Seakeeper
| Categoría | estabilizadores giroscópicos antibalance y control de actitud del barco |
|---|---|
| Fundada | 2001 por Shep McKenney y John Adams, con el primer taller en Solomons Island, Maryland, en 2002 |
| Propietario | Madison Industries, que adquirió la empresa en 2018 |
| Fabricación | Leesport, Pensilvania, en una planta abierta en 2022 |
| Hitos | primer prototipo en un Viking de 43 pies en 2006, primer contrato de serie con Azimut en 2008 y unidad número diez mil en 2020 |
| Gama | catorce modelos, del Seakeeper 1 al Seakeeper 40 |
| Seakeeper 1 | barcos de unos 7 m a 9 m y hasta 5,5 toneladas, USD 17.400 |
| Seakeeper 26 | barcos de unos 21 m a 26 m y hasta 75 toneladas, 1.431 kg, USD 268.600 |
| Seakeeper 40 | barcos de 26 m y hasta unas 115 toneladas, 1.848 kg, USD 365.400 |
| Reducción del balance | hasta el 95 por ciento, según las cifras de la propia empresa |
| Puesta a régimen | unos 40 a 43 minutos hasta la estabilización completa en un Seakeeper 26 o 40, según publica el fabricante |
| Consumo | 3.000 W para poner a régimen un Seakeeper 26 y de 1.375 a 3.000 W en marcha, a 208 a 230 voltios |
| Average installed cost, from a United States Seakeeper installer's published guide compiled from more than 900 installations and read in July 2026: Seakeeper 1 USD 14,600 install for USD 32,000 all in, Seakeeper 2 USD 16,900 for USD 43,000, Seakeeper 3 USD 21,700 for USD 62,000, Seakeeper 4 USD 23,600 for USD 71,000, Seakeeper 4.5 USD 19,400 for USD 75,000, Seakeeper 6 USD 20,400 for USD 90,000, Seakeeper 9 USD 25,300 for USD 140,000, Seakeeper 10 USD 23,200 for USD 150,000, Seakeeper 18 USD 26,300 for USD 210,000 | |
| Installation averages exclude taxes, shipping, travel, yard fees and any vessel-specific work | |
| Seakeeper 26 and Seakeeper 40 are quoted individually. No published installation figure exists for either, which is the whole 21 m to 33 m band | |
Veinticinco años con una sola idea
Shep McKenney y John Adams acordaron en 2001 desarrollar un estabilizador giroscópico moderno y práctico y empezaron a trabajar al año siguiente en un garaje de Solomons Island, Maryland. El primer prototipo se montó en un Viking de 43 pies en 2006. El M7000 se lanzó comercialmente en 2008, y el primer contrato de serie llegó de Azimut Yachts ese mismo año, que es lo que llevó la tecnología del experimento al equipamiento instalado.
La empresa vendió su unidad número mil en 2011 y la número diez mil en 2020. Compró a su socio industrial, Joma Machine Company, en 2008, se trasladó a Mohnton, en Pensilvania, y abrió una planta construida a propósito en Leesport en 2022. Madison Industries adquirió el negocio en 2018. En 2021 abrió un centro de formación en Tampa, algo que importa porque la calidad de la instalación decide si el equipo rinde.
Cómo funciona de verdad el giróscopo
Un volante de inercia gira dentro de una carcasa al vacío. Cuando el barco balancea, el giróscopo se inclina hacia proa y hacia popa, y esa precesión genera un par a babor y a estribor que se opone al balance. El vacío es el truco de ingeniería. Permite que el volante gire unas tres veces más rápido que en un diseño convencional, lo que recorta su peso en dos tercios y reduce a la mitad la energía que necesita.
La empresa cita velocidades del volante de hasta 9.750 rpm en las unidades pequeñas y velocidades periféricas de unas 557 millas por hora. Las unidades grandes giran más despacio, a 5.000 rpm en un Seakeeper 26 y a 5.150 rpm en un Seakeeper 40, y llevan mucho más momento angular. Un sistema patentado de refrigeración por glicol y agua de mar retira el calor. El control es automático y lee el estado de la mar de forma continua.
Cuarenta minutos de puesta a régimen es el precio de un fondeadero del que nadie quiere irse.
