"Witches Hat" type stabilisers

Nick_H

Nick_H

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www.ybw-boatsforsale.com
\"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

Anyone tried these orange plastic stabilsers you throw over the side to help stabilise a planing boat at anchor? We're planning to watch the festivities off Portsmouth on 28th June, but not sure my sea legs are up to hours of heavy rolling anchored up in the solent. However the stabilisers look a bit small to have any real effect on a larger boat. I'm thinking of rigging up half a dozen heavy dustbin lids instead?
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

I manufactured my own, to a pattern of some I saw in the carib. Triangular plywood, with a rope at each corner, tie a diving weight/old anode to one corner, rigged on a pole or over the side deep, as the boat rolls, one board goes tip down, because of the weight, the other pulls up on its three ropes and causes resistance to roll, and vice versa as the boat tries to roll. Mine are about a metre on each side of the triangle, however I deploy mine on two poles which increases the moment of lever and she's (Englander) a fairly big girl. They work brilliantly. I have seen milk crates used, with a rubber flap in the bottom, allowing water to pass through only one way, like a toilet valve, Pardeys I think had these. They are also available in stainless steel in the states, with flap valves. I think I weould experiment, with traffic cones before I bought these expensive witches hat affairs!
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

Instead of something as difficult to stow as that, why can't you use a couple of sea anchors, or some similar parachute-like conception made of fabric?
These could be suspended from a pole from each side (ie a boat hook fastened onto the mid-ships cleat) to increase the torque applied - and thus the resistance to roll.
I haven't tried it, I must admit...
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

Difficult to stow?? They are after all flat boards! Have you tried doing what you suggest? mine funnily enough work! For most peeps. Did I mention mine are on the end of my spinny/cargo poles? which are 15 feet out from the side of my boat? Maybe not.
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

H,mm sounds a very interesting solution;- so if your triangular flaps are about a metre each side [as it were. fnrr fnrr] and you suspend them about 15 feet out I would imagine that they exert a fair old force, what kind of diameter are your poles to withstand that? Just trying to get an idea in order to scale the whole contraption down to suit a heavy old 25' v.deep vee.
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

The poles are 3.5" diameter, but thats not where the real strain is, the halyards to the top of the mast take the strainm, the poles are in compression. If yours has no mast, then you can hang them over the side, with good scuff protection, but then they need to be well below the bottom of the boat, how well they will work like that, I dont know, but you can make them out of very cheap ply, to try them, then if they work make them out of wbp ply and epoxy coat them.
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

Thanks for the useful info, although have realised that any such device would be useless in the solent 'cos of the flow which would result in any kind of stabiliser just trailing on the surface behind the boat for most of the time.
 
Re: \"Witches Hat\" type stabilisers

Not really, the one's that work are weighted for that very reason
PS, these types not designed to work if you are motoring, they are designed to work at anchor. If you want to stabilise the boat while motoring, you need stabilisers, which is an entirely differnent ball park
 
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