Stabilizer (ship)

Stabilizer control needs to consider numerous variables that change quickly: wind, waves, ship motion, draft, etc.

Fin stabilizers are much more efficient at higher velocities and lose effectiveness when the ship is under a minimum speed.

[2] Stabilization solutions at anchor or at low speed include actively controlled fins (such as the stabilisation at rest system developed by Rolls-Royce[3] that oscillate to counteract wave motion), and rotary cylinders employing the Magnus effect.

[4] The World War I transport USS Henderson, completed in 1917, was the first large ship with gyro stabilizers.

[5] One of the most famous ships to first use an anti-rolling gyro was the Italian passenger liner SS Conte di Savoia, which first sailed in November 1932.

[12] The rocket boosters will be recovered downrange of the launch site in the Atlantic Ocean while the hydrodynamically-stabilized ship is underway.

The ship stabilization technology is designed to increase the likelihood of successful rocket recovery in rough seas, as well as helping to carry out launches on schedule.

Diagram of retractable fin stabilizers on a ship.
Ship stabilizers: a fixed fin stabilizer (foreground centre) and bilge keels (left background).
Two 25-ton roll-stabilizing gyroscopes are installed on the transport USS Henderson during construction in 1917. It was the first large ship to use gyroscopic stabilization.