Stabilizers

[55oceaneer]

Hi, I have just purchased a 55' Oceaneer by Seahorse Marine. It's a big steel expedition trawler and I need to know what my best option for Stabilisers will be. I am bringing the boat back down to Australia from Hong Kong in October. Any advice would be great.

[motion30]

best to try try trawlerforum.com

[gjordan]

Many power boats of that size have a small mast and boom for a riding sail. if your boat has that , make sure you use it. It can make quit a differance. Have a great trip.____Grant.

[bobconnie]

On a steel boat it should be easy to rig shrimper style booms with para-vanes, they work well ! just a thought !! and a lot cheaper then hull mounted hyd or elec stabilizers!

[DeepFrz]

I believe Nordhavn use ABT Trac stabs.

[djmarchand]

There are several types of stabilizers for trawlers:

1. Paravanes- Requires robust midships mounted booms with rigging for the paravanes. Can be difficult to deploy and retrieve so are only used on long passages. You can rig a valve tray device on one or both of the booms to use at anchor.

2. Hydraulic vanes- Expensive, takes a hydraulic take off from the engine to drive them. Little effect at anchor.

3. Flywheel/gyroscope system- Works equally well underway or at anchor. Rarely used.

4. Static water ballast- This is a long athwartships water tank with baffles. The water moving back and forth creates a rolling resistance underway or at anchor. Must be designed for ships roll period, weigh a lot and take up a lot of room. Rqrely used.

So probably 95% of stabilized trawlers use the hydraulic vane with the balance paravanes.

David

[twistedtree]

I think the hydraulic fin systems work the best, and are available with at-rest stabilization too. Not cheap, but highly effective. I don't know anyone (including me) who has them who would now consider a boat without them.

This thread might be on interest http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post654555

[twistedtree]

Oh, ABT Trac, Wesmar, and Naiad are the three big vendors. Quantum is another one, but they only have products for much larger boats.

I'm really happy with the ABT product, and the company support is outstanding.

[DeepFrz]

I know one Nordhavn 46 that has Paravanes but they are seldom (never?) used since the hydraulic vanes were installed, except at anchor.

[Capt Phil]

After countless deliveries, Naiads seem to be the most trouble-free and reliable. Had them on our own DeFever trawler and they worked faultlessly for years. Their site gauge for hydraulic fluid is easy to check and they require little maintenance in my experience. Commercial fished with paravanes back in the day... inexpensive but sometimes a pain to launch and retrieve. They are simple and don't require any maintenance at all (despite what you saw in The Perfect Storm). Once you have done any passagemaking with them, you become a real fan. Capt Phil

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by 55oceaneer

Hi, I have just purchased a 55' Oceaneer by Seahorse Marine. It's a big steel expedition trawler and I need to know what my best option for Stabilisers will be. I am bringing the boat back down to Australia from Hong Kong in October. Any advice would be great.

What did the builder suggest/advise when you raised the question with him?

[DeepFrz]

If you are planning long haul cruises you want the most robust system you can find. Nordhavn found out the hard way that the systems they first used were not up to long voyages when they organized the Atlantic Rally and many of the boats suffered stabilizer problems.