Two identical vessels. Same sea, same waves. One without stabilisation — one with the IG 1 fitted. The difference is immediate.
Reference: 7.8m USV · 1.9t displacement · GMt 2.08m · Anchor condition · Beam waves · Hs 1.25m. Source: Anti-rolling Performance Forecast, Decho Technology 2025.
A vessel encounters a beam sea. The hull offers almost no resistance to rolling — unlike pitch, where forward motion through water provides natural damping. Without active stabilisation, the vessel rolls freely. The passengers feel sick. The crew fatigues. Equipment shifts. The experience ends.
This is not a rare edge case. It is the normal condition for any unstabilised vessel in European coastal waters. The North Sea, the Mediterranean, the English Channel, the Baltic — all of them regularly produce beam seas with wave periods that align directly with the natural roll period of small vessels.
The problem is not the sea. The problem is that roll has never been treated as a design problem — only as a discomfort problem.
The traditional response has been to leave this problem for the owner to solve — after delivery, at cost, through the aftermarket. The yard that changes this owns the conversation.
Rolling is governed by three numbers: metacentric height (GMt), natural roll period (Tn), and wave encounter frequency. When wave frequency matches Tn, energy is added to the roll with every cycle. Without damping, the roll angle grows far beyond what the wave height alone predicts. This is resonance — the primary reason small vessels in beam seas are so uncomfortable.
At anchor, natural damping is at its absolute minimum. Any stabiliser that performs well at anchor will perform well underway. This is why all IG 1 data is calculated at anchor, in beam waves.
LOA 7.8m · Beam 2.3m · Draught 0.9m · Displacement 1.9t · GMt 2.08m · Tn 2.6s · Anchor condition · Beam waves · Modified PM spectrum · 800s simulation
| Sea state | Wave angle | Roll WITHOUT IG 1 | Roll WITH IG 1 | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hs = 0.5m | 90° beam | 7.01° | 2.37° | 66.15% |
| Hs = 1.25m | 90° beam | 13.01° | 4.97° | 61.81% |
Source: Anti-rolling Performance Forecast for 7.8m USV, Decho Technology 2025. RMS predictions — actual performance varies with hull geometry and loading.
The IG series is a range of compact, light weight and reliable gyro stabilisers developed for small boats. A high-speed rotator generates a stable angular momentum. When the boat rolls, the gyro processes, creating a torque that opposes the roll, acting directly on the hull.
In heavy wave conditions, the IG 1 switches to regeneration mode — converting the kinetic energy of rolling into electricity and feeding it back to the vessel's power system. No other stabilisation technology does this.
The IG 1's 2 kN·m rated torque covers vessels up to approximately 5 tonnes displacement in the reference configuration. For larger vessels, multiple units run in parallel — one system, one supplier, across your entire product range.
| Vessel type | LOA | Displacement | Configuration | Primary use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USV | 3–10m | 1–5t | 1× IG 03/05/07 | Maritime security, surveying, search |
| Day boat | 4–8m | 1.5–3t | 1× IG 05/07 | Fishing, leisure, water sports |
| Sport fisher / walkaround | 7–10m | 2–5t | 1× IG 1 | Offshore fishing, coastal cruising |
Decho Technology provides a free vessel-specific performance forecast based on these 11 parameters — all standard outputs of a hydrostatic analysis.
Every market has a norm — a baseline assumption buyers carry before they open a brochure. In the European car market, airbags are not a feature. They are the baseline. Buyers who do not receive them do not simply feel underprovided — they feel unsafe.
The European small vessel market does not yet have that norm for stability. Vessels are delivered without stabilisation. Owners discover the rolling problem after delivery. They pay to fix it. The yard misses the margin. The experience is defined by a problem that never needed to happen.
The yard that makes stability standard owns the conversation. Competitors who cannot match it must explain why they do not.
A stable boat is not a luxury. It is comfort and safety — for guests, for crew, for passengers. The yard that makes this standard owns that conversation.
Hong Kong Decho Technology Development Company Limited is the European distributor of the IG series — a range of gyro stabilisers developed for boats up to 5 tons or 10 metres. We work directly with European shipyards to integrate stability as a standard feature, not an afterthought.
Performance data from Anti-rolling Performance Forecast for 7.8m USV, Decho Technology 2025. All figures are RMS predictions; actual performance varies with hull geometry and loading condition.