What the heck is this????
- Thread starter Baker
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
OP
OP
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- Floatsome & Jetsome
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- Meridian 411
Damn Conrad, you are good. *I thought we would get a few missed before we got the hit. *Anyway, a buddy of mine just put one of these on his boat. *We were gonna give it a test run yesterday but one of his starters and one of his engines was frozen up so we didn't get to experience it. *These things aren't cheap.....
Giggitoni
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- Mahalo Moi
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- 1986 Grand Banks 42 Classic
That'd buy a lot of puke pills...!
Conrad
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I'd be very interested to hear how it performs. (For interest only; it wouldn't quite fit into my 32 footer!). Why that particular model, vs at least one other brand that is much simpler and hence less expensive?
Sailor of Fortune
Guru
It will complement my IPS drives, infra red night vision camera, bow and stern thruster, Rocna
anchor, and matching color co-ordinated fender covers and braided docklines. Ya know, stuff you must have to leave the dock! LOL
anchor, and matching color co-ordinated fender covers and braided docklines. Ya know, stuff you must have to leave the dock! LOL
Conrad
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It would have to be tiny then John, as I've already run out of space...and cheap, so that I can also afford my IPS drives, infra red night vision camera, bow and stern thruster, Rocna*anchor, and matching color co-ordinated fender covers and braided docklines!*
I need a bigger boat.
I need a bigger boat.
markpierce
Master and Commander
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- penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Sounds like an expensive acquisition, costly to repair/maintain, easily broken off or damaged*in a grounding, readily catching crab/lobster-pot lines, etc.* With the first set of tens-of-thousands-of-dollar of disposable income, I'd first opt for multi-engine, diesel-electric, single-propeller propulsion protected by a full keel.*
OP
OP
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An expensive acquisition yep as for the rest may i suggest a bit more research.
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I agree with rednev. *One of their big selling points is almost NO maintenance. *The gyro runs in a vacuum. *The only maintenance you have to do is renew the vacuum about once a year with a pump provided by the manufacturer.
And there are NO exterior appendages. *Nothing related to this things protrudes outside the hull. *Everything related to this thing is in that picture. *One of the beauties of it is that it works at anchor.
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marinetrader
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Gyro stabilizer
Fotoman
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Dont' we all.
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markpierce
Master and Commander
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Ah, I see now.* A gyro, no fins..
Does it warp space to permit time/space travel?
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-- Edited by markpierce on Monday 24th of January 2011 01:16:34 PM
Arctic Traveller
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Dont' we all.
Actually, no.* Having a couple 90 footers I run and maintain on a regular basis, it's clear to me that even if I could afford one, the amount of maintenance and other costs would take all the fun out of it.* Still, I'm more than willing to run YOURS...........Arctic Traveller.
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Conrad
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Dont' we all.
Actually, no.* Having a couple 90 footers I run and maintain on a regular basis, it's clear to me that even if I could afford one, the amount of maintenance and other costs would take all the fun out of it.* Still, I'm more than willing to run YOURS...........Arctic Traveller.
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I agree actually. I read somewhere that Bill Garden said that the ideal boat size for cruising the west coast is 32' so who can argue? It fits easily at the busy fuel docks without the need for a bow thruster, costs less to operate and maintain, takes up less space at anchor, and can easily be handled by two. The only reason I'd want anything larger is to accommodate a second stateroom for the usual extra folks we always seem to have on board.
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Dswizzler
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John,
What typical and size boat was this installed on ? Sure we'll all be interested* on the sea trail or you could invite us all along...
What typical and size boat was this installed on ? Sure we'll all be interested* on the sea trail or you could invite us all along...
OP
OP
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I think they size them to your boat. *I googled the manufacturer and came up with a few different articles. *Pretty interesting although I am still a bit skeptical. *The author of the PMY article almost made it sound magical. *If that is the case then it may be worth it...especially since it will stabilize your boat at anchor. *It only works on the roll axis. *I looked at the install and was wondering...."how"?....since it is gimballed on the pitch axis. *Then I remembered the principles of gyroscopic precession which applies the force 90 degrees from where it is applied. *So the "animal" in the picture rocks back and forth apparently on the pitch axis but the force is felt on the roll axis......I determined this all by my lonesome so it may be way off....