La gama, y lo que cuesta
Catorce modelos cubren barcos de unos 7 m a más de 33 m. Un Seakeeper 1 va bien a embarcaciones de unos 7 m a 9 m y hasta 5,5 toneladas y figura en USD 17.400. Un Seakeeper 6 cubre de unos 13 m a 16 m y hasta 24 toneladas por USD 69.600. Un Seakeeper 18 cubre de unos 18 m a 23 m y hasta 56 toneladas por USD 183.700.
Arriba del todo, el Seakeeper 26 atiende barcos de unos 21 m a 26 m y hasta 75 toneladas por USD 268.600, y el Seakeeper 40 atiende de 26 m para arriba hasta unas 115 toneladas por USD 365.400. Todas esas cifras excluyen la instalación, que en un montaje sobre un barco existente puede llegar a ser otra fracción importante del precio de la unidad.
Lo que le hace a la vida a bordo
La afirmación es hasta un 95 por ciento de reducción del balance, y la cifra que le importa al armador no es el porcentaje. Es si los invitados se quedan en la mesa. Un yate atravesado al mar de fondo en un fondeadero por lo demás perfecto se vacía a las nueve de la noche, y el arreglo habitual es moverse, lo que cuesta el fondeadero. Un giróscopo elimina la razón para moverse.
El segundo efecto se nota a baja velocidad y parado, donde los estabilizadores de aletas históricamente no hacían nada. Seakeeper funciona a velocidad cero por diseño, que es la razón por la que apareció primero en barcos de pesca deportiva que se quedan quietos durante horas. En un yate cambia las operaciones con el tender, el baño desde la plataforma y si alguien se marea o no en el salón.
Puesta a régimen, consumo y el generador
Dos hechos operativos gobiernan cómo se usa el equipo. El primero es el tiempo de puesta a régimen. Tanto el Seakeeper 26 como el Seakeeper 40 alcanzan la estabilización completa en unos 40 a 43 minutos, y las revoluciones máximas llevan 70 minutos en la unidad mayor. Un giróscopo no se puede encender mientras baja el ancla. Las tripulaciones lo arrancan bastante antes de llegar.
El segundo es el consumo. Un Seakeeper 26 pide hasta 3.000 W para ponerse a régimen y de 1.375 a 3.000 W en marcha según el estado de la mar, a 208 a 230 voltios monofásicos y 20 amperios. Un Seakeeper 40 necesita 5.000 W para ponerse a régimen y de 1.900 a 4.400 W en marcha a 30 amperios. Tiene que haber un generador en línea siempre que la unidad esté funcionando, y además pide de 4 a 8 galones por minuto de agua de mar de refrigeración.
Peso, espacio e instalación sobre un barco existente
Un Seakeeper 26 pesa 1.431 kg y un Seakeeper 40 pesa 1.848 kg, en conjuntos de algo más de 1,4 m de lado y cerca de un metro de alto. Esa masa tiene que ir sobre un asiento debidamente calculado, bajo y cerca del centro del barco, y la estructura necesita a menudo refuerzos para asumirla. No hay aletas, ni ejes, ni pasacascos más allá del agua de refrigeración.
La ausencia de apéndices es el argumento más fuerte para instalarlo en un barco existente. Los estabilizadores de aletas exigen agujeros en el casco, añaden resistencia en navegación y se pueden dañar al atracar o en agua somera. Un giróscopo va dentro del barco y se puede instalar casi en cualquier sitio que permita la estructura. El coste de la instalación es la variable, y no se publica.
Dónde se detiene
El techo es real. La unidad mayor está homologada para unas 115 toneladas, que es un barco de unos 26 m a 33 m. Por encima de eso el armador o instala varias unidades o mira estabilizadores de aletas con capacidad a velocidad cero, que es lo que llevan casi todos los yates de más de 40 m. Quien tenga un yate grande de desplazamiento debería tratar a Seakeeper como una opción entre varias y no como la opción por defecto.
El otro límite es el estado de la mar. Un giróscopo reduce el balance y no hace nada con el cabeceo, así que una mar de proa se queda igual. La respuesta de Seakeeper a eso es Seakeeper Ride, lanzado en 2023, un sistema de control de actitud para barcos planeadores en navegación. Es un producto aparte que resuelve un problema aparte.
