Quiet on the Tahoe forum

[Tahoe 55]

Hey all!
What's been going on? It's only a few days after Christmas and I'm already gett'n psyched about new boating season. I just ordered a set of SX Smart Tabs for the Q8i. Do you think my boat will be ok with the 80lb struts? I sent John an e-mail, but haven't heard back yet.

Did anyone else get something for their boat for Christmas?

It was in the mid 60's here in Virgina the other day. I almost pulled the boat out to put another coat of wax on her, but the wife talked me out of it... I should have done it, dang it!

Hope everyone is doing well.

 

[Hashi]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Hey T55,

Happy New Year!

I was thinking the same thing that its been kind of quiet here. Must be the holidays keeping them occupied. That's great you ordered the smart tabs but, I've read on this forum that the 60 lbs. struts may be a better fit for Tahoes. Hopefull, John will respond to your email before he sends them. I plan on getting my smart tabs some time this year.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any toys for my boat this year...I just got clothes
But, with all the gift cards I got, I plan on buying me some fishing gear.

You're way ahead of me on the waxing. I haven't put on a coat, yet. Plan on doing that in the Spring.

Good luck on your trim tabs.

Rich

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Hey Rich,
Happy New Year to you!
Thanks for the reply. I had read about the 60lbs working well with the Q6 and 7's, but haven't seen any info about the 8's. The 8 weights 500lbs more than the 7... Don't know if that matters much? Also, they should mount "flat" to the transom, unlike the 6's and 7's... Does that matter???..

I haven't heard back from John. Guessing he's slow to respond due to the holidays. I expect the Tabs to be on my door step any day now. If I don't hear back from John by then, I'll give him a call.

By the way, on the Nauticus website, they have an offer for a free T shirt (well, kind of free, $5 for shipping).

Rick

 

[Hashi]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Hi Rick,

Have you seen the thread on trim tabs for Tahoes? In case you missed it, here it is http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=250038. If you scroll down, you'll see a couple of pictures on how etransfer mounted his trim tabs. I'm still kind of hesitant about drilling holes in my hull. When you get yours mounted, shoot over some pics and let me know they performed.

Good luck and happy boating!
Rich

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Thanks Rich, I've read that thread several times (and just read it again). My only concern it that my Q8i is a little bigger, heavier and has a flat mounting location for the tabs. All these things should effect pressure on the tabs. I attached a pic of the transom/swim platform of a Q8i (best one I could find) and a pic of Rod's Q7i tab install to show the differences in the transoms. Mine can be installed 6" from the outside edge and the top of the strut will be able to mount on the flat part of the transom (unlike the Q7 and 6i's with the deeper swim platforms)

I received the Smart Tabs yesterday and will call John a little latter to see what he has to say.

I'm also a little worried about drilling holes in my hull, but if the results are as good as everyone says, it will be worth it. Although, I'm really not having any trouble with the boats performance. Just trying to make "good" better.

I'll keep ya posted.

Rick

 

[Fu-Inator]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Can't wait to get my boat back in the water! It was upper 70's around here over the weekend while I was taking Christmas decorations down, it was kill'n me...lol.

Did anyone else get something for their boat for Christmas?

Santa left me a charger for my boat battery.

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

I feel your pain Fu-Inator!
All I can think about is the boat and getting out on the water again, but my wife wants me to race motorcycles again this year. That takes a lot of time and effort to be competitive and I'm afraid it's going to cut into boating time...

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

I got an email back from John this morning. He said to go with the 80lb actuators on my Q8i. He also said to not worry as he would exchange them out if they end up being too stiff. So I'll have to mount them up and wait till this spring before I can test them out. Can't wait...

 

[Ret USN CPO]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

So I'll have to mount them up and wait till this spring before I can test them out. Can't wait...

The waaaiting is the haaaardest part.

Seriously. I could hardly wait once I got the tabs on to get that boat on the lake. In fact I drove down to Lake Anna on a weekday after work (2 hours one way) just to get on the water for an hour or so. But it was worth it. What a difference!

One thing to watch out for is the sealant you use. There are two made by 3M and both are equally good. One has a cure time of like 24 hours, the other has a cure time of 7 days! I opted for the 24 hour cure time. I forget which is which, but check the label.

I used a countersink bit to start the hole in through the hull, and I got no spider-webing. I didn't over use the sealant, but I wasn't afraid to use too much either. As for the install, I haven't had any problems. The directions were very easy to follow and I think it took me about an hour to do both, maybe a little less.

 

[Ret USN CPO]

...

 

[Tahoe 55]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Hey Rod, thanks for the tips!

Yeah, still waiting on spring to roll around. The tabs are still in the box in my garage...

Funny you should mention the sealant. I did buy the fast cure, but got the maximum strength stuff (I didn't know there was normal and maximum) and it says on the tube "recommended for part that are not going to be disassembled". That's fine, but what if I ever break one of the plastic mounting tab/brackets off. I'd have to be able to replace it... The sealant is only going in the screw holes, so I think I could still get it apart?.... I don't want to buy another tube, cuz that stuff isn't cheap... That's my only concern with the instal...

Glad to hear again how nice the tabs make the boat handle. I'm really looking forward to getting out there this spring. We just went to the Richmond Boat show last weekend. It was fun, but the salesmen were relentless. I kept telling them "We're just looking, thanks" One guy just wouldn't take the "No thanks" for an answer. This was on a $106,000 Chaparral bow-rider. He wants me to trade my 8 month old (model year 2007 mind you) Q8i in on it and my payments are going to be "really low". He said, "you'd be surprised at how little your payment would be and how much we'll allow on trades. Let's sit down and work out the details". Yeah right! I didn't even like the boat... We ended up walking through pretty fast, just to avoid the constant harassment. The best part was when we got in the truck to head home, my wife said "Man, I'd like to go home and take the boat out on the lake!" Too bad it was 40 degrees and windy as I don't know what outside..... It's the thought that counts though!

 

[Ret USN CPO]

Re: Quiet on the Tahoe forum

Yeah, I wanted to head down for that, but I was out of the country on work related travel. There is a boat show up here (Dulles Expo Center), and I am going to be out of the country again. But that's okay, I'll get my traveling done while it's cold. That way I can spend my summer weekends on the lake instead of traveling around the world.