No Sweat !! A bow thruster should make you look like a pro !!
Quick story though ... we were fueling up one afternoon at the dock when some guys came in with a brand new triple outboard Whaler with bow thruster. He was all over the place trying to lay it against the fuel dock (not a slip) he had one motor out of commission but still had 2 motors and a thruster when he yelled out for someone to throw him a line because he had a motor down. WTF you gotta be kidding me. Moral of the story is get some practice in beforehand and be able to handle the situation without the thruster. The addition of the thruster will be a great asset when the wind gets up but you should be confident enough to dock the boat without using it by yourself.
Pat is correct.
A bow thruster is designed to assist you in difficult wind/ current docking scenarios.
It is not meant to be a crutch for bad piloting.
What if it trips a breaker and stops working? You still have to dock the boat. All it takes is practice helm time.
A note on the 350’s.
I have a 2018 300 Marlin with same year 350 “C”Series. All the troubles are fixed except for the flywheel replacement cycle, which is done free of charge by Yamaha at an authorized dealer.
I can go into the details of the flywheel scenario if needed. Meanwhile, these 2018 350’s are without question the finest outboardsI have ever owned in my life. If Yamaha still made them, I’d by another pair if needed. They are a perfect combo for the Marlin hull.
