NewbieFromNJ
Senior Member
For those that have stabilizers. At what point in sea conditions do stabilizers become ineffective?
Remember stabilizers affect only one of the four motions of a boat: roll.
In addition to the necessary and well asked questions above, define "ineffective".
If you read the operating instructions for Naiads you will find that in conditions where you have a following sea which is outpacing your vessel you MUST turn them off.
If you think about how they work, if the wave is passing under you the stabilization will work against you with some very dangerous results.
“Ineffective” in the sense that they no longer work and might as well be turned off.
PS I thought there were 6 motions of a boat?
I can only think of 5: yaw, pitch, roll, heave and forward/reverse. What is #6? Sideways?
I can only think of 5: yaw, pitch, roll, heave and forward/reverse. What is #6? Sideways?
I was just referring to motions acting on the boat while underway. Sorry for the confusion.
I don't recall the bit about following seas in the Naiad manual. I operated in some wicked following seas and never had such an issue. Maybe not wicked enough?
One thing I do, as reinforced by two excellent techs is that they should never be turned off when underway. At the very least, centered.
The slower the boat the bigger the fins have to be. So there's a big variant right there affecting the OP question.
I read a good quote awhile back, that I believe came from this website. “I never met anybody with stabilizers, who wish they didn’t have them”.
Pitch and roll where the only two in my vocabulary until now.
We have about 2000 miles on our boat, and I am currently in the Bahamas. I have not yet encountered any sea state where the stabilizers did not help. But I also have to say that I doubt I would be in seas where I would have to question their effectiveness.
Large gyro stabilizers work in most conditions. They are internal and the spinning mass counteracts roll with gyroscopic torque. It's not necessary to be moving for the gyro to stop the roll. No thru the hull outside fins, etc. Work on boats 10 tons and up. Maybe smaller.
https://seakeeper.com/
Sea Gyro for Ships and Boats
I was just referring to motions acting on the boat while underway. Sorry for the confusion.
I don't recall the bit about following seas in the Naiad manual. I operated in some wicked following seas and never had such an issue. Maybe not wicked enough?
One thing I do, as reinforced by two excellent techs is that they should never be turned off when underway. At the very least, centered.
The slower the boat the bigger the fins have to be. So there's a big variant right there affecting the OP question.
Somewhat familiar with the pros and cons of conventional vs the gyro stabilizers. Appears a severe following sea may be a pro got gyros and a con for the conventional. Not sure how the paravanes would fit in here.
Was waiting for this to show up. Coming on strong in most markets, even for ~30’ boats now. Not cheap, but no active stabilizers are. Have seen a lot of skeptics be really impressed by gyros.
My experience is all with ABT, so other may vary...
Everything made since about 2009 is self-centering and self locking. And self tuning. I turn them on when I start the boat and turn them off when I shut the boat down. Otherwise they are always on, and for all intends and purposes, always help reduce roll.
As others have pointed out, if you are going really slow their effectiveness will be diminished, but for any normal forward cruising speed they are always beneficial.