Seakeeper 6 Installation manual

Rev 22 JUNE 2017
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OPERATION MANUAL
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OPERATION
MANUAL
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SEAKEEPER 6 90403 1
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SEAKEEPER 6
OPERATION MANUAL
JUNE 2017
Contents:
Section 1 – System Overview
Section 2 – System Operation
Section 3 – Power Failures, Alarms, and Troubleshooting
Section 4 – Maintenance
Section 5 – Warranty, Limit of Liability, Property Rights
Section 6 – Gyro Specs and Summary
44425 PECAN COURT, SUITE 151
CALIFORNIA, MARYLAND, 20619, U.S.A
PHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
E-MAIL: [email protected]

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1.0 System Overview
The Seakeeper 6 uses gyroscopic principles to reduce boat roll motions in waves and wakes
independent of boat speed. In multiple Seakeeper installations, the Seakeepers operate
independently of each other and therefore this manual only discusses operation of a single unit.
A Seakeeper 6 consists of a Seakeeper assembly, a CAN communications cable, and a
Display. Figure 1 illustrates the interconnection of these components and their interface with
the boat.
FIGURE 1 – SEAKEEPER 6 STABILIZATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Technical specifications provided in Section 6 list the power consumption, total weight, and
dimensions of the major components. Gyroscopic principals that apply to boat roll control are
discussed on Seakeeper’s web site at www.seakeeper.com. The Seakeeper web site also
contains videos of Seakeeper operation and videos of several different boats operating in waves
with the Seakeeper on and off. It is recommended that the reader play these videos prior to
reading the remainder of this manual.

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The Seakeeper’s gimbal angle and the Seakeeper’s rate of rotation about the gimbal axis
(termed precession rate) play an important role in its operation. These parameters are
illustrated in Figure 2. At zero degree gimbal angle, the Seakeeper is vertical; it can precess a
maximum of +/- 60 degrees about this position. The amount of torque that the Seakeeper
exerts on a boat’s hull to counter the wave induced roll is directly proportional to the precession
rate. The further the Seakeeper is from vertical (zero degrees) the lower the anti-roll torque.
The vertical arrows in Figure 2 illustrate the direction of the forces that the Seakeeper exerts on
the boat’s hull to damp roll motion.
FIGURE 2 – SEAKEEPER PRECESSION
Seakeeper precession is actively controlled by an electronic controller and a hydraulic brake
throughout each roll cycle so the Seakeeper supplies the maximum anti-roll torque and does not
make mechanical contact with hard stops that limit the maximum gimbal angle travel to +/- 60o.
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There is a large torque about the gimbal axis when the Seakeeper is
precessing. Seakeeper cover panels are provided to prevent personnel
or equipment from contacting the Seakeeper while it is in operation.
These covers should not be stood on, or have anything placed on top.
The covers should always be in place during operation. If it is ever
necessary to touch the Seakeeper while the flywheel is spinning, the
Seakeeper must be locked at the display to stop the Seakeeper from
precessing. Seakeeper maintenance should not be attempted unless the
Seakeeper is locked and the flywheel has stopped spinning.
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1.1 Seakeeper Assembly
The Seakeeper assembly consists of a flywheel housed in a cast aluminum vacuum-tight
enclosure. The flywheel spins about a vertical axis and is supported by upper and lower pairs of
bearings. A DC brushless motor mounted inside the enclosure spins the flywheel at high speed.
The enclosure is fastened to two gimbal shafts that are supported by gimbal bearings on either
side. These shafts establish an athwartship gimbal axis about which the flywheel and enclosure
precess or rotate up to +/- 60 degrees during operation. The gimbal bearings are supported by a
foundation which is attached to the hull structure. This foundation transfers the loads that the
Seakeeper produces to the hull structure.
An active hydraulic brake mechanism is located on the Seakeeper assembly to regulate the
Seakeeper’s precession motions about the gimbal shaft. It includes two hydraulic cylinders and
a hydraulic manifold.
A coolant pump, heat exchanger with reservoir, and thermostat are located near the manifold. A
glycol/water mix is circulated thru a closed loop to the drive box, hydraulic manifold, and the end
caps of the enclosure to remove heat.
FIGURE 3 – SEAKEEPER ASSEMBLY

