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A couple anecdotes from very recent examples that illustrate both sides of the 'relying on the gadgets', coin:
1. US Navy X-craft 50+ knot slender 74m catamaran. While transiting from San Diego toward Alaskan waters last year, the ship suffered major hull structural damage, including buckled transverse bridge-deck frames and bottom plating separation (holed). What happened? 'Green' crew operating in a sea state and at speeds that were well above the certified operating limit of the vessel, but manageable with the extensive stabilization system that is installed on the craft. The system failed when a wet deck slam knocked out the gyro and the rest, as they say, was history. She was out of commission for 8 months for hull repairs in dry dock.
2. Nicely built custom 57' Pilot Cruiser with trim tab stabilization was making it's way on the outside, from Key West to Miami for the boat show, with a deadline to meet to get in to reserved show slip. Three very experienced captains on board, but none that had ever run a tab-stabilized vessel. Conditions became sloppy along about Key Largo area, with large waves on the beam, due the prevalence of several intense and fast-moving storm cells. However, operating at minimum planing speed of 18 knots and with the tab stabilizers tuned 'hot', the trip was almost boring and the captains on board became 'true believers' (a couple of 'turn the stabilizers on and then off' cycles was all it took). Now in that case, it is also true that conditions were never so bad that the vessel would have been in any jeopardy due a stabilizer failure, just darned uncomfortable, and there were numerous places to run smartly in-shore for sheltered conditions if things got too bad on the outside.
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