Servicio, garantía y rodamientos
Las unidades llevan una garantía de fábrica de varios años y los rodamientos son sustituibles a pie de barco, que es la decisión de diseño más importante para un armador. Una unidad sellada que hubiera que devolver a Pensilvania cuando se gasta un rodamiento sería una avería que se lleva la temporada. Sustituible a pie de barco significa que un técnico va al barco.
Seakeeper forma directamente a instaladores y a técnicos de servicio, y la red sigue a la industria del barco de serie americana y europea, lo que significa cobertura en Florida, las Bahamas, Baleares, la Riviera italiana y francesa y el Caribe oriental. La emisión de ruido es de unos 74 dB a un metro en un Seakeeper 26, así que la ubicación del montaje y el aislamiento acústico a su alrededor forman parte de la especificación y no son una ocurrencia tardía.
Frente a los estabilizadores de aletas, y quién debería instalar uno
Los estabilizadores de aletas de los fabricantes europeos consolidados siguen siendo el estándar en los yates grandes de desplazamiento, y las aletas modernas funcionan a velocidad cero. Cuestan más, añaden resistencia y ponen superficies móviles fuera del casco. Un giróscopo cuesta menos, añade peso en vez de resistencia y es invisible desde fuera. En barcos de hasta unas 115 toneladas el giróscopo suele ganar en coste instalado y en sencillez.
Los armadores que deberían instalar uno son los que fondean fuera casi todas las noches, comen a bordo y tienen invitados sin pie de mar. Los que deberían mirar en otro sitio son los que tienen yates por encima del rango de tamaños, los que no tienen capacidad de generador de sobra y aquellos cuyos barcos solo se usan navegando en agua plana.
Información práctica
| Equipment prices, published in full | Seakeeper is one of the very few marine makers that publishes every list price. Its own cost page, read August 2026, gives Seakeeper 1 at USD 17,400, 2 at USD 26,100, 3 at USD 40,300, 4 at USD 47,400, 4.5 at USD 55,600, 5 at USD 60,500, 6 at USD 69,600, 7.5 at USD 78,700, 10 at USD 126,800, 10.5 at USD 133,900, 14 at USD 155,900, 18 at USD 183,700, 26 at USD 268,600 and 40 at USD 365,400. Those are equipment only, exclude taxes, storage, docking and haul-out, and the company states they are subject to passthrough on any levied tariff. |
|---|---|
| Installation is the bigger half of the bill | An Elite Seakeeper dealer publishes averages compiled from more than 900 installations as of 2025: Seakeeper 1 at USD 14,600 to fit for USD 32,000 all in, 3 at USD 21,700 for USD 62,000, 4.5 at USD 19,400 for USD 75,000, 6 at USD 20,400 for USD 90,000, 9 at USD 25,300 for USD 140,000, 10 at USD 23,200 for USD 150,000, 14 at USD 24,100 for USD 180,000 and 18 at USD 26,300 for USD 210,000. Averages exclude taxes, shipping, yard fees and any vessel-specific structural work. Access is what moves the number: a unit that has to go in through a cut hatch is a different job from one dropped into an open lazarette. |
| Annual service, with real numbers behind it | Two Elite Seakeeper dealers in Orange Beach, Alabama publish identical annual service tables: USD 750 for a Seakeeper 1, USD 850 for a 4 or 4.5, USD 1,150 for a 2, USD 1,200 for a 3, USD 1,350 for a 10, USD 1,500 for a 5, 6 or 14, USD 1,650 for a 9, USD 1,800 for a 16 or 18, USD 1,900 for a 26 and USD 2,250 for a 35 or 40. An independent Californian yard, Ventura Boat Services, puts a typical annual service at USD 1,500 to USD 3,000 in November 2025, so treat the dealer table as a floor rather than a ceiling. |
| The service schedule the warranty depends on | Remove the covers and inspect visually after every use, with a freshwater rinse and a strainer check. Every three months or 150 hours, inspect, rinse, check the strainer and replace the zinc on Seakeeper 5 and above. Annually or at 1,000 running hours, whichever comes first, a professional inspection checks seawater flow and cooling hoses, flushes the cooling system with glycol and inspects the electronics. Units must also be registered with Seakeeper to access after-sales programmes, and a technician has to verify sea hours for a warranty claim. |