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1.2 Display
The display shown below is the user interface to the Seakeeper 6 and should be mounted at the
primary helm station. It is used to start, operate, monitor and shutdown the Seakeeper.
Sensors, alarms and shutdowns are provided to allow unattended operation.
The display provides information in the event of an alarm. Alarms cause precession to stop
(Stabilize Off) and the Seakeeper to start coasting down (Seakeeper Off).
FIGURE 4 – OPERATOR DISPLAY
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1.3 Drive Box
The Drive Box contains the electronic components that take 110-230 VAC at 50/60 Hz from the
boat’s generator or shore power and supply current to the flywheel motor according to
commands from the Electronic Control Module (ECM). The glycol/water mix that cools the
Seakeeper is also circulated through a cold plate inside the Drive Box to remove heat from high-
power electronic components.
The Drive Box contains high voltage electronics and the
cover should not be removed while the flywheel is spinning
except by an authorized technician. This high voltage exists
even if the flywheel is coasting down and the supply voltage
has been shut off.
FIGURE 5 – DRIVE BOX

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1.4 Electronic Control Module
The Electronic Control Module (ECM) monitors all the system sensors and automatically
regulates operation of the Seakeeper.
The controller commands the motor speed and regulates the Seakeeper’s precession rate and
gimbal angle. This is accomplished by commands to a high response flow control valve in the
hydraulic brake circuit that increases or decreases the brake pressure.
1.5 Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU)
The motion sensor suite in the IMU contains rate sensors that measure the angular movements
of the vessel and accelerometers that measure the vertical and lateral boat movement. These
signals are communicated to the ECM on a CANbus connection inside the Seakeeper’s wiring
harness.
1.6 Brake
The brake mechanism consists of two hydraulic cylinders that attach to a crank arm on the
Seakeeper gimbal shaft. The Seakeeper controller modulates how fast the oil can flow through
a control valve thus controlling the precession rate of the Seakeeper.
The brake hydraulic circuit is a pre-charged closed loop – that is, there is no pump, motor or
reservoir in the circuit. Accumulators are installed in the circuit so the precharge pressure does
not increase as the fluid temperature rises due to the braking action. Locking solenoids are
installed in the circuit to lock the Seakeeper so it cannot precess during ‘lock’ mode or if there is
a leak in the circuit or a mechanical problem with the Seakeeper.
FIGURE 6 – BRAKE SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Seakeeper hydraulic Hand Pump Kit, P/N 10384, is required for servicing the brake system.
Pressure should never be relieved unless this tool is available.

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1.7 Cooling
The cooling circuit is a closed loop that supplies a glycol/water (50% distilled water and 50%
glycol) mix to:
 The motor drive box to remove heat from the drive electronics
 The brake manifold to remove heat from the brake hydraulic circuit
 The Seakeeper enclosure water jackets to remove heat from the flywheel bearings
The heated fluid then passes through a thermostat before bypassing or flowing through a heat
exchanger that has sea water on the cold side. The circuit also contains a coolant reservoir for
coolant expansion and to make filling easy. The reservoir contains a 7 psi (0.5 bar) pressure
cap.
FIGURE 7 – COOLING SYSTEM COMPONENTS
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2.0 Introduction
This section describes operation of the Seakeeper 6 system.
2.1 Display Screens: Overview
1) When 12 VDC power is applied to the Seakeeper, the display will power up and initialize.
The splash screen will be displayed.
2) After the display has initialized, the home screen will be displayed.
3) The display uses a touch screen to allow users to select functions.

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Seakeeper On/Off. The button will change from grey (Seakeeper Off) to blue
(Seakeeper On)
Seakeeper Stabilize On/Off. The button will change from grey (Stabilize Off) to
blue (Stabilize On)
Home screen view. These buttons toggle home screen between the Roll Angle
Gauge and the Roll Angle Graph as shown below.
4) When the menu button is pressed, the menu bar will appear or disappear at the bottom
of the screen.

