kobelt/keypower VS AB Trac

Can i get your thoughts between the two manufactures. I am struggling deciding which one to go with. They both have plus and minuses .
Thanks

I have had consistently good experiences with ABT, so for me it's a no-brainer.


What do you see as the pros and cons?

I guess from no direct experience and just reading keypower is 20 percent cheaper and uses two cylinders to control the fin and they look to have a low profile.
ABT has a good following and local support for initial setup. They have not responded to my emails over the last few weeks but i got a phone number from a fellow boater and talked to him today. This morning i was planning on calling keypower and placing an order but now i am on the fence .Key power has a price increase coming next week supposedly.

I have had great experience from ABT - took their free and excellent training, had tech support and actual service on two Saturdays, etc. I am the third owner of the system, but have been treated like I just purchased last week. No recent experience from ABT Trac other than accumulation of spare parts.

One additional impressive thing was the tour of their facility at the beginning of the class. They explained how components were sourced or produced, and showed us most of the system in its raw form. I found myself thinking, wow, this is done right…over and over again.

If I were buying a new system, it would be ABT Trac’s deal to lose. I have no relevant experience with the others.

Thanks for the comments. The one thing that is swaying me is the lack of communication and follow thru. Been several weeks trying to get just a conversation and when i did it was interrupted. I have been unable to get any requested info so i only have one short conversation. This carries a lot of weight with me but i do hear folks getting good service but perhaps covid has changed things for them.
Kobelt has responded to questions late night and weekends. i am still waiting for a call back from trac because they do come highly recommended but will be unable to order if there is no way to even place an order.

I share your concern regarding communications. How will you get this project done if they won’t communicate? Warranty issues? Not confidence inspiring.

There was a recent post about some ownership changes. Maybe someone can elaborate.

Out ABT Trac stabilizers have been great. The one time we needed service the tech came to the boat, spent 1/2 hr adjusting things, and didn't charge anything.
But when we had a problem with our ABT Trac stern thruster is when things fell off the rails. Poor communication, bad engineering, and worse quality control.

If I had a choice, I would go with ABT Trac stabilizers without hesitation, but pass on their stern thrusters.

i decided to go with kobelt/keypower. I didn't really have a choice. multiple emails,messages and text gone un-answered gave me no options. With no return calls from yards and shops has changed my opinion on relying on shops. Most shops are short employees with help wanted on every business in town means any work i want done will need to be done by myself. With that being the case i need a manufacture that will answer there phone.

Although I've had no experience with Keypower stab systems, I have relatively new (5 years) Kobelt engine controls and they are excellent. When I was looking at my options, I looked at the internal components of the Kobelt controller, and they were much better engineered than any others. And they were easy to deal with.

Keep us posted on the project. It will be real interesting to see. Have you decided where to haul to do the work?

I was thinking maybe seaview boatyard. We live out by seatac and are moored at elliot.

All- been going round and round for two years on stabilization…purchased Keypower today. I will have a yard install the fins and I will do the rest myself or hire help here and there. I will use the engine PTO pad for hydraulics. Wish me luck!

magna 6882 said:

I was thinking maybe seaview boatyard. We live out by seatac and are moored at elliot.

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I haven't spent any time there. I presume they are fine with you working on the boat, and bringing in subcontractors? Some yards are fine with that, and some aren't.

jimdavi said:

All- been going round and round for two years on stabilization…purchased Keypower today. I will have a yard install the fins and I will do the rest myself or hire help here and there. I will use the engine PTO pad for hydraulics. Wish me luck!

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Cool, two NP45s adding Keypower stabilizers at the same time. You guys will have lots to compare.

twistedtree said:

I haven't spent any time there. I presume they are fine with you working on the boat, and bringing in subcontractors? Some yards are fine with that, and some aren't.

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They will obviously haul out and block. They allow owners to do there own with the exception to zinc and bottom paint. There concerns are with contamination . They do have a fiberglasser with 25 years experience so i will try to use him first unless he does crappy work then i will do it myself.
I will try to document the process with lots of pictures so others will be able to find information in the future.

Do either of you, jimdavi or magna 6882, have any feedback on how installation of the Keypower system has gone or your experience with operation? I am considering the Keypower system for my NP-45. I was also looking at ABT-TRAC, but have also had problems with lack of response to my email request for a quote. Thanks, Tom

Howdy, Magna and I have been working together on this. We just received our kits. I plan to have a yard install the fins, and I will do the rest. We are utilizing the PTO pad for hydraulic pump. Happy to discuss off-line as well. Biggest issue for me in SFO is getting a yard to respond for the fin installation.

If you guys are comfortable sharing the process here, I, and I expect others, would be interested to follow along

I was going to document the process. I found very little imagery or information during my research so i thought it would be help full for others . Not rocket science but some thought needs to be taken when running hydraulic circuits to minimize heat and balance the load. Jim and i are working in tandem so items we might overlook are discovered by each other. I got my kit early in the week but still havnt had time to really look things over. One thing discovered right away is everything is heavy. close to 1000lbs total with the crates. I also was surprised to see better quality then i was expecting. The pump,cooler,tank ect are all sourced by outside venders and they definitely didn't go with the cheap stuff.

My, new to me boat, came with Keypower stabilizers that I think were added 6-7 years ago. They worked great for almost 6000 miles from Fiji to Anacortes. Had a couple questions while the boat was in Hawaii, and the their tech support was super helpful. Haven't had any experience with other brands so hard to compare.

The one problem with them that I have had since getting the boat home, is that I keep picking up kelp that gets trapped in the crack at the leading edge of the stabilizer. I would ask about options for installing some sort of cutter, or guard at the leading edge.

The cradle is a bit distracting, but here's an example of kelp cutters.

Thanks to all. After much back and forth, I am inclined to go with fixed bilge keels rather than active fin stabs.

Update
My boats scheduled to be hauled on the first. One problem was keypower didn't send the control valves in my crate. Been over a month and i still don't have an answer as to when or if they are are going to send me the valves. Jim got his so i know they should be there. Should have some pictures of the install starting on the first.