Re: power tilt and trim
For other than raising and lowering the motor for launching a boat, the system adjusts the angle of the motor in relationship to the boat for the sake of proper trimming -- the optimal position of the boat in the water forward and aft. When the motor is all the way down (forward), it will push the bow down into the water, which is fine if you are running in heavy seas, when you want good control. But if the water is fairly calm, you can raise the motor, which will raise the bow, and give you less "plowing" through the seas and more speed. But you need to be careful at higher speeds because if you raise the motor too high, you will have a problem controlling the boat's directional movement (bow), even to the extent of possibly losing control of the craft. So the answer is to find the best tilt and trim angle for the sea conditions and the speed you want to travel at while maintaining safe control.