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The menu bar is used to navigate between pages. From left to right, the available pages
are home, settings, information, service and alarm history. The selected page is
highlighted in blue on the menu bar.
5) The settings page allows the user adjust the following;

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Increase or decrease the brightness of the display with the brightness slider.
Adjust the sleep timer from 1 minutes to 60 minutes or on all of the time using sleep time
slider. Touching the screen will wake the display up after it has gone to sleep.
Change the sign of the roll angle value displayed in the roll angle gauge so the gauge
matches the motion of the boat. This will depend on installation orientation and will only
need to be adjusted once.
Change the speed of the Seakeeper between normal operation and low power
operation. The selected speed is colored blue. When power is cycled (or Seakeeper
turned Off), this speed will default back to the normal operating speed. Speed selection
buttons shown below are examples and may not match operating speed of installed
Seakeeper.
Change the display between day and night mode. The selected mode is colored blue.

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Change the units of the temperatures displayed on the service page between degrees
Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. The selected units are colored blue.
6) The information page displays the Seakeeper model, Seakeeper serial number,
Seakeeper software versions, RUN hours, and SEA hours, and other information
7) The service page displays operating information from the Seakeeper.

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8) The alarm history page shows what alarms have occurred in the past and the
associated run hours. The scroll bar is used to move up and down through the list.
2.2 Start-up
1) Make sure AC and DC power are available.
2) Turn on the boat’s DC circuit breaker that supplies power to the Seakeeper.
3) Turn on the boat’s AC circuit breaker that supplies power to the Motor Drive Box.
4) In most cases, the seawater pump will be wired to turn on when the Seakeeper or Motor
Drive Box is turned on. However, in some cases the seawater pump is on a separate
AC or DC circuit breaker and it is necessary to turn it on.
5) When the DC power is turned on the Display will initialize and the Home screen will
appear.
To turn the Seakeeper on, press the On/Off button, the button will turn blue. The
progress bar will appear and indicate how soon the Seakeeper will be available for
stabilization. When the Seakeeper is initialized and up to minimum operating speed the
stabilize button will appear. At this point, the Seakeeper is available for stabilization.

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6) When the Seakeeper reaches its maximum operating speed where maximum
stabilization is available, the progress bar will disappear and the Seakeeper is available
for maximum stabilization.
2.3 Stabilization
To stabilize the boat after Seakeeper is on and above the minimum operating speed:
1) Press the stabilize button. The button will turn blue indicating that the Seakeeper is
stabilizing the roll motion.

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If it is necessary to shutoff power to the flywheel motor
and slow the flywheel for any reason, press Seakeeper
On/Off button; the button will turn grey and the stabilize
button will disappear indicating the command has been
accepted. It takes approximately 4+ hours for the speed
to drop to zero rpm.
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If it is necessary to stop Seakeeper motion for any
reason press the stabilize button. The stabilize button
will turn grey indicating that the Seakeeper is locked.
Never attempt to work on the Seakeeper until the
flywheel has stopped spinning. In the event that the
brake system has automatically locked the Seakeeper
due to an alarm or failure, no attempt should be made to
bypass the alarm or automatic lock.
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2.4 Normal Shut-Down
The Seakeeper should be stopped when pulling into port and stabilization is no longer
required. This maximizes life by allowing the Seakeeper to start the coast down cycle
before cooling is shutoff. Once the vessel is secured, the AC and DC breakers can be
switched OFF. The Seakeeper will continue to spool down to zero rpm. No cooling is
required during this time.
1) Press Seakeeper On/Off button. The On/Off button will turn grey. The Seakeeper will
start coasting.
2) Once the vessel is secured in the slip and the crew has shut down the generator and
engines, switch the AC and DC breakers that control the Seakeeper OFF. The flywheel
will continue to spool down to zero rpm. This can take 4+ hours from full speed.
When the flywheel has stopped spinning 0 RPM will appear on the screen
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The circuit breakers should be left on as long as possible
while the Seakeeper is spinning to remove heat from the
Seakeeper. During normal operation, the Seakeeper
should be stopped when pulling into port and stabilization
is no longer required. This maximizes long term life as it
allows the Seakeeper to start the coast down cycle before
cooling is shutoff. Once the vessel is secured in the slip
and the crew has shut down the generator and engines,
the AC and DC breakers that control the Seakeeper should
be switched to the OFF position. The Seakeeper will
continue to spool down to zero rpm. No cooling is
required during this time. Note Seakeeper will take
approximately 4+ hours to coast down to zero rpm from
full speed. The Display will indicate 0 RPM when the
flywheel has stopped.
Note: The seawater pump may run for up to 5 minutes after the
Seakeeper is switched off and is coasting (with AC power applied).
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