which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

[suzukidave]

the questions is smart tabs or adjustable (probably bennetts as I have heard great things about their rep) for an 80s era grady white 19 tournament? has anyone tried either on a hull like the grady?

my perspectve is i like smart tabs because i'm moving up from a 16' deep and about 5 years ago i put nauticus self adjusting smart tabs on the 16' and they have been nothing short of brilliant for that boat. it has a 55hp outboard which is small for the boat but the tabs let me trim the motor vertically which added a little speed and it is an effortless boat to steer and handles a small chop like it is nothing.

so I'm now looking at an older grady 19 tournament and i sea trialled one yesterday. the ride with a 175 evinrude included porpoising and pounding and slow turns and was generally a lot less smooth than my little 16 in the same water and the owner seemed to think this was normal. I just could not trim it to where i want it. I will definitely add tabs if i get this boat model, especially as i am looking at another one with a 120 and wouldn't want to be sacrificing any outboard power to trim the boat right.

My question is whether adjustable trim tabs are necessary or can i stick with smart tabs? the main advantage i can see with the smart tabs is that they self adjust with the shocks so you do not have to adjust all the time (plus new gas shocks only cost me $11 each 8) ). obviously the main advantage of the adjustables is just that. for a smaller draft 19' boat like the grady i'm wondering whether it is worth it. I have run a very deep v cuddy cabin i/o boat with full size bennetts and you have to work the tabs constantly when the sea is complicated. otoh i am getting the bigger boat because my family is getting bigger and i find myself carrying more and more people so maybe i need flexibility to adjust for loads? plus maybe the inflexibility of the smart tabs can cause a problem with a bigger hull?

for those not familiar, the grady is 18' 11" length, 8' beam and 2075lbs without the motor. hull is a deep v but not as deep as many.

 

[dingbat]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

That Grady is going to ride entirely different than what you’re accustomed too. Grady uses a modified V hull which will pound a bit in heavy seas but is vastly superior to a Deep V as far as stability is concerned at while at drift.

I've now owned 3 different Grady’s (204, 208, and a 226) and they all ran a bit bow high so you need a good set of adjustable tabs and lots of HP to get the hull up on the planning surface. Once on the pad you can back off on the throttle a bit but an underpowered Grady isn’t going to cut it. If you're purposing you definitely had the drive trimmed up way too much. Until I went with a good SS prop and added tabs I had to keep the trim buried to make enough lift to get the bow down to where I wanted it to be.

The 175 hp on that boat should give adequate performance and I could not even imagine only having 120 HP on the back of a boat. What a dog that must be.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

Dave, I have Bennett's on my 19' SeaRay. I mainly use them in the ocean to slow down and still stay on plane. Clearly SmartTabs cannot do this. Occasionally I use them to balance load when some of my fat-A** buddies join me. Although the price difference is substancial, I think the Bennet's are the best choice. Get the largest ones that will fit the Grady, certainly a size or two above what they recommend.

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

Chris 1956;

One of the best advantages of our Smart Tabs (or any Trim Tabs System) is reducing the minimum on plane speed. Typically a boat of this size must run between 20 and 22 MPH to hold plane consistantly. With Smart Tabs the minimum plane speed will drop to about 15 MPH +/- 1mph. Side to side control is similar to a car suspension system.

My guess is that you have not been in a boat with Smart Tabs. When we introduced these to the market, very few people believed they would work at all, and no one believed we would be in the market more than a year or two. It is now seven years. Try them you will like them!

 

[suzukidave]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

thanks to all for the commens and sea hunter, many thanks on the grady comments. that is very interesting about grady handling and not at all what I’ve been hearing although it makes a lot of sense and explains plenty. I run in semi-sheltered salt water in the pacific northwest so I don’t need to run ocean swells but rather cut through a closely spaced steep chop often with tide and current and wind from different inlets conflicting to give you a mess. most conditions I encounter can be cut through by a good deep v hull. I consider the classic whalers unsuited for these waters because you don’t need the stability they offer bad enough to endure the ride. maybe it’s the same with grady’s. not a ton of them out here but I attributed that to distance.
from your experience with grady’s, do you happen to know if the pre-seav2 grady hulls have the same ride characteristics. the other tournament 19 I’m looking at is an earlier hull and looks to be a somewhat deeper v?
also, either way, do you think a set of tabs will smooth things out in a small sea? The sea trial was in a seav2 19’ hull in a one foot chop with the odd ferry wake to contend with so I was quite surprised about the bumpy ride I got. it porpoised and banged in small waves with the motor trimmed right in. one thing I noticed about the seav2 hull is that the chines start much higher on the hull at the bow than on the older hull or on a normal deep v, so I figured you are supposed to trim it well forward and that I just couldn’t do that with power trim alone with that big heavy v6 hanging on the back, hence my though that trim tabs would do the job.

 

[dingbat]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

II boat on the Chesapeake Bay which is famous for its short, confused chop so I can certainly relate to your situation.


I’ve had both the old and V2 hulls and while the V2 is certainly an improvement I doubt that I'd turn down a good deal on a pre V2 hull because of it. With the right prop and a set of adjustable tabs ( I used a Stiletto and a set a 12 X 12 Bennetts)either of these hulls will ride as “soft” as any out there once you get the hang of it.

As for the tabs, I don’t know why they’re an option with Grady. Every Grady I’ve ever been on either had a set or needed a set. It’s not optional in my book.

The thing you need to keep in mind is that even in protected waters it’s still only a 19’ boat. Putting tabs and the right prop on the boat will go a long ways toward a better ride but you know what they say, there’s no replacement for displacement. d

 

[mattttt25]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

go with helm controlled, just my opinion. also surprised it doesn't already have them. as for the hull, i have heard complaints about pre-sv2 hulls. maybe not complaints, but most people i know stay away from the older grady's for that reason. in reality, the sv2 hull has really helped make what grady is today. whatever you do, good luck and join the club... it's a fun one, trust me!!!

 

[suzukidave]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

thanks for the advice folks on gradys and tabs and it was nice to hear from mr. nauticus. think i'll go with the bennetts if if i get the grady but i may try smart tabs again and even if i don't kudos to mr nauticus for having a great product. they were definitely the best money i spent on that boat and allowed me to keep it a couple of extra years as my kids got bigger. in a small chop I have often pulled away at full throttle from very similar boats with bigger motors because the other guys were bouncing so much they could not stay on the gas.

 

[Boatist]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

Dave
I have a 21 foot Crestliner by 94 inches beam and it weights 2800 pounds dry with a 140 hp I/O.
I went with the bennett 24 by 12 cord and I love them. Made my boat ride like it was 4 foot longer. I can adjust for any condition. I boat in the ocean out of Bodega Bay but also boat in San Francisco Bay and local lakes and rivers here in Sacramento.

I got the biggest tabs that would fit on my boat. My planning speed with out the tabs is 18 to 20 MPH depending on fuel load plus people and gear. With the tabs all the way down can stay on plane to 9 MPH.

On windy days My boat always leans into the wind. In the ocean and San Francisco bay with the boat leaning into the wind the chop and swells would come off the side of the boat. The spray would go up into the air and the wind would blow it all over the back half ot the boat. With the tabs I adjust the windy side tab down to get boat level. Now instead of the spray comming off the side of the boat it comes off the bottom. The spray shoot out to the side instead of up into the air. The wind still tries to blow it on board but by the time it does the boat has moved foward and the back of the boat stays dry.

As you know every day is different but with helm adjustable trim tabs you can always adjust for the best ride. When your out on the lake and the water is glassy I set the bow a little higher for more speed at the same RPMS. If I round a bend and see a big boat pulling a wake boarder making big wave. I touch the tabs and bring the bow down for best wave cutting ride.

If you ever do go out into the ocean one thing you do not want with a following sea is trim tabs down, they need to be all the way up to be safe.

One thing I would suggest if you get Bennett Tabs is get the dual rocker switches instead of the Joy stick. For me just eaiser to control exactually what you want to do. With the joy stick like I started with I had to think about which way to press the switch but with the dual rocker switch do not have to think about it at all.

 

[dingbat]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

[quote ]If you ever do go out into the ocean one thing you do not want with a following sea is trim tabs down, they need to be all the way up to be safe. [/quote]

It's going to be an issue with a following sea no matter where you are. I'd be interested in hearing how you're supposed to deal with this condtion using Smart tabs.

 

[BillP]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

Boatist,
Excellent post showing the reality of why cockpit controlled tabs are the best for all around use.

 

[xtraham]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

seahunter, what part of the Chesapeake are you from?

 

[suzukidave]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

boatist, thanks for the comments. wind trim is something to think about for sure as the grady has more windage than my current boat. On tab size, I had heard to go wide as possible with tabs but not deep on a sub 20' hull. The local guy said he questioned whether a 12" chord was too much for a 19'.

for those who commented, smart tabs are retractable but you do it manually with a rope and a jam cleat. they have never caused me any problems in a following sea although i am fortunate that with the prevailing winds near me I can usually quarter the waves.

 

[dingbat]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

seahunter, what part of the Chesapeake are you from?

Chesapeake Beach

 

[dingbat]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

On tab size, I had heard to go wide as possible with tabs but not deep on a sub 20' hull. The local guy said he questioned whether a 12" chord was too much for a 19'.

Bennett recommends 18 x 9" tabs for a 19’ boat. In my case I didn’t have 18” of space because of sensors and such on the transom so Bennett recommended that I use a 12” x 12”tab instead. I had 12” x 12” on both the 204 and the 208 (both 20’) and was very happy with the performance.

 

[Boatist]

Re: which trim tabs for a grady white 19'?

The reason I decided to go with the biggest I could fit on the transom and leave room for transducers, temp sensors and speed wheel.

I wanted to have a lot of control and be able to run slow in the ocean but stay up on plane when it is really rough. (8 feet every 8 seconds)

The reason I went with the 12 cord was because I figure as the Bow pushes up the back of the tab goes deeper and helps the bow stay down. Level the ride.

If I were to change anything on my boat I might go to a little narrower tab to make more room for transducer on the stern.

I think they now make some with 18 inch cord designed for high speed boats.

My tabs are bigger than recomended and with the tabs all the way down if i was to go full throttle the bow would plow so bad as to be unsafe. Only two times I put them all the way down. When running into big swells in the ocean where I want to run as slow as possible. Also when fishing at anchor near a tide change or on a windy day I put then all the way down to create more drag like a sea anchor to hold the boat straight.

One thing I have alway worried about was the tabs cutting a fishing line on that trophy fish but to this day it has not happend. They were installed in 1981.

I taken hundreds of people fishing, some pro's some very good amatuer and some that had no idea how to rig or work a fish at all but tabs have never cut a line.

I must say anytime I take someone who does not fish with me on a regular basis, the first thing I do before we launch it take them around to the stern and point out all the fishing line hazards. A I/O stern drive, a Kicker, two trim tabs, speed sensor, two transducers and a pitot tube.

If not anchored and we hook a really big fish I allways start one engine to control the boat and the position of the fish to the boat. Sturgeon we follow until the fish and fisherman get tired, Salmon just make sure the fish does not swim under the back of the boat in the begining.

I am proud to say only had one fish break a line an I will never use that line again. I had the fish on for 10 minutes and he jumped 6 times then on number seven the line broke. The line was less than one month old and was 40 pound test SPIDER LINE JUNK. Drag set to 8