wrote:
On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:41:37 -0400, Wayne B
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:35:27 -0400, Honey Badger
wrote:

http://www.seakeeper.com/downloads_latestvideo.php
============

Probably works but not for everyone. There are different types of
stabilization systems. We have Naiad hydraulically actuated fins on
our trawler and they work very well:

http://www.naiad.com/

The drawback is that the boat has to be moving at least 6 to 7 knots
for the system to become effective.

The type with a massive gyroscope works at slow speeds and at anchor
but the gyro takes up a lot of space, consumes quite a bit of power,
and the vessel structure has to be designed around the loads produced
by the gyro, which are considerable. You can't just drop one in to an
existing boat.
I am not sure how a big gyro would work unless it was just a servo to
control some other stabilizer. When you try to alter the orientation
of a gyro, the force is translated (precessed) into an equal force 90
degrees offset in the direction of rotation. If you had a fore and aft
motion, it would translate into a roll.
We had a big honking gyro (washing machine sized) as a stable element
for the fire control system and it only controlled a servo sensor the
size of a table fan motor..
The demo on the site makes it look much simpler than that. Of course
they are trying to sell them, too!

-HB