So if Trim Tabs are so great....

[dingbat]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

I had to put them on my 24' SeaRay Cuddy, Bennet adjustable, because that boat was so deep in the middle, it would lean one way or the other constantly on plane! Using them in the Great South Bay Long Island was a Trip! , to say the least, along with a few second delay in operation. Also needless to say, everytime you speed up or slow down, you're adjusting them, that is, Besides the wind, waves, & current. Once I cleared the canal, I went on plane, and turned right, or left, then had to adjust the tabs to level out depending on the wind, and always rough water. Without a trim tab indicator, sometimes it was too much, or too little, so I had to keep bumping the toggle. Next when I had to turn to follow the bouys in the channel, I was adjusting them again, then riding along, once the current or wind, changed, or the waves got calmer, I was adjusting them again. Boats passing, wakes meeting, slowing down for this, adjust them again, back to speed adjust them again. Moving to WOT, & adding trim for best ride, & speed, adjust them again. Making a U-turn, Wait they're setup wrong for this! Quick, raise them up! raise them up! the boat is listing way too much! and the wind, & waves, are making it worse!,,, Oh, Ok, it finally settled in, we're Ok now Ok, back trying to get on plane,, lets adjust them again,,, No wait! oops! I forgot to take the lower unit trim in No working gauge!,,, Ok, now we can get back on plane, and adjust them again,,, No Wait! There's a 40' Chris Craft heading our way at 1/2 throttle Tabs up!, down to a slow plane to ride out the wake.

I finally gave up using them unless it was an absolute necessity!

This story reminds me of watching a newbie try to steer a boat like a car while trolling when it?s rough out. Wildly swinging the wheel back and forth with no chance of ever getting the boat back under control until they figure how it?s actually done

 

[dingbat]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

The biggest thing I?ve notice when teaching a person how to use tabs is that they start out using way more tab than is needed.

Every hull behaves differently but I probably never put my tabs down more than 15-20 degrees off horizontal even in the worst conditions. Anything more and they start creating more drag than lift and they get overly reactive to changing conditions. Worst yet the hit my fuel mileage takes is tremendous.

Keep as little tab in the water as possible to accomplish your goal. Having excess tab in the water is not your freind.

The other one is if you have to hold down a tab actuator more than one thousand one, one thousand two to make a correction you?ve got or done something wrong. Rarely do I ever even get to one thousand one before correction takes palce.

 

[QC]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Not at all. Planes are typically "destination" vehicles. You can't even use one like you do when pulling a tube, well, except for maybe an RC plane, but most of those don't have flaps.

OK, maybe, but a cruiser is a destination vehicle sometimes too. I happen to be a tab lover . . . shoot me When I bought my beloved Carrera the first thing I did was start drilling holes, she didn't "need" tabs, I do, but I would never give up on a valuable tool because I had to use it

 

[MikDee]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

This is like saying that setting flaps on a plane for takeoff and landing is too much of a pain so forget it . . . They are designed to help operators solve changes in conditions and loads etc. They do that, but like I said earlier you might break a fingernail on the big ol' heavy toggle switches. Be careful

Well QC apparently you never boated in the The Great South Bay, and Atlantic Ocean Long Island, NY Where wind, white caps, and wake, are the norm.
When I was a kid back around 1960 with my dad's 16' Thompson lapstreak, & a 30hp Evinrude, I thought boating was all about getting wet, I don't think I ever came back dry! That boat even had "sporty" center console steering, to keep the bow up, and a wrap around plexiglas windshield.

The Bennets on my Sea Ray were a necessity, not a luxury, and back then with no trim guage on them, and a non working one on my drive, it was no fun. This is all ancient history to me now anyway.

 

[Hitech]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

OK, maybe, but a cruiser is a destination vehicle sometimes too. I happen to be a tab lover . . . shoot me When I bought my beloved Carrera the first thing I did was start drilling holes, she didn't "need" tabs, I do, but I would never give up on a valuable tool because I had to use it

Normally I love gadgets also. The more buttons/knobs/switches the better. However, and especially with my limited experience, trying to operate tabs while pulling the kids on a tube or when getting a skier out of the water is just too much extra to do. Now, when taking that 13 mile cruise up the lake they would be nice. But, they would have cost 1/3 or more of what I paid for my little boat, and been harder for me to use. And cruising like that is something that will happen far less often. Smart Tabs were just made for me. And they perform very well. So, I'm sure, do helm adjustable tabs. I'd have to agree with whomever it was that said all V bottom boats need tabs of one type or another.

BTW, nice looking boat.

 

[QC]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Mik,

I am only saying that if a v-hull needs tabs (some really, really do) then why stop trying to use them. I have plenty experience with really rough water and it is one of the reasons I insist on helm adjustable tabs. Frankly I am still confused . . . I think dingbat has it right. Patience . . .

 

[QC]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Yes, hitech I use them for skiers too, and it is a lot to pay attention to. Left down I can throw a pretty mean rooster right in their face, now that's a cool feature

 

[QC]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Ya know what is also fun? Run the tabs opposite the lean of a turn and you can make a V hull turn flat like a tunnell. Scary, but waaaaay fun . . .

 

[Hitech]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Left down I can throw a pretty mean rooster right in their face, now that's a cool feature

You know, THAT would almost make it worth it!

 

[MikDee]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

Mik,

I am only saying that if a v-hull needs tabs (some really, really do) then why stop trying to use them. I have plenty experience with really rough water and it is one of the reasons I insist on helm adjustable tabs. Frankly I am still confused . . . I think dingbat has it right. Patience . . .

Yes, after some initial fiddling with them, I got the hang of it, they don't require much movement. My previous 20' SeaRay bowrider, didn't really need them, it was the same hull design just not as big, or deep.

 

[swist]

Re: So if Trim Tabs are so great....

If you need them, you need them, just a couple of minor negatives...

I don't need any more contraptions below the waterline in saltwater. Just more stuff to accumulate crud and worry about keeping clean. And although it's a small point, I've never seen that tabs add to the looks of a boat.