what are these

[lonemust]

I just got this boat ('70 starcraft V-180 w/merc140). And was wondering what in the #$%& are these silver things on each side of the drive unit at the bottom of the hull???? And what they do???? The things my excess straps are laying on..

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: what are these

They are trim tabs. . What make they are I don't know.

 

[lonemust]

Re: what are these

I know they are not hydraulic, for they have a turn buckle type screw on them. But WHAT are they for. And are htey useful. I plan on useing this boat for skiing and tubing.

 

[dan t.]

Re: what are these

probably home made fixed trim tabs. try it out ,if it works good leave them there

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: what are these

But WHAT are they for.

They are helpful for getting on plane. Maybe your boat is a litte butt heavy !! .
So thats why the last owner put them on there.

 

[180shabah]

Re: what are these

Definitely some kind of homemade jobbies there. What does the previous owner say about them?

STOW YOUR FENDER

 

[robert graham]

Re: what are these

Nice looking trim tabs, put on to make boat track true, not pull to one side or another, leave them on there.

 

[180shabah]

Re: what are these

fixed angle = brakes

Probably put on to hide hull deformation, improper load balance, or just good ol' fashioned opperator inability....

 

[lonemust]

Re: what are these

Well I would ask the PO if I was clarivoiunt. The PO past away in December I bought the boat at his estate auction. As for the tabs being homemade I know they are not. They just arenot hydraulic but they are adjustable. They look original to the boat from 1970. I am just curious what they are for. This is the third boat I have owned and the first time I have had them.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: what are these

Kind of like the flaps on an airplane wing, flaps go down nose goes up. Same on your boat if it has a hard time dropping the bow and getting on plane then the trim tabs(flaps) push down into the water and help the bow go down. Sometimes they are used as already mentioned to help a listing problem. Once on plane they don't do as much as they aren't pusing down much because the bow is down.

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: what are these

They're for setting your beer on when you're working on your outdrive.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: what are these

when you say they are adjustable are they adjustable from inside the boat while under way or do you have to go out and adjust them by hand?

BTW from that view anyway that boat looks really nice to be 1970 vintage....transoms are usually full of patched holes by this point.

 

[JimS123]

Re: what are these

I remember those quite well from about 20 years ago. I just can't remember who the manufacturer was. Tempo made a similar pair as well; Theirs were well labeled and painted white.

For a boat the size of yours, they can work wonders. Without the tabs, if you had any problems at all with porposing when you trim the drive out, they will eliminate that deficiency.

With as little as a 1/4" downward angle, it should allow you to run at full trim and probably pick up 3 mph in speed. The advantage to these is that you make a few trial and error adjustments, then leave them set forever. No moving parts to wear out. I speak from experience - I used the Tempo product. I never found a downside. As I recall they were only about 20 bucks too!

 

[Lrider]

Re: what are these

Nice article


http://books.google.com/books?id=m9...#v=onepage&q=Tempo Products trim tabs&f=false

 

[180shabah]

Re: what are these

Once on plane they don't do as much as they aren't pusing down much because the bow is down.

Actually the only time they provide no stern lift, is whent he boat is at rest. The faster you go, the moe lift they generate.

 

[MRS]

Re: what are these

Nice article


http://books.google.com/books?id=m9...#v=onepage&q=Tempo Products trim tabs&f=false

That was great 1980 and they said the same thing about tabs. Thanks enjoyed that got to get my tabs on soon.....

 

[lonemust]

Re: what are these

thanks for the info. I think i will leave them set where they are at. They are adjustable by wrench on the outside. TRial and error method.