Re: Nauticus smart tabs
Well, I installed a set of 30 lb. smart tabs on my jon boat, and a set of 60 lb.
on my 19' Bayliner Capri.
Jon boat: 1848 with a 40/30 jet on it. My goal was to get more stability from
left to right(tippiness axis). This improved greatly, but I lost my top speed.
I installed the tabs
3" in from each side, and that inadvertently put one of the underside ribs right
in the center of each tab. Net effect was the amount of water hitting each
tab was decreased in volume at the higher speed, and the water was
also aerated from the rib. Explained to Nauticus, and they sent the lower tab
actuators of 20 lbs. I am returning the 30 lb. actuators. I am confident that
the 20 lb. actuators will work fine for my setup.
19' Bayliner Capri with VP4 130hp motor: My goal was better overall stability,
and was hoping for some improvement in the left to right slow speed I/O steering dilemna.
I installed them on the diagonal angle of the lower V, and
they are slightly closer to the prop than the outer sides of the boat. I kept
the top bracket of the actuators on the vertical wall of the transom, and
assembled the tabs to measure where the best fit was. I cut off a corner
of each top mounting bracket about 1/2" to keep the tabs as far out as
possible. This installation proved to work better than what I had hoped for.
Coming out of the hole time is greatly improved, as well as overall stability.
And, to my surprise, the left to right steering slop said to be an attribute of the
I/O drive, is completely gone. At slow speeds, the boat now feels like it is on
auto-pilot, instead of weaving from side to side with corrections. My minimum
slow planing/cruising rpm has dropped from 2800rpm to 2500 rpm. My top end
is still there, although I rarely run it at full throttle. More important is that the
overall control of the boat at higher speeds is greatly improved, and that no
loss of top speed has taken place.
The only con about the tabs is that they do extend downwards, and when
beaching they could be problematic. Nauticus makes special brackets to raise
the tabs for such situations, and youtube has a video of other ideas. I am
still thinking of the best way to deal with this, which will probably be with
the special Nauticus mounts.
Because the pros far outweigh the cons, the Smart Tabs are a winner for me.
If anybody needs pics, I'll post them.
