Designed for boats from 23 to 30 feet, the long-anticipated Seakeeper 1 makes its surprise debut at the Miami boat show.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Seakeeper is giving credence to the adage: Good things come in small packages. The stabilization giant announced today that they are using the Miami boat show to debut their long-anticipated Seakeeper 1. Their smallest model to date, and by far, it’s designed to eliminate the rock and roll of boats 23 to 30 feet and up to 13,000 pounds.
Measuring a compact 23- by 24- by 16-inches and weighing in at a shockingly svelte 350 pounds, the footprint of this system, combined with a more-modern-looking housing, should raise the eyebrows of large yacht owners that are eager to add Seakeeper stability to their tenders or second smaller boats. Lending the new unit refit friendliness is its flush-mount installation housing–a first for the manufacturer. As you would expect from a unit designed for the smaller boat set, power draws are shockingly low. Running only on 12v DC power, the entry level model should consume just 55 amps, according to the manufacturer.
Besides its size and power draw, the newcomer punches above its weight with a number of first-time features. One is a shorter-than-ever spool-up time; it takes only 15 minutes from startup (the amount of time it typically takes to prep for leaving a slip anyway) before it’s ready to begin stabilizing. The second impressive feature is a dedicated control unit on top of the device; connectivity to Garmin, Simrad and Raymarine MFDs is still available.
According to Seakeeper, 12 boat manufacturers so far are slated to integrate the unit into their new models. I expect that number to grow precipitously. MSRP is said to be $14,900 with shipment beginning this June (2020).
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