Sleipner SX & SXP HydroPOD 35/50 — Installation Manual

Before Fitting

• Fit as far aft as possible: thrust for turning the boat grows with the distance from the pivot point. Move the unit sideways if needed to clear stern drives, trim tabs or anything inside the transom.
• Never place it where hull stiffeners or stringers must be modified.
• Antifouling (SX): remove the two anodes, paint the complete thruster, both sides of the propeller and both tunnel halves inside and out – but not the propeller shaft, feed-through bolts or anode screw threads. Refit the anodes (one anode uses screws of different lengths) at 2Nm. The pod itself can be painted after installation.
• Propeller: centre the drive pin, slide the propeller on, align the pin with the slot, fit the washer and centre nut, then the hub anode and screw (2Nm).
• Tunnel: press the two halves together evenly with a clamp until all snap-lock tabs engage and the inside is smooth; the propeller must turn freely.

Pod to Hull

1. Mark the thruster holes from the template (130 mm and 65 mm spacing, 35,80 mm offset to the main tube) and drill them (SX manual: Ø10 mm in the hull; SXP manual: pre-drill all pod holes Ø8.5 mm, maximum hull thickness 50mm).
2. Seat the thruster in the pod, offer it up on the pre-drilled holes and fasten temporarily: the thruster keeps the mould from flexing.
3. Trim the pod wings to the hull profile (not past the centre groove line, 5mm), or plan to fill the gap with filler. Heat from cutting can melt the mould.
4. Mark and drill the remaining pod holes (1 rear, 2 front); make support segments to the hull profile for the bolts and tube.
5. MS Polymer sealant inside the hull holes, on the washers and threads, in the main tube recess and 1cm inside all bolts (SXP: compression rings cut to give +10% compression).
6. Fit the pod without the nose cap, then the centre and rear support segments, fasten with the thruster bolts and rear bolt and wipe off squeezed-out sealant.
7. Seal and fit the nose cap with its two bolts, shims and nuts.

Cowls are not used with the HydroPOD. Grids: thread-locker and hand-tight only, so the plastic does not deform.

Control Box

1. Pull the blue SX thruster hose over the cable harness from the thruster and clamp it.
2. Mount the box in any orientation (cables down preferred) within 0.75m of the thruster bolts, on a wall thick and strong enough, away from heat.
3. Connect motor cables A1 and A2 to the matching terminals, with the white-wire ring lug between motor lug and nut on its original terminal: 8 NM (5.9 ft/lb).
4. Battery B+ / B- terminals: M10 40 NM (29.5 ft/lb), M8 18 NM (13.3 ft/lb).
5. Connect the temp switch (NC); proportional SXP thrusters also connect the NTC.
6. Tighten the hose clamp on the box and fasten the box to the hull.

With the main switch off and everything connected, check with an ohm meter that there is no connection between the motor flange and the positive terminal, nor between the flange and the negative terminal.

Control Systems

• SX (on/off): 4-wire control cable to the control panel; with an AMS, a 5-wire cable and a 5A fuse for the AMS.
• SXP (proportional, S-Link): a Proportional Power Controller (PPC) sits in the power line with an 8-lead cable; panels connect via S-Link backbone and spur cables.
• S-Link: one POWER cable per system (2A fuse; yellow and black to GND, red to +12VDC or +24VDC), ideally mid-backbone; END Terminator at each end; one spur per unit; backbone over 100 meters – consult your distributor.
• Only original Sleipner S-Link products or approved interfaces on the bus, with at least one original Sleipner control panel installed.

Post-Installation Checklist

• Propeller fastened correctly and turns freely in the tunnel.
• Primer and antifouling on gear house and propeller, but not on the anode or the lid where the propeller is fastened; no abrasive tools on the epoxy coating.
• Drive direction matches the control panel.
• Thruster bolts to hull tightened correctly; no leakage around the hull studs.
• All electrical connections clean, dry and tight, with the correct cable, fuse and main switch size.
• In high-corrosion (salt water) use, coat exposed aluminium with epoxy primer before antifouling (SXP manual).

Cut-Out Template

• The SX POD 35 / 50 cut-out template (in the downloads) marks the main tube hole and the pod and thruster bolt holes on the hull.
• Print it at 100% (no scaling) and check the measurements printed on the drawing before drilling.