I ordered my new stabilizers from Naiad, they said I need 6 square foot fins. Today I finally got my quote from ABT and they suggested 7.5 square foot fins. We run at 9 knots most of the time. We are a 53 MY. Those of you with stabilizers what size are yours and do you wish the fins were bigger or is 6 sq. Feet about right. Thanks, John
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Thread: Stabilizer fin size
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Stabilizer fin size
Mahalo V
1974 53 Motoryacht
Hull Number 406
San Diego, Ca. Ready 32 Nordic Tug, Brunswick Ga.
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03-18-2020 11:25 AM #2Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Posts
- 1,001
Re: Stabilizer fin size
I believe you have a choice between 3, 6 and 9 square feet. We also run at hull speed and our 6 foot fins seem to be effective. However I have never been on a boat with 9’s to compare.
Michael & Beth
Hull Number CV312
63’ Cockpit Motor Yacht
1986 model launched in August 1987
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Re: Stabilizer fin size
Hi John!
I have 6 foot WESMARS. The 7.5 sound like overkill and may create a lot of drag. Lets see what others have to say. Hope all is well out there! Hang in there!
DC
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Re: Stabilizer fin size
My ABT Trac are 6 sq ft. Much bigger than the Vospers they replaced. No idea if the Vospers where enough since they never worked
Pascal
Miami, FL
1970 53 MY #325 Cummins 6CTAs
2014 26' gaff rigged sloop
2007 Sandbarhopper 13
12' Westphal Cat boat
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Re: Stabilizer fin size
Mine are 4.5 sq ft and they work well. I imagine 6 sq ft would be even better, but I would think 7.5 is overkill. I usually run at 9kts but I find that when it gets really snotty, I need to push it up to 11 to get more water over the fins.
My friend with the 60C also has 4.5 sq ft fins and his are definitely too small at hull speed but work fine at 19kts.Sky Cheney
1985 53EDMY, Hull #CN759, "Rebecca"
ELYC on White Lake--Montague, MI
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Re: Stabilizer fin size
Sounds like 6 sq feet is about right. Thanks for all the input, I won’t have to change my order now.
Mahalo V
1974 53 Motoryacht
Hull Number 406
San Diego, Ca. Ready 32 Nordic Tug, Brunswick Ga.
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03-19-2020 07:04 AM #7Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2008
- Posts
- 494
Re: Stabilizer fin size
If you are only running 9 knots, get the largest fins that will fit. The increased drag is negligible and you won't have to speed up if it gets snotty when you really want or need to go a bit slower. Nice when you are running up or down the coast and the westerlies kick up in the afternoon. You won't regret the decision.
Last edited by kelpy; 03-19-2020 at 07:06 AM.
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03-19-2020 06:11 PM #8
Re: Stabilizer fin size
Hi John, we went with 7 foot fins for our boat and it is quite stable at 8 kn in moving seas. However 6 foot should work ok for you. On Sydney Harbour, we sometimes get the big boat hoons coming close to us at high-speed and if we are only doing 6 kn, larger fins will work better at slower speeds. I am not sure about the setup of the NIAID fins, but we were able to program in hydraulic pressure and the movement range for the fins.
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1984 61MY #353 with 9' cockpit extension.
Sydney, Australia.
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