A water engagement actuator system and device comprising a rotary actuator connected to a support structure adapted to be connected to a marine vessel is provided. The rotary actuator includes a driven shaft and a undriven slave shaft disposed opposite the driven shaft. The rotary actuator further comprises at least one pair of bearings enclosed within a clean sealed environment; water engagement device having an arced blade connected to the driven shaft; at least one encoder disposed in a space separating the undriven slave shaft from the driven shaft. A controller is communicatively connected to the rotary actuator to command rotation of the driven shaft such that the water engagement device is automatically moved to a position between a retracted position and a deployed position in order to provide dynamic active control of the marine vessel. The rotary actuator is further configured to absorb any hydrodynamic drag load generated from the marine vessel with no more than two rotary shaft seals and counteract any unintended disturbance by automatic deployment of the arced blade—at 100 mm/s or more—into the water and provide dynamic active control of a marine vessel.

A sailing boat has an auxiliary hydrodynamic surface carried by a main boom connected in an oscillating way to a deck of the boat, about an axis of articulation parallel to the longitudinal direction of the boat. A drive system lowers the main boom on one side or the other of the boat in such a way that the hydrodynamic surface is selectively lowerable in a first operative position on one side of the boat to be put into the water on one side of the boat or in a second operative position on the other side of the boat to be put into the water on the other side of the boat. The boom is sized so that, when the hydrodynamic surface is located in one of its two operative positions on one side or the other of the boat, it is set at a lateral distance from the boat.

A vessel hull stabilization system includes a housing having a rotatable shaft mounted thereto, the shaft configured to connect to a fin such that the fin is located on an outside of the vessel hull and the housing is located on an inside of the vessel hull. A drive system is mounted to the housing and includes a motor and a drive element. The motor is connected to a central shaft of the drive element. The drive element includes a plurality of teeth positioned between the outer element and the central shaft such that when the motor rotates the central shaft, the plurality of teeth oscillate inwards and outwards to interact with teeth in the outer element and thereby cause rotation of a fin shaft connected to the outer element or to the gear having the oscillating teeth. A controller receives sensor readings to determine control signals to send to the motor(s) to impart rotation of the fin.

A method and a system for controlling a marine vessel having first and second trim deflectors is disclosed. The first and second trim deflectors have a first surface having a first area and a second surface having a second area, wherein the second planar surface is coupled to the first surface. The method and system control the first and second trim deflectors to induce any of a net yawing force, a net rolling force, and a net trimming force to the marine vessel without inducing any other substantial forces to the marine vessel by controlling the first and second trim deflectors.

A fluid hinge includes a first part of a two-part element including a planar surface of a trim tab and a second part of the two-part system having at least one bracket secured to the hull of a watercraft and the first and second parts of the two-part element are not physically coupled together. It also provides at least one bracket secured to the hull on which the planar surface of the trim tab may rest and the at least one bracket not taking any load from the planar surface except at rest to keep the planar surface from descending below the horizon of the hull.

Various embodiments of a sailing vessel are disclosed configured to reduce a heeling moment acting on the sailing vessel as a wind acts on a sail of the sailing vessel. Generally, a mast of the sailing vessel is allowed to cant to leeward, thus reducing the heeling moment.

A vessel hull stabilization system includes a housing having a rotatable shaft mounted thereto, the shaft configured to connect to a fin such that the fin is located on an outside of the vessel hull and the housing is located on an inside of the vessel hull. A drive system is mounted to the housing and includes a motor and a drive element. The motor is connected to a central shaft of the drive element. The drive element includes a plurality of teeth positioned between the outer element and the central shaft such that when the motor rotates the central shaft, the plurality of teeth oscillate inwards and outwards to interact with teeth in the outer element and thereby cause rotation of a fin shaft connected to the outer element or to the gear having the oscillating teeth. A controller receives sensor readings to determine control signals to send to the motor(s) to impart rotation of the fin.

A wakeboat has a hull, the hull forming a wake when moving forward in the water, with a left quiet region and a right quiet region in the wake. The hull may exhibit rotation around one or more of its roll, pitch, and yaw axes which affects the quiet regions in the wake. A gyroscope supported in the hull may be used to rotate the hull around one or more axes. Such rotation may be used to create a surf left and/or surf right configuration, and measured via one or more sensors. Other systems and methods are also provided.

A method and a system for controlling a marine vessel having first and second trim deflectors is disclosed. The first and second trim deflectors have a first surface having a first area and a second surface having a second area, wherein the second planar surface is coupled to the first surface. The method and system control the first and second trim deflectors to induce any of a net yawing force, a net rolling force, and a net trimming force to the marine vessel without inducing any other substantial forces to the marine vessel by controlling the first and second trim deflectors.

A vessel hull stabilization system includes a housing having a rotatable shaft mounted thereto, the shaft configured to connect to a fin such that the fin is located on an outside of the vessel hull and the housing is located on an inside of the vessel hull. A drive system is mounted to the housing and includes a motor and a drive element. The motor is connected to a central shaft of the drive element and an outer element of the drive element is connected to the fin shaft. The drive element includes a plurality of teeth positioned between the outer element and the central shaft such that when the motor rotates the central shaft, the plurality of teeth oscillate in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the central shaft to interact with and rotate the outer element. A controller receives sensor readings to determine control signals to send to the motor(s) to impart rotation of the fin.