match.
- Sleipner E350 HD eVision, 772 lb, $17,750.
- Max Power CT325 (24 V), 717 lb, $6,510.
Every model with a page here is listed, maker by maker, on the thruster index.