10 foot inflatable would trim tabs help plane.

jamnn

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
48
I begged my wife for 3 weeks and she finally agreed to my purchase of the 9.9 HP Honda outboard. I took it out yesterday and realized I might need assistance to plane. Lots of Bow rise when I throttled high temporarily as I am still breaking it in. I have read here that trim tabs help a lot of boaters, but when I mentioned this to my buddy he laughed at me saying "trim tabs for a 10 foot inflatable, what a joke". I have decided to put it out to the experts here. What would be a good solution to get me on a plane. I went from a 3 HP 1960 evinrude lightwin to this 9.9 and it is awesome but I think I need to do some tweaking. My wife says a bigger boat is out of the question. Help!
 

Peter_C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
193
Re: 10 foot inflatable would trim tabs help plane.

Things you could try first. Move weight to the bow, like the anchor, fuel tank, people, etc. Check the engines trim. Make sure it trimmed in, meaning the outboard leg is close to the transom. This will help push the bow down and plane the boat quicker. There is some fiddling that needs to be done for trim since you don't have power trim you need to find the best motor position for coming up on plane and planning speeds.

If you are willing to drill holes and make changes, one of the most common bow rise fixes is a hydrofoil wing mounted to the lower leg of the outboard.

A list from Iboats of the most common hydrofoils.
http://www.iboats.com/Hydrofoil-Sta...7263248--session_id.473680037--view_id.217147

Here is another one that states in this ad that it fits Honda 4 stroke motors. Although available from Iboats in link below, they just didn't mention Honda.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boat.../browse.cmd?N=1100537&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd737272

http://www.iboats.com/Hydrofoil-Sta...7263248--session_id.473680037--view_id.217147

Of course there are good and bad traits with everything, and hydrofoils have been discussed heavily both here and on Rib.net. Read up some then make your own choice. Fortunately they are also removable if you don't like it. I am happy with my Stingray since my bow stays down and I can hold plane at just over 12 mph. I have never tried another brand though.

Trim tabs of course would serve a similar purpose, but you going to have to get advice on them from someone other than me, as I have no experience with them on a SIB.

One of the downfalls of trim tabs is you can't typically use launching wheels. That is one of the benefits of a smaller SIB like yours is the ability to use launching wheels and launch most anywhere.
 

jamnn

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
48
Re: 10 foot inflatable would trim tabs help plane.

Thanks Peter, I moved the gas tank up to the bow and it jumped right up on a plane. Now I will have to see if it will do so with the wife on board also. I was very pleased. Thanks for your advice.
 

Drowned Rat

Captain
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Messages
3,070
Re: 10 foot inflatable would trim tabs help plane.

Heck yeah trim tabs for an inflatable. They work great. My boat is overloaded and underpowered so the trim tabs are a must. Boat planes easily with them and at a much lower speed. Love 'em.

DSC03088.jpg
 

fbpooler

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
334
Re: 10 foot inflatable would trim tabs help plane.

Ran a 10ft Avon Rover for years with a 15 HP by keeping the throttle retarded. Switched to a 9.8 Nisson and it is a great combo.

We only use it with two aboard though, as the weight of the passenger helps immensely with planeing. With one aboard, I would not try to plane as it gets pretty squirreley. Are you sure you need to do anything to the rig to make it enjoyable? You may enjoy a Stingray Jr for stability though, as the rig is quite lively at speed.
 
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