I don't understand how people love bow thrusters. I mean I do and I don't. They're another piece of gear to mess up, maintain and of course pay for. Also, I'm guessing that the sailing cost of the thruster is excessive and the water noise created by the passthrough for the thruster would IMHO be more then I want to hear. We use lines and once you have a line on a dock somewhere you can easily control the boat. Use a spring line to turn and a bow or stern line to control either end. Even with a good breeze we're able to get the boat into position for docking and then back her in or out easily. And I find one more key to successfully docking, Wendy is at the helm while I handle the lines. We use hand signals to communicate power forward / aft and I run the deck. I can throw lines farther, pull / push easier as needed and can reach farther.

Ciao