STABILISER FOR SHIPS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 305, 21 September 1936, Page 9

STABILISER FOR SHIPS

Tests off Isle of Wight (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, September 18. The test held yesterday off Ventnor, Isle of Wight, of the Denny-Brown stabiliser to prevent rolling of ships in rough seas, was attended by representatives of the Admiralty, the Board of Trade, the Japanese Navy, the American and Brazilian Embassies, and several British and foreign steamship companies. The device has been produced by Dennys, Dumbarton, 1 and Brown Brothers, Edinburgh, after three years Of experiment. It consists of two retractable fins one on either side of the ship which can be worked like horizontal rudders. The stabiliser, it is claimed, will reduce rolling to such an extent as will provide comfortable conditions for all on board, except in very heavy weather. Features of the stabiliser were explained in a film shown on board the Channel steamer in which the tests were made, and it was stated that it could be fitted to ships of any size. The stabiliser tested yesterday weiglis onlv 15 tons and costs between £7OOO and £9OOO. The drag is said to be so slight as to reduce the speed of a 19-knot Channel boat by less than half a knot, and the makers state that this would be offset by the ability to keep a more accurate course in heavy weather.