Stability at Anchor

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I've just seen info on this thing http://www.wider-yachts.com/en/project/wider-cockpit. I'm not much interested in the bling aspect of the expanding centre cockpit but one aspect I do like are the floating sponsons under the cockpit extensions which must improve the stability of the boat at anchor no end.
This is hardly a new idea but could it catch on? Most planing and semi displacement boats don't roll much at speed but at anchor they roll like pigs. I guess that a sponson system like this could be better and cheaper than an active fin or gyro stabilizer system and a lot easier to deploy than flopper stoppers.
What does the panel think?

 

[jfm]

I'm sceptical mike. Easy to deploy if fitted with hydraulic arms, like the Wider, but that will burn up internal accom space. Being buoyant, their ability to take out roll will be somewhat significant but not as good as flopper stoppers (on extended arms) or active stabilisers, becuase as the wave approaches the up-weather buoyant thing will lift the side of the boat and start the roll.

If they stretched out far enough that the extended beam of the boat was bigger than the wave spacing then you'd see significant improvement, but that is unlikely to happen for engineering/packaging reasons.

Costwise, fins stabs might even be no more expensive (I think the makers are targetting £50k on a 50foot boat) and of course you get the benefit of stabilisation underway not just at anchor

 

[MapisM]

I'm not much interested in the bling aspect of the expanding centre cockpit

Well, my impression is that is this is exactly what Antonelli & C. are targeting, more than anything else.
I'm not as skeptical as jfm on the stabilization effect, though.
But if that's your main concern (and you don't want to go the active stab route for any reason), they already invented something much simpler and more effective than Wider: it's called catamaran.

 

[AndieMac]

This sponson idea would only suit a day/deck boat concept, as already mentioned the biggest part of the accomodation would be burned up with mechanisms.
I don't believe there is enough bouyancy in those sponsons to make a significant difference to stability at rest with a beam roll.
Personally I don't even find bigger (43') catamarans comfortable at anchor in a beam roll, after spending 9 days last year aboard a sailing cat. They may have a lot of good points, but that is not one of them.

IMO conventional flopper stoppers will look best on trawler yachts because of their utilitarian appearance which suits the vessel, which leaves the active fin or gyro stabilizers for the mainstream planing mobos.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Yes you forgot that to berth a catamaran you pay double the price!

The Wider 42 is a genius boat. Her accommodation is more that of a day boat, but for this you get a mid cockpit with the space of a seventy footer. Still for overnight stays the cabin is good for or 3 adults. Another intriguing part is its fast hull.
Antonelli declared that he sold six Wider 42s on plan. That is a super result in this economy.
Now I am curious to see the 50 model which should launch in a year or so and offer much more to what is cabins.

 

[MapisM]

Antonelli declared that he sold six Wider 42s on plan. That is a super result in this economy.

Well PYB, I'm not sure that such declaration is really a super result, if you get my drift...