After spending two solid weeks in a quartering beam sea doing the Baja Bash I have decided to bite the bullet and add stabilization to my 4788.
The goal is to reduce the persistant roll that occurs in very moderate seas. It seems that even a sea you can barely notice can set up a very violent roll scenario in the 4788 hull.
With that in mind, and realizing I am in Mexico here were my choices.
1. I could add underhulls similar to what was marketed by North harbor Diesel. Owners report that these are fairly effective at a low cost.
2. I could add paravanes to the boat. These would be very effective but would change the look of my boat dramatically and everyones opinión not in a positive way. The cost of these is probably in the $20K range realizing skilled labor here is $35 an hour
3. I could add active fin stabilizers. This is the near perfect solution The challenge with this is it is out of my price range at around $75K installed.
4. I could add a gyro stabilizer by Seakeeper or similar. The problem with this is space, weight, and money. These things work great but are huge, heavy, and again I think I'd be close to $75K by the time I leave the boatyard.
5. The last choice and the one I am implementing is to add something called bilge keels or rolling chocks to the hull. Think of these as two keels that stick out of the hull at a 45 degree angle maybe 10" and run the length of the boat from about the pilothouse to the stern.
I have researched this extensively and for some hull forms these provide a dramatic reduction in the roll. I have also talked with someone that personally added these to his 4788 and was thrilled with the results. He described the 4788 hull as a beachball in the water. There is nothing to slow the roll except the little keel.
Talking to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago he told me the boat is a entirely different boat, with the tendancy to roll in a ever increasing angle from a small wave set to be entirely eliminated.
I am scheduled for haulout on Monday at Baja Naval in Ensenada and the work is expected to take up to 4 weeks.
Here are some photos I found of previous installations.
The goal is to reduce the persistant roll that occurs in very moderate seas. It seems that even a sea you can barely notice can set up a very violent roll scenario in the 4788 hull.
With that in mind, and realizing I am in Mexico here were my choices.
1. I could add underhulls similar to what was marketed by North harbor Diesel. Owners report that these are fairly effective at a low cost.
2. I could add paravanes to the boat. These would be very effective but would change the look of my boat dramatically and everyones opinión not in a positive way. The cost of these is probably in the $20K range realizing skilled labor here is $35 an hour
3. I could add active fin stabilizers. This is the near perfect solution The challenge with this is it is out of my price range at around $75K installed.
4. I could add a gyro stabilizer by Seakeeper or similar. The problem with this is space, weight, and money. These things work great but are huge, heavy, and again I think I'd be close to $75K by the time I leave the boatyard.
5. The last choice and the one I am implementing is to add something called bilge keels or rolling chocks to the hull. Think of these as two keels that stick out of the hull at a 45 degree angle maybe 10" and run the length of the boat from about the pilothouse to the stern.
I have researched this extensively and for some hull forms these provide a dramatic reduction in the roll. I have also talked with someone that personally added these to his 4788 and was thrilled with the results. He described the 4788 hull as a beachball in the water. There is nothing to slow the roll except the little keel.
Talking to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago he told me the boat is a entirely different boat, with the tendancy to roll in a ever increasing angle from a small wave set to be entirely eliminated.
I am scheduled for haulout on Monday at Baja Naval in Ensenada and the work is expected to take up to 4 weeks.
Here are some photos I found of previous installations.
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