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For fast yachts, as
an alternative to trim tabs, American Bow Thruster offers the Interceptor,
a pair of thin blades each about six feet wide and six inches front to
back that drop two or three inches below the transom. With their very
high aspect ratio (width in relation to length), they offer more lift
and less drag than trim tabs and, in combination with electronic controls,
promise reductions in both pitch and roll for yachts.
Other concepts.
While most stabilization systems use some sort of fin as a means of combating
roll motion, systems based on other approaches have been developed. One
such concept is based on a principle known as the Magnus effect, which
holds that a cylinder spinning in a moving fluid develops a lift force;
it is this same phenomenon that causes a baseball to curve if the pitcher
puts spin on the ball. Koopnautic has employed this concept in its line
of rotary stabilizers, which utilize a pair of spinning cylinders in place
of fins to achieve roll stabilization.
More recently, Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries has developed a system that involves no components outside
the hull. Instead of using a small gyroscope as part of a control system,
Mitsubishi uses the inherent stability of a large gyroscope to directly
reduce roll motion. (For more detail, refer to “Ferretti’s
new Anti Roll Gyro.”)
Whatever you own, from
a trawler to an express cruiser, a motoryacht to a battlewagon, your chances
for smooth cruising have never been better. And the world’s leading
stabilizer manufacturers keep doing their level best to make it so.
American Bow Thruster
Phone: (800) 535-5377. www.thrusters.com.
Quantum Controls
Phone: (954) 587-4205. www.quantumstabilizers.com.
VT Naiad Marine
Phone: (203) 929-6355. www.naiad.com.
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