I don't think it's manufacturer or design related at all, more so personal preference. If one primarily or often boats where there's a strong current or tide (coastal) I think they view it as a useful tool. In my low profile cat w/ the widespread drives & large props I had no prob maneuvering but as the length of the boat or height increases so does the handicap in its maneuverability. On a windy day a 32' cruiser is going to be a handful in comparison to a 34' performance Vee. Twin outboards mounted closely together would also be considered a handicap in comparison to side by side I/O's.

Just my $.02!

Thanks! I have 0 experience in a CC and little in outboards so I was just curious. I'm land locked so we really don't have to worry about that issue and I never even thought about current/tides to be honest.

Oh and looks like it will be an awesome build! I will be checking back for the progress pictures.

The Nortech CC 34 and 39 have a fairly large top and when the winds blowing its like a kite.

The first time Nas brings that shiny new NT CC into the dock or on the trailer with a 10 + wind, he's going to be thinking I should of listen to Blinger. :)

I see you're at LOTO. This October on a nice, sunny, upper 60's with 20 MPH wind + gusts day we were in a small cove up by the dam. We thought we would be able to get out of the wind there but it was coming around the point on us and swirling towards the back of the cove so we decided we best cut across the lake into the wind and head towards the back of Berger's cove. Using just the motors on a 2014 340 Nor-Tech Sport with twin 300 VRods, once we got broadside to the wind the nose stopped rotating and pushed the boat sideways towards the back of the cove (to which we were now getting fairly close to). Upping the RPM on the motors could not overcome the push from the wind to get the nose to continue turning as tight and fast as we needed to turn so the bow thruster came in very handy. My buddy hit the thruster and the nose immediately reacted in the desired manner. Had we had more room to manuver we probably would not of had to resort to using the thruster but in the confined space we were in it came in very handy. Now before anyone burns on my buddy's driving ability with twins I've been onboard with him on a 43' F-4 Sunsation (staggered 600's) when he had to spin the boat around between the courtesy dock at Frankie and Louie's and the community dock. Anyone familiar with the space there knows how tight that is. Even better was having to back the boat into the slips at Shooter's 21 during the Shootout when all the other big a$$ boats are also docked on the dock you are backing into and across from you. Tightskis!!!!! The nose of the 340 is fairly tall and has a concave shape to deflect spray from waves. That shape also acts like a sail in a stiff crosswind. So, a thuster is not a necessity but if you have the coin it is definitely a nicety.

Boy I agree... My bow thruster on my 39 have saved me a few times. The t-top acks like a sail in a stiff wind. It becomes cost effective when the paint guy has to fix up the shinny new paint. BTW anyone who tells not to get one isn' t giving sound advise.

Michael,
I am talking about the Mercury SkyHook joystick for Verados. Not the Optimus.

Yep, I suspect its that "I'm such a bad a** CC boat driver I don't need a truster Terry Sobo guy". :):)

You can dam near dock parallel park with a thruster and the motors.

Sound advise is a relative term, We consulted at length with NASCAT and went thru the option list item by item and decided what was important based on his budget. A bow thruster is a nice thing to have, but also an expensive option. It was an easy choice not to add one based on the fact that we could easily install one after the boat is complete. I seem to remember doing just fine with all kinds of boats long before bow thrusters came into the recreational boat market.

Sorry John I didn't mean to affend you !! I was just going off my over 400 hours of experance with my Nortech 390.:)

Just curious... How much coin does it take to add a bow thruster to a new 34 or 39 Nor-Tech CC??? Is the installation cleaner/better if it's done when the boat is being built new? Does the installation cost more if you decide to do it later then it would have if you just added it as an option when the boat was being built?

It seems like a good thing to have if the guys that are actually piloting these boats are recommending them...