Stabilizers

Is it then to be a displacement trawler, not a semi-displacement boat?

There are many choices including no stabilizers. Most trawlers roll a good bit and I find stabilizers more necessary instead of less on them.

As to type stabilizers, our most recent was Side-power Vector Fins on a 65' Sunseeker. We had the choice between them and Seakeeper. We chose them primarily for two reasons. We felt they would be better under speed and the spool up time. We just weren't attracted by the 30-50 minute spool up times. We are very happy with our choice. Now, I have been on the same boat as well as 65' Sea Ray with Seakeeper. They performed very well. There are other gyro stabilizers but I haven't been on a boat with any of them.

We also have Naiad stabilitzers. Every one who offers fins today offers zero-speed as well. We've had good service from Naiads but there are definitely other options we would consider if looking. ABT-Trac has a good reputation among those I know with them. I know fewer people with Quantum but have heard good things about them.

There are many owners of boats very similar to the one you're planning who say they are very happy with stabilizers. However, I haven't run across any who say they wish they didn't have them and once one has them, they're almost certain to get them on future boats. I value comfort very highly.

In order to have zero speed stabilizers the fins usually have to be oversized and slow you down. I would go with the seakeeper, because for what you're looking to do it will really shine. You will not be able to run it from an inverter bank. Not for more than a few hours anyways, most likely.

I'm on a long delivery on a 60' Taiwanese tub right now and not a fan for how they ride, or how the tiawanese build boats either. They never get the weight and balance right on most of the boats they build, this one is bow heavy and has a ton of lead in the stern...... for example, and steers all over the place. Grand Banks is the best of the bunch by far when it comes to hull design and handling characteristics on a Taiwanese built trawler. Slow speed trawler....... I'd go with Fleming on a semi displacement. Or a hunt if you want more speed.

Personally unless I was doing long ocean crossings, I wouldn't have a displacement boat period. I'm on one now, hull speed is 8.2 knots.....if you get into 3 knots of current, it slows you down almost 3 knots.......we've seen 5.8 knots for long periods of time, 10 knots for some, it sucks.......current doesn't slow semi-displacement down but a knot max. Also, when you hit current and exceed hull speed, it starts bow steering all over the place instantly........

Vector fins don't have this issue.

Um, no. Current affects all boats' speed in the same way. Sorry, it's just physics.

Our Seakeeper works really well and helps a lot at speed in addition to at rest. It does make some noise so I would certainly agree that putting it under your berth would be a mistake. Our Sabre 45 was designed to install it in the engine room so the noise is minimized.

The spin up time is an issue if you forget to turn it on before you leave the dock or go out an inlet. But if you plan accordingly, it certainly should not be a problem in most situations.

We were at a dock in Harbour Island and were athwart the wash from crossing boats. The boats around us were all rolling all night while we were steady as a rock. Great investment.

Perhaps I'm just unusual but I find the entire spool up routine disconcerting. I'm sitting in a marina, but need to start spooling up 45 minutes before leaving, which means getting out of bed earlier. Also, means switching to generators and off of shore power sooner, and just adds time to the start of the day.

Are you indicating at Harbour Island you were using the Seakeeper while docked? I'd be curious to hear if others are doing that.

A trend I've seen with several builders is to use fins such as Naiad and Seakeeper on larger boats. The best of all worlds.

One comment on pitch. Naiad actually offers "Ride Control" to manage pitch and yaw. They combine some combination of T-Foils, trim tabs, interceptors, and special rudders. I have never seen a boat with their system. Seems like quite a bit and certainly not for a small boat. I know others offer various pieces of such a system. Pitch isn't something we've found to be such a problem as to need such a dramatic system, but guess it is on some boats.

Same with me, and the compass takes also at least half an hour to spool up...

My routine is to start up the SeaKeepers (2 of them) when I start my coffee. By the time I've finished my morning routine the gyros are good to go. Also, they can spool up on shore power and won't be bothered by the momentary lapse when switching to generator.

We have used them at the dock often in busy harbors - New York, Boston, Annapolis, etc.

So, in those areas, do you run them 24 hours a day?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Last month in Annapolis we were just outside ego alley and had lots of wakes during the day. To keep our guests happy we ran all day, but by bedtime it was calm enough to shut them down. In NYC and Boston, 24/7. At anchor, they usually run 24/7, but we prefer to find quieter anchorages where we can shut down everything.

There is a high pitched whine when they are running, but it's masked by the white noise of AC units and such.

I'm curious about this choice as well. Are the fin and gyro stabilizers equally effective in a sea way like what one might find off shore during a passage? It seems more common to have fins on full displacement passagemakers and gyros on planing boats like sportfish. Imagining this has much to do with speed but wondering if it the type of boating as well, ie.. passagemaking vs. out and back or single day legs.

Vector Fins themselves on certain boats reduce the roll at anchor by 66-72%. They do not impact speed like traditional fins either. One thing side-power really emphasizes is reduction of seasickness. Now, I'm sure they didn't set up two boats and keep switching people out to see how many got sick so much be some scientific analysis of the connection between roll and seasickness.