| The long-run item nobody quotes up front | The spherical bearings that carry the spinning flywheel are rated at roughly 10,000 to 20,000 hours on many models. Ventura Boat Services puts bearing service or replacement past 10,000 hours at USD 20,000 to USD 60,000 or more, and hydraulic bushing replacement past 2,000 hours at USD 1,000 or more. Those are one yard's figures, published November 2025, and Seakeeper publishes nothing against which to check them. On a heavily used charter boat this is the number that decides whether the unit is worth keeping at ten years. |
| Power, weight and the generator question | The small units are DC and the rest are not, which changes life at anchor. A Seakeeper 1 weighs 166 kg and runs on 12 VDC at up to 50 amps, about 225 to 600 watts depending on sea state. A Seakeeper 6 weighs 395 kg and needs 220 VAC at 20 amps or 110 VAC at 30 amps, drawing up to 2,300 watts to spool and 1,100 to 2,300 watts running, plus 125 watts of 12 VDC control power. Above the small DC models the gyro is an AC load, so at anchor the generator runs while the gyro does, and that fuel is part of the cost of a quiet dinner. |
| Spool-up: switch it on leaving the berth | A gyro is not a switch you flick on arrival. A Seakeeper 1 reaches stabilising speed at 7,310 rpm in 18 minutes and full 9,750 rpm in 35 minutes. A Seakeeper 6 reaches stabilising speed at 7,275 rpm in 21 minutes and 9,700 rpm in 42 minutes. The large units carry far more angular momentum and take longer still, which the maker puts at about 40 to 43 minutes to full stabilisation on a Seakeeper 26 or 40. |
| Seakeeper Ride is a different product, not a cheap gyro | Ride is a vessel attitude control system that works underway rather than at rest, for boats up to about 55 ft with a cruising speed above 20 mph and a compatible multifunction display. The same dealer guide gives Ride 450 at USD 4,900 with installation from USD 4,500, about USD 9,400 fitted, up to the Ride 750 QUAD at USD 21,500 with USD 8,500 to USD 13,000 to fit, and the Ride 900 to 1500 from USD 24,500 with custom installation. It does not stop a boat rolling at anchor and it is not a substitute for a gyro. |
| What is NOT published | There is no published installation figure for the Seakeeper 26 or the Seakeeper 40. Both are quoted individually, and that is the entire 21 m to 33 m band, exactly where the equipment alone runs USD 268,600 to USD 365,400. Seakeeper publishes no bearing overhaul price, no out-of-warranty parts list and no independent roll-reduction test; the up to 95 percent figure is the company's own. One United States installer's table also lists the Seakeeper 40 at USD 348,000 against the maker's USD 365,400, so take the factory number and get the delivered price in writing. |
Lo que cuentan armadores y tripulaciones
Owner opinion splits, and both sides are worth reading
Forum threads run from an owner with two Seakeeper 5 units reporting problems on every trip and summarising two years of problems and headaches, to an owner running a Seakeeper 2 on a Pursuit 28 for two years who calls it absolutely the best experience, with no roll sitting still or trolling and much less slamming underway because the boat is kept level. Several long-standing posters note that early units were not as reliable, nor as well supported, as they are now.
The Hull Truth (owner forum)What actually breaks, and what the back half of ownership costs
A service yard's published breakdown ranks cooling system problems first, from clogged heat exchangers and raw-water pump failures to overheat alarms triggering automatic shutdowns, then hydraulic and brake faults with accumulators needing replacement every few years, then electrical faults more common on the Seakeeper 1 to 5, then bearing and flywheel wear at roughly 10,000 to 20,000 hours, then corrosion and zinc depletion. It also states most owners see trouble-free operation for the first five to ten years if the unit is serviced annually.
Ventura Boat Services (November 2025)The competition is measurably faster to stabilise
Comparing the Yanmar-owned Smartgyro SG40 against the Seakeeper 9, the magazine reported both reaching maximum rpm in about 55 minutes but the SG40 reaching stabilisation in 25 minutes against 38 for the Seakeeper, with the SG40 heavier at 650 kg against 550 kg and drawing more power, and Smartgyro's modular sphere serviceable in the field without a factory return. The reviewer was explicit that he had not yet tested a Smartgyro at sea.
