Seakeeper gyro stabilizers were once only an option for large luxury sportfishers, but a lot has changed over the past few years. They kept downsizing their proven system into smaller and more compact packages, giving more anglers a chance to jump onboard with this exciting anti-roll technology.
How Does It Work?
Their latest made-in-USA gyro-stabilizer, the Seakeeper 1, is designed to virtually eliminate boat roll on vessels from 23-to-30 feet, weighing only 385 pounds, requiring modest amounts of 12V power and measuring less than 23 x 24 x 16 inches. The Dashboard Display’s intuitive operator interface allows you to simply turn it on and forget about it – Seakeeper does all of this automatically, you simply enjoy the ride.
Sitting inside a vacuum encapsulation, the Seakeeper’s flywheel spins at speeds of up to 9,700 rpm. When the boat rolls, the gyro’s frame tilts fore and aft, producing a powerful gyroscopic torque to port and starboard that counteracts the boat’s roll. The patented cooling system enables the flywheel to spin at high speeds inside of the vacuum containment. Seakeeper’s vacuum encapsulation enables the flywheel to spin roughly three times faster, cuts flywheel weight by two-thirds and cuts the operational power requirements in half. Moreover, because the critical components (flywheel, bearings, and motor) are sealed in a vacuum, they are isolated from the harsh marine environment. Seakeeper’s “active control” optimizes gyro torque, providing an unsurpassed level of performance. Unlike a passively controlled gyro, which must be turned off in the roughest conditions and/or at higher speeds, Seakeepers are effective at any speed and can be used in all sea conditions.
Flexible Option
The majority of Seakeeper units are designed to be installed when a new boat is being built (refit options are always a possibility, but it depends on each boat’s unique layout, space under the cockpit sole and access to the bilge areas). However, Seakeeper’s most recent offering, the mighty mite Seakeeper 1, has a flexible mounting option that will appeal as an aftermarket retrofit for many center consoles and other styles of fishing boats under 30 feet in length. This gyro stabilizer is now available with a surface-mount housing that makes adding it to your existing vessel a much easier task. The optional Seakeeper 1 Deck Mount Enclosure enables the Seakeeper 1 to be installed in a non-enclosed space. Without the optional enclosure, the Seakeeper 1 needs to be installed in a covered location (e.g. in an enclosed leaning post, bilge, or console) to protect it from saltwater, nasty weather and sun. Now, boats with open-framed leaning posts can have the convenience of Seakeeper stabilization. Many center consoles can simply replace the removable cooler that typically sits under their leaning post and swap it with a surface-mount Seakeeper 1. Obviously, professional installation is required to connect the requisite 12V power hookups and water-cooling hoses, but it can be done and doesn’t require cutting up the cockpit sole.
Seakeeper Family
As of this writing, the Seakeeper family of anti-roll gyros includes a dozen product offerings, half of which are sized to appeal to most Fisherman readers, as follows:
| Product | Boat Size | Max Boat Weight | MSRP (no installation) |
| Seakeeper 1 | 23’-30’ | 11,000-lbs | $16,900 |
| Seakeeper 2 | 30’-36’ | 15,000-lbs | $24,600 |
| Seakeeper 3 | 35’-41’ | 21,000-lbs | $38,100 |
| Seakeeper 4 | 38’-44’ | 30,000-lbs | $44,800 |
| Seakeeper 4.5 | 40’-46’ | 36,000-lbs | $52,600 |
| Seakeeper 6 | 44’-53’ | 48,000-lbs | $65,900 |
