Seakeeper Gyro: The New Standard?
The technology has been around for awhile, but a few companies are now making the Seakeeper gyro standard to reduce the rock and roll.
For most of us, going to sea means rocking and rolling, and we don't expect to have any control over that. We'll be more uncomfortable if the seas are big and happier if they're small, which is why we study the weather so carefully before we leave the dock. We can usually minimize the aggravation by adjusting our course and speed to match the sea state, but let's face it: some discomfort is an expected part of the boating package.
The MJM 40z will join a growing list of boats that offers the Seakeeper stabilizer as a option. Photo: MJM Yachts
Now two companies are hoping to change the expectation of discomfort at sea by incorporating gyro stabilization into their larger boats. Both the Sea Ray 650 Fly and MJM 50z (which debuts in a few weeks at the Newport Boat Show) now include the Seakeeper gyro as a standard feature. High end yachts have included it as an option for several years now, including the Princess V72. But this is the first time the technology will be added to each and every one of these yachts built—whether the owner asks for it or not.
The reason, according to Bob Johnstone, founder of MJM Yachts, is that it sells boats. "You don’t want to become a victim of the waves," he said in a recent interview. "The Seakeeper is a thousand pound sphere that’s spinning at 9000 rpm. It has its own inertia. It’s not reacting to waves, it’s just there. And it doesn't want to move.”
Want to see how it works? This video from Sea Ray illustrates the dramatic difference between stabilized sitting and unstabilized sitting when a powerboat wake rolls through:
According to Bob, once you experience stabilized boating you will never want to rock and roll again.
“We were out there watching the Etchells Worlds in Rhode Island Sound last June," he explained, "And we're looking at all the other boats rolling around—including ourselves. It didn’t bother me before, because I was used to it and I was living with it. But now I thought, this is horrible!” (Read the full interview with Bob Johnstone and Augie Diaz: Boating Lifestyle Evolution: Sailors Add Power)
Bob predicts that "powerboating will never be the same" now that the Seakeeper is becoming standard on high end yachts. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
