Larger Trim Tabs on Monterey 250cr

[amanphoto]

The problem: I have a Monterey 250cr compact cruiser kind of boat. The boat is unstable on plane. Well it's not if every one stays put, but people move around and I'm constantly tweaking the trim tabs to get it to ride straight. I under stand boat will lean in turns and with waves, but I'm talking about driving in a straight line. It's a pain.

The Setup: I drive with the tabs pretty much retracted. The tabs under the boat in pockets and don't stick out the back of the boat. I would like to make them a little longer and wider to make the boat a little more stable.

The idea: I would like to add about 4" to make them longer and 4" to make them wider.

Thoughts: Has any one done this? Made their tabs larger. What was the result? Is it worth it?

 

[shrew]

What you are describing is normal. Even when people don't move around, the wind, tide, current can all effect the running attitude. Certainly when people move around. That occurs even on my 28 ft boat (30 LOA with 9'9" beam). larger tabs won't fix this problem. Boats wont' ride like cars and you have to periodically tweak the tabs. Sometimes it seems like I'm tweaking them constantly.

 

[amanphoto]

Shrew, That doesn't make me happy. I was looking at your size boat for our next boat. It's the max size you can trailer fairly comfortably. But if your having the same issues. Thanks for the info.

 

[Slip Away]

Should not be considered an "issue" All boats that size experience the same characteristics.
Leave the tabs as they are, don't make any modifications. Your boat is doing what it was intended to do..

 

[dingbat]

The problem is not the size of the boat, it's the design......

The high center of gravity and combined with the trim tabs being mounted close to the keel give you the teeter tooter affect you describe. Nothing you can do about it but buy a boat with a stable design

 

[shrew]

.........But if your having the same issues......... .

I'm not having any issues. I expect the boat to behave in this manner. Your expectations are that a boat will behave like an automobile. This is simply unreasonable.

 

[garbageguy]

What you are describing is normal. Even when people don't move around, the wind, tide, current can all effect the running attitude. Certainly when people move around. larger tabs won't fix this problem. Boats wont' ride like cars and you have to periodically tweak the tabs. Sometimes it seems like I'm tweaking them constantly.

+1 on that

 

[smokeonthewater]

Actually I'd say the problem isn't the behavior of the boat but rather the behavior of the passengers.....

Sit down and stay put..... even large passenger ships can have issues when everybody runs to the port side to see the whale...

 

[redneck joe]

they are called 'adjustable' tabs for a reason. Our 34' with a 13' beam needed tweaking when people moved or hit a different headwind.

 

[funk6294]

I have never personally run these, but maybe an option.

http://www.bennetttrimtabs.com/pdf/ATC_FAQs.pdf