Earl Davis put a Wesmar roll fin stabilizer on his new 47-foot M/Y Kinship. "I chose Wesmar because the company is local and I believed I could get service support if needed, and because it was priced within our budget. We investigated other brands and felt the Wesmar would meet our needs." He was familiar with Wesmar stabilizers before purchasing them. "Our friends have had a system on their Selene and they were very happy with it," said Davis, who retired to Sequim, Wash., 10 years ago to enjoy cruising in the waters of the Northwest. "We put 1000 hours on our previous boat, a Grand Banks, in just 3 years," said Davis. He is now cruising these waters in the comfort provided by the Wesmar stabilizers.

"On a recent trip coming up the Straits into Admiralty Inlet on our way to Port Townsend, we shared the waterways with six large ships: Navy ships, tugs and freighters. With the waves and swells from a 5-knot current we appreciated having stabilizers." (The inlet is the narrow body of water that joins the Strait of Juan du Fuca with Puget Sound. The seas rolling down the Strait pile up on tide rips from the heavy currents rushing in and out of Admiralty Inlet, a daunting stretch of water for any vessel.)

"The stabilizers got us through comfortably. At one point we had a large freighter wake on our beam, and a Navy stealth ship, the size of a Washington State Ferry, on the other side, traveling about 30 knots. Normally in conditions like this, everything goes on the floor, but not with the Wesmar stabilizers."

"Townsend Bay Marine did the installation and we were very pleased with their work," said Davis. Denny Justice, head of Townsend Bay's Mechanical Dept. said, "Mr. Davis came with a recommendation of this system from another Selene customer. Wesmar stabilizers are almost the standard choice with Selene owners. They make boating more comfortable with the offshore cruising that is normal in the Pacific Northwest," said Justice.

He said they had installed other Wesmar stabilizer systems and all the owners were pleased with them "Wesmar also makes excellent bow thrusters. Both the thrusters and stabilizers are a good value, they work well and my customers are happy with them."

"This vessel was a straightforward, clean installation, in part because the Selene designers have already made space available for the stabilizers. We installed a complete system including central hydraulics, and 7.5 square foot fins," said Justice.

Wesmar recommended 7.5 square foot fins for the M/Y Kinship using a Wesmar computer program. "We include variables such as vessel beam, weight, GM (Medicentric height, which is the roll axis of the boat) and the boat speed. Then they factor in objectives such as long-range cruising and possible weather.

Rebecca Beckett, Promotion Coordinator
Western Marine Electronics
14120 NE 200th Street Box 7201
Woodinville WA 98072-4001
Phone: 425-481-2296
Fax: 425-486-0909