JMYSS
Senior Member
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The ones from Seakeaper only come in two models. One for boats up to I think the 60' range, and then another really big one that they use multiples of on megayachts. I seatrialed their 41' Viking sportfish at the last Ft. Lauderdale boat show, as a 72' Hatteras motoryacht I captain/manage is thinking of installing them. I don't know it it is magical, but it is very cool and does everything is says it does. Offshore in 3-4' beam seas, the boat didnt roll. It still went up and down on the waves, but not side to side with things slamming everywhere. WHen I stepped on the boat at the dock prior to the sea trial, with the engines and generator shut down. I did not even know it was running. When I asked them to fire it up, they said, "it already is" that quiet...They say that for a boat like my customers that already has the Naid stabilizers, it is the best of boat worlds. The SeaKeapers compliment the Naids (Fin stabilizers) when underway, and at anchor or dock the Gyro's take over. I talked to a guy on the west coast who installed two of the smaller units on a 74' Hatteras Motoryacht and loved it. My customer is thinking the same...only $200k for the pair, installed!
Here is a link to a local boatyard that we work with that put one in a 43' Silverton...
http://www.bbyachts.com/uploads/files/2009-05-25_Seakeeper_Stabilizer_Install.pdf
Here is a link to a local boatyard that we work with that put one in a 43' Silverton...
http://www.bbyachts.com/uploads/files/2009-05-25_Seakeeper_Stabilizer_Install.pdf
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- Now boatless - sold 6/2018
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I guess if you can afford to have a $70,000 spinning top in a vacuum in your boat to smooth the roll a bit, then they would be great. If you can afford a 50 to 70 foot modern vessel, I guess it's no big deal. I can see how it would work, and I like the idea better than vulnerable wings sticking out to get damaged and rip a hole in the hull in a grounding. However, as one wondering how to finance another $5000 bill for an engine job, just to get running again, after already spending about $12,000 this summer, a gyro-stabiliser is low on my shopping list. What was that someone said about the ideal sized coastal boat? Mine's only 34 ft, so I'd shudder to think what it would cost to run a 60 footer.
PS.* Oh, yeah, as a result, the foreward raked screens will have to wait......forever......
-- Edited by Peter B on Tuesday 25th of January 2011 06:04:44 AM
PS.* Oh, yeah, as a result, the foreward raked screens will have to wait......forever......
-- Edited by Peter B on Tuesday 25th of January 2011 06:04:44 AM
FF
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We were gonna give it a test run yesterday but one of his starters and one of his engines was frozen up so we didn't get to experience it.
"Engine frozen and locked starter" , sounds like a std no maint boat!
Just the thing he needs is a $70K toy!
"Engine frozen and locked starter" , sounds like a std no maint boat!
Just the thing he needs is a $70K toy!
OP
OP
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FF, that should have read "...but one of his starters ON one of his engines was frozen up.."... ***He had moved his boat from the yard to the slip 2 days before and everything worked fine. *It is just one of those things. *
And your judgement could not be further from the truth. *He is just finishing up about a 1 year refit with a completely OPEN checkbook.....so open that he could likely buy a similar boat *BRAND NEW for what he has into this refit. *He is basically rebuilding the whole boat. *I would say this boat is "hyper"maintained.
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OP
OP
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By the specs it seems to use quite a bit of wattage (3k)*to run.* So*the genset has to run all of the time?** I'm guessing on the bigger boats they do anyway.
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I did not read that article. *But the article I read said that it needs 3kw to start and 1.5 to "maintain". *It takes 30 minutes to get up to a workable speed and another xx minutes to get it up to full operating speed. *But, yes, the generator has to be running during operation.
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Conrad
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By the specs it seems to use quite a bit of wattage (3k)*to run.* So*the genset has to run all of the time?** I'm guessing on the bigger boats they do anyway.
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I did not read that article. *But the article I read said that it needs 3kw to start and 1.5 to "maintain". *It takes 30 minutes to get up to a workable speed and another xx minutes to get it up to full operating speed. *But, yes, the generator has to be running during operation.
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I believe that the gyro can also be operated using shorepower while docked. Otherwise JYMSS' experience of the quiet gyro and no generator running wouldn't make sense!
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