Motor Boat and Yachting (Hugo Andreae, July 2021)Ride is a real effect underway, and a separate purchase
In the first published test of Seakeeper Ride the reviewer reported bow rise on climbing onto plane significantly reduced, describing a boat that had previously laboured out of the hole lifting smoothly instead. Motor Boat and Yachting's own trial on a Nimbus T9 in typical lumpy Solent conditions found pitching reduced in size and severity and side to side roll almost entirely gone at 35 knots.
Power and Motoryacht (Dan Harding)The rest of the market is chasing on price and installation
A trade survey of the gyro market recorded Quick's air-cooled MC2 needing no water intake, with managing director Paolo Berni of Quick USA making the point that not needing a water-cooling system means not putting another hole in the boat, and some models retrofitting on eight bolts. Quick had sold about 600 units worldwide by 2021 against Seakeeper's ten thousand. Smartgyro's marketing director Sander Gesink summarised the demand simply: people want comfort and are willing to pay for it.
Soundings Trade Only
Lo bueno y lo que conviene vigilar
Puntos fuertes
- It does the one thing that changes an evening aboardA gyro stops the roll at anchor, which is where a yacht spends most of its life and where fin stabilisers do least. Seakeeper claims up to 95 percent roll reduction, and owners describe no roll at rest or at trolling speed. It is the single piece of equipment most likely to decide whether guests stay aboard after dinner.
- The prices are published, all fourteen of themEquipment list prices for every model, dealer installation averages drawn from more than 900 jobs, published annual service tables and a stated exclusions list. Almost nothing else in yachting is priced this openly, and it lets an owner build a real budget before a salesman is involved.
- Scale, and the support that comes with itMore than ten thousand units sold since the first prototype went onto a 43 foot Viking in 2006, a purpose-built plant at Leesport opened in 2022, and a training facility at Tampa since 2021. Installation quality decides whether the equipment performs, so a trained network matters more here than the specification sheet does.
- The vacuum enclosure is genuine engineering, not marketingSpinning the flywheel in a vacuum lets it turn roughly three times faster than a conventional design, which cuts its weight by about two thirds and halves the power it needs. That is why a 24 ton boat can carry a 395 kg Seakeeper 6 rather than something twice the size.
- Two years and 2,000 hours of full-system warrantyThe whole line carries the same 2 year, 2,000 hour factory warranty, with an extended programme available while the unit is still inside the factory period. Cover has to be activated by registering the unit, and a technician verifies sea hours on a claim.
A tener en cuenta
- The equipment price is not the priceA Seakeeper 6 lands at about USD 90,000 fitted against USD 69,600 of hardware, and a Seakeeper 1 at about USD 32,000 against USD 17,400. Above the Seakeeper 18 there is no published installation figure at all, so the 21 m to 33 m owner has the least information and the largest bill.
- It takes 18 to 42 minutes to come up to speedStabilisation arrives in 18 minutes on a Seakeeper 1 and 21 on a Seakeeper 6, with full rpm at 35 and 42 minutes, and the maker puts full stabilisation on a Seakeeper 26 or 40 at about 40 to 43 minutes. Forget to switch it on leaving the berth and the first half hour of the anchorage is exactly as rolly as it would have been.
- Above the small DC units it is an AC loadA Seakeeper 6 wants 220 VAC at 20 amps and draws up to 2,300 watts. At anchor that means the generator runs while the gyro runs, so a quiet night is a running genset, and the fuel and the generator hours belong in the running cost.
- The ten-year cost is opaqueBearings are rated at roughly 10,000 to 20,000 hours and an independent yard puts the overhaul at USD 20,000 to USD 60,000 or more, with hydraulic bushings adding USD 1,000 or more past 2,000 hours. Seakeeper publishes no figure for either, so a buyer cannot price the back half of the ownership.
- The failure modes are recurrent and unglamorousClogged heat exchangers, raw-water pump failures and overheat shutdowns lead the list, with hydraulic and brake faults and voltage drops more common on the smaller units and zinc depletion throughout. Owner opinion splits accordingly, between owners who call it the best money they ever spent and owners reporting years of intermittent faults.
Para quién es: Armadores de barcos de hasta unas 115 toneladas que fondean fuera, comen a bordo y están cansados de tener que moverse a las nueve de la noche por el mar de fondo.