Gyro stabilizers

[BartW]

... but I can see some benefits in several smaller units as opposed to one big one spending on price etc.

yes agreed, especially because you can use the available space much more efficient in a cramped engine room
the pic in the brochure with the 4 units is a very nice example of that,

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Maybe not.

I guess you may be right. FWIW I looked into fitting a Seakeeper 9 into my boat last winter and the installation costs were about 20% of the purchase price because Ferrettis have the perfect space for a gyro in the large lazarette space under the bathing platform and one can be fitted there with minimum modification to the structure

 

[Whitelighter]

Anyone know the cost of the Quick gyro versus the SeaKeeper?

One of my ideas is to stabilize seralia in a few years as we really like slow speed cruising so it would be a wroth while investment, plus there is room to fit even a SK

 

[jrudge]

I guess you may be right. FWIW I looked into fitting a Seakeeper 9 into my boat last winter and the installation costs were about 20% of the purchase price because Ferrettis have the perfect space for a gyro in the large lazarette space under the bathing platform and one can be fitted there with minimum modification to the structure

You are fortunate.

On a S65 you had to ( from memory)

- relocate all batteries
- cut into the deck to open the space between the lazarette / engine room / crew cabin
- remove said deck
- add cradle
- "burrow" under crew cabin bed and disable one set of drawers
- install
- add sea water cooling
- wire it up
- have a beer
- put the deck back together

This was about E20k + tax in Mallorca or £20k + tax in the uk

The gyro at the time was £40,500 ex tax direct import from the USA.

J

 

[MapisM]

Anyone know the cost of the Quick gyro versus the SeaKeeper?

One of my ideas is to stabilize seralia in a few years as we really like slow speed cruising so it would be a wroth while investment, plus there is room to fit even a SK

I'm afraid atm NO is my answer to your question, Jez - though I might be interested to investigate further in the near future.

But ref. the room you have, if you are thinking to use the same placement that Deleted User mentioned - i.e. inside the bathing platform, I'm not sure I would go that route in a boat like yours (or the 165/175/185), whose bathing platform is actually a separate section, bolted to the stern of the main hull.
When I asked about that to Ferretti engineers, I got several "umm..." and "ermm..." as replies.
I know it looks very solid (it definitely does in the boats I mentioned, which I know better than the 150), but it surely wasn't designed to withstand the transversal load that a gyro is capable to generate, and that should be transferred to the main hull basically through some bolts....
For Deleted User is different, 'cause his hull is moulded in one piece (in fact, his rudders are placed inside the swim platform, as opposed to inside the e/r in your boats and the others above).

 

[Whitelighter]

No, I was thinking in the huge space I have between the engine runners at the back of the engine room
because of the V drive set up there are no pesky drive shafts in the way and all the rudder gear is well under the crew cabin.

I measured for a SK5 and it would fit, with perhaps the need to raise up the engine bearer height a little at the mountings

 

[MapisM]

Aha, fairenuff. Btw, yeah, I'd expect the SK5 to perform perfectly in Seralia. :encouragement:

 

[curiouskb]

LOL, sounds like you expected some IT member to contribute, M...
But aside from being late 'cause I don't have much time for the forum these days, I'm afraid there isn't much I can tell you about the MC2.
If we should judge the product quality by its popularity vs. the Seakeeper, I guess we could jump in the conclusion that they are nothing special.
Otoh, the only person I came across so far who knew them is a yard engineer (in La Spezia, btw) which, while discussing gyro, mentioned them as worth checking out.
According to him, they were mostly installed in specialized vessels (commercial and military), because they are more designed for reliability than performance: no vacuum, very simple cooling requirements (if any at all), lower rpm, faster spool-up - the drawback being a lower efficiency vs. the SK, which implies the need of a larger/heavier model, AOTBE.
But that's all hearsay, anyway - though based also on some other topics we discussed, that chap gave me the impression to know what he was talking about, FWIW.

