Looking to install Seakeeper stablizers on a 2013 66' Viking sportfish. Anyone have experience with this??
This guy does... https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/34508398/Anthony_Hsieh_v_Seakeeper,_Inc_et_al
I am not a fan of opening links but I did, summary of a law suit with no information. If I click on a pdf to see what this case was all about the site wants me to start a 14 day free trial. Naw. So looks like the last entry was case dimissed. Can you give us a synopsis of this situation?
The synopsis is he owns about $50 million worth of Sportfishers scattered around the world. They all have Seakeepers and he says they don’t do what they’re supposed to do. I can understand if you don’t want to open certain links but I’m not going to take the time to go through the whole story because of it. All his boats are named BAD COMPANY. Among them is a 60’ Viking with 4 Seakeepers that is currently on the market. He’s all over social media under his own name with the story, including his Facebook page. It’s all out there if you’re interested enough to find it.
If the goal is stability at anchor and low speed, then Seakeeper should help. However, I see them being installed into many planing hulls and they're just not of much help at speed, so if that's what you're looking for, you may be disappointed.
Thanks, that's plenty. Unhappy customer making waves. I appreciate you pointing it out for anyone who may be more interested. I didn't want or expect you to take the time to go into any detail. Thanks again.
This particular customer's dissatisfaction may be well justified. He was very knowledgeable about boats and didn't sue because he needs the money (I believe he was a billionaire), and doesn't have a reputation in business for being litigious. He died not long ago -- perhaps that is why the suit was dismissed.
Believe it or not, I think that was a different Anthony Hsieh. The one who died founded Zappos. The one who is an avid sportsfisherman founded loanDepot.com, among other companies. The litigation apparently was settled.
I installed 2 6's on my Hatteras GT 60'. They work well, especially adrift. When trolling, boat still rolls some, I should have gone with at least a 9 and a 6, for even more effect. It is worth it imo. On a 66', you would need at least a 26.
Seems like you would want to have a contract that would outline the amount or roll diminished, but I don't know if there is really a reliable way to measure this?
How about in a quater following sea on plane? What if your boat is one of those that bow steers and can lean outward if the swell is steep enough? Will a stabilizer help keep the boat from leaning as much? I can name a few mid size hulls that are a handfull in a following sea.
In this situation I've found seakeeper exasperates the problem. The hull leans outward and the seakeeper stiffens the ride and makes it stay leaning for a minute or two before it naturally flops back over. Seakeepers have their place, but no stabilizers make up for a bad hull design. Like last night I ran a 62' MY down the ICW with 20 people on it for a dinner party, it was as level as being in your house, despite some 1-2' boat wakes in the fast speed zones.