Re: T&T: Stabilizer "Issues"
We have no maintenance on ours either. No worry about catching something on
the fins 'cause there aren't any. No hydraulics to leak either. No drag AND
it works 100% of the time at anchor or underway.
The roll stabilization tank really does work and if it can be fitted to your
boat is definitely worth a hard look. Best on the soft chine, no chine boats
but check with Don Bass at dbass@engr.mun.ca who is the person who can help
you.
All who have been aboard Swan Song cannot believe the amount of roll
reduction and how the boat just sits when others are rolling all over the
place. Having a wine glass on the table is not something we dive for
everytime a wake/wave comes by anymore :-)
No interest in this other than trying to get the word out that there is a
well kept secret, though not intentionally, roll reduction system that is so
simple it takes a while to come to grips that its not snake oil ;-)
YMMV
Dave
Swan Song
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Cooper
We have no maintenance no hydraulicleaka no drag AND it works 100% of the
time at anchor or underway.
The roll stabilization tank really does work.
No interest in this other than trying to get the word out that there is a
well kept secret, though not intentionally, roll reduction system
that is so simple it takes a while to come to grips that its not snake oil
;-)
REPLY
Dave, I'm not trying to pick holes or denigrade the concept. When I asked
the naval architect in our St. Johns Nfld office to check out some local
boats fitted with these tanks, he expressed some concerns about the system.
Specifically that a recent capsizing incident had Transport Canada accident
investigators checking the stabilizer tanks on the capsized vessel. I cannot
confirm if these tanks are the Bass design or a home brew copy.
Don Bass is on vacation so I have to wait till he returns fro an answer from
him.
If I understand the concept correctly two tanks are mounted up high and
connected by a pipe.
So my questions are:
Under what circumstances might the tank system create any difficulty?
Is there a pump, check valve, or even an adjustable flow restrictor in this
pipe?
Could something inside the tank possibly cause a blockage and thus a
problem?
On a large yacht with substantial tank capacity, I would assume that as the
fuel is burned the CG and CB of the vessel will change somewhat.
Is the tank system designed to adjust for this? Or doesn't it matter?
What happens when a vessel is running in a cross wind which induces a
permanent small list due to superstructure windage?
regards
Arild
I have to imagine that the stabilizing tank system is restricted to a safe
size and that this is critical. In the Safety At Sea seminars, they showed a
film of a USCG cutter standing off a fishing trawler in trouble in the
Bering Sea. Suddenly. she gets a large beam sea and rolls over.
A subsequent invesigation found that she had "saddle" fuel tanks with
unrestricted flow between them. That caused her to turn turtle.
So, well-designed tanks high up on a boat have to be too small to take a
vessel beyond her point of no return.
Ron Rogers
A subsequent invesigation found that she had "saddle" fuel tanks with
unrestricted flow between them. That caused her to turn turtle.
This brings up a question I've always had. With multiple fuel tanks on each side, I've always
pulled fuel from the rear tanks evenly, moving to the forward tanks as the aft ones emptied.
For stability, is this correct or should all tanks be emptied evenly (as
possible in daily increments)?
========================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
Headed toward Chesapeake Bay
Mobile phone cruising blog:
www.mvacappella.blogspot.com
I think it's probably boat model specific. There is the concept of "keeping
a boat on her lines." That would militate for a uniform draw. Some boats
have the ability to shift fuel from one tank to the other. I suppose one
might want the boat bow up in rough weather when seas are on the nose. If
you can make a uniform draw and she behaves well, I'd stick to it. I'd
strive for keeping her on her lines.
I've thought about this with my little boat as the water tank's state has a
significant impact on the boat's fore and aft trim.
Ron Rogers
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Siegel" jeffrey.siegel@activecenter.com
|
| This brings up a question I've always had. With multiple fuel tanks on
each side, I've always
| pulled fuel from the rear tanks evenly, moving to the forward tanks as the
aft ones emptied.
| For stability, is this correct or should all tanks be emptied evenly (as
| possible in daily increments)?