Been looking at the data of SK5 and MC2. Actually I would prefer the MC2 because it is simpler to install, operate and maintain. No vacuum, no through hull sea water cooling and heat exchange, simple shut down. With my limited knowledge I dread a vacuum leak, heat exchange failure etc. MC2 weighs about 200 lb heavier and produces slightly less torque than the SK5, but is good enough for my P43.

 

[vas]

based on this thread, I contacted the main dealer via email and the local Greek dealer called me today.
Send me some specs and prices, I asked for the MC2-5 and MC2-10, the 5,10,20, whatever refer to the weight of the boat.
In theory I should need a MC2-10 (or two MC2-5s) anyway here are the data he sent:

Gyrostabilizer MC2 5

Model 5
Dimensions 39x39x42 cm
Weight 110 kg
Rpm 6000
Anti-rolling torque 2302 Nm
Absorbtion 600 W
Spool-up time to stab. 16 min
Reactivity <0,001 sec
Noise out put (1m) <69 db

Gyrostabilizer MC2 10

Model 10
Dimensions 48x48x49 cm
Weight 235 kg
Rpm 6000
Anti-rolling torque 5586 Nm
Absorbtion 1.500 W
Spool-up time to stab. 20 min
Reactivity <0,001 sec
Noise out put (1m) <71 db

and here are the prices (ex-VAT)

MC2-5 14.2K euro
MC2-10 18.4K euro

dunno how the above prices compare to the equivalent seakeapers, but 600 and 1500W are impressively low (if the machines are any good at stabilising a 10ton craft that is). Prices above are purchace only, no installation, but by the looks of it, installation is going to be trivial, price isn't quite trivial though for me

I did ask if the small one can be run at 24V and he explained that in the previous guise it did work like that, but the motor was inherently a 220V device so there was a complicated setup with inverters et al, which Quick decided to drop. Does look attractive though!

anyway, I'm in Athens on Monday and I've arranged to meet up and go and have a look at an installation of a MC2-20 in a marina in Piraeus, will try to take a few pics and have a look around and report back. If it'w windy (in the marina ) will try it out a bit...

cheers

V.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I guess somebody more knowledgeable will be along in a minute but comparing weight and anti rolling torque, the Model 10 is a bit smaller than the Seakeeper 3, which according to their website costs $26900 + shipping of course. So not a huge difference in cost and probably the Seakeeper will perform better

Interested to see the pics and your report on the Model 20 installation. Will you be talking to the boat owner about his impressions?

 

[vas]

compared to the Seakeeper 3, I can see that the Seakeeper is +20cm X+20cm X+10cm larger, which is A LOT larger for a 40ft boat.
It also has a 7800Nm vs 5600Nm anti-roll torque which is a good 40% more which is also a HELL OF A LOT more!
Not sure if I like the fact that the Seakeeper is 12V, and not sure how the MC2 cools itself without rawwater intake...

pricewise, if the 25.5Keuro price for the seakeeper has VAT on it, then the MC2-10 is going to work out at 23K with VAT, not much to justify the MC2 other than size tbh.
Maybe I should find the Greek Seakeeper dealer and get a quote for the 3 to have a proper comparision.

Regarding the installation I'll have a look on Monday, I've no idea as its going to be the dealer who's going to take me down there. Will let you know.

cheers

V.

 

[NGM]

I also currently looking into a SK5.
Am I right in thinking the start up time is about 20 mins ?
However it can take a couple of hours to stop ? Can it be left once berthed or does it need monitoring/cooling during this time ?
Would you feel happy leaving it running with genie if you went to shore for lunch, or best to turn off/restart ?
thanks

 

[vas]

I also currently looking into a SK5.
Am I right in thinking the start up time is about 20 mins ?
However it can take a couple of hours to stop ? Can it be left once berthed or does it need monitoring/cooling during this time ?
Would you feel happy leaving it running with genie if you went to shore for lunch, or best to turn off/restart ?
thanks

according to the specs, takes 35min to spoolup and start working (9035rpm), or 50min to reach full speed (10700rpm).
I'd hope you can turn it off, stop the genny and let it spool down for an hour or so with just a (hopefully small!) supply to the pump running the cooling matrix... Other wise you should start the spool down an hour before mooring if you're in a hurry

V.

 

[NGM]

... Other wise you should start the spool down an hour before mooring if you're in a hurry



V.

exactly, I wouldn't want to constantly think about when the day may end in order to start the spool down !

 

[curiouskb]

I was comparing the SK5 and MC20 for my 47 footer.
MC20 no water cooling needed, can be shut down and "ignore"
SK5 needs 40 to 50 minutes to spool down with sea water circulation for cooling. That means gennie for the electric supply. MV20 water cooling not required.
SK5 10,700 RPM, needs 550 minutes, MC20 4500RPM in 27 minutes
SK5 Torque 13,089 nm, MC20 12,563 nm
SK5 Angular Moment 5,000 nms, MC20 4,790 nms
SK5 358KG, MC20 436KG

My uneducated observation.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I was comparing the SK5 and MC20 for my 47 footer.
MC20 no water cooling needed, can be shut down and "ignore"
SK5 needs 40 to 50 minutes to spool down with sea water circulation for cooling. That means gennie for the electric supply. MV20 water cooling not required.
SK5 10,700 RPM, needs 550 minutes, MC20 4500RPM in 27 minutes
SK5 Torque 13,089 nm, MC20 12,563 nm
SK5 Angular Moment 5,000 nms, MC20 4,790 nms
SK5 358KG, MC20 436KG

My uneducated observation.

...and there's an MC20 on display on the Quick stand (next to Time Inc) at LIBS if you want to have a look at one. It's physically much smaller than the Seakeeper.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

...and there's an MC20 on display on the Quick stand (next to Time Inc) at LIBS if you want to have a look at one. It's physically much smaller than the Seakeeper.

Thats interesting. Is there anyone on the stand who can talk technically about it and in particular its advantages/disadvantages compared to the Seakeeper? I must admit that the simplicity of the MC has some attraction if it really is as plug and play as it seems

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Thats interesting. Is there anyone on the stand who can talk technically about it and in particular its advantages/disadvantages compared to the Seakeeper? I must admit that the simplicity of the MC has some attraction if it really is as plug and play as it seems

Not sure - the chap we spoke to was a sales person, not a technician. His claim was that (as MC2) several hundred of these units have been shipped already - so I guess it should be possible to find existing owners. The performance numbers on the SK do look superior if you compare the various units - but SK costs more, is bigger, and has more complicated installation requirements. I did ask the sales guy if the installation really was as simple as bolting the unit to the bearers and giving it a power supply, and his answer was a clear 'yes'.

Are you going to try and get to the show on the weekend then?

 

[mjf]

as JTB says the unit by the MBY stand is the size of a 3Kw Genset box and looks a simple fit.

someone said it was £20k+ with fitting extra of course.

Thats interesting. Is there anyone on the stand who can talk technically about it and in particular its advantages/disadvantages compared to the Seakeeper? I must admit that the simplicity of the MC has some attraction if it really is as plug and play as it seems

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Not sure - the chap we spoke to was a sales person, not a technician. His claim was that (as MC2) several hundred of these units have been shipped already - so I guess it should be possible to find existing owners. The performance numbers on the SK do look superior if you compare the various units - but SK costs more, is bigger, and has more complicated installation requirements. I did ask the sales guy if the installation really was as simple as bolting the unit to the bearers and giving it a power supply, and his answer was a clear 'yes'.

Are you going to try and get to the show on the weekend then?

Not sure I believe that hundreds have been shipped otherwise we would have seen stories in the boating media unless they're talking about commercial applications