T&T: Active Fin Stabilizers

[John Ford]

That question is a bit loaded. The fins create as much resistance as the work they are asked to do..  Be off balance because of 100 gallons of extra fuel on one side the fins work hard to keep you straight.  Taking a beam sea, or a healthy wind to the side, again they are working hard creating resistance so you can be straight.  Also on the Tracs(I'm sure the others you can do something similar) you can tell the stabilizers how much heal will you allow, Zero(lots of resistance but you are vertical), Opt(middle ground between zero and max), and Max which allows some leaning do to wind and cuts down on the resistance.  Zero Heel can have quite a penalty and I rarely use it unless I'm trying level the tanks or something.  I'd say my penalty with max on in the calm waters of the bay are a quarter to half a knot depending on conditions.  I typically don't turn them on unless the waves get to 2 feet or larger or we are cooking food when underway.

Again, YMMV..

John Ford
KK44007 Feisty Lady
Annapolis City Marina


On Tuesday, October 10, 2006, at 11:19AM, Terry mann <dockthis@gmail.com> wrote:

>Does anyone have any before and after data on what speed and fuel
>consumption they got a given RPM prior to installing Active Fins VS after
>installation what speed and fuel consumption they got at the same RPM? There
>is a price to pay in economy as you are creating drag, I would like to know
>how much that price is before I make a decision on installing them.
>
>For those slower trawler folks that have them........Are they still
>effective when you are only making  6 knots speed through the water? I am
>not talking about 6 knots speed over ground. The Stabilizer only knows the
>speed at which they pass through the water. The lift is a function of the
>speed squared and if the speed is too low to create the needed lift then you
>put larger fins on. This creates more drag and less economy.
>
>-- 
>Terry Mann
>
>(828)-777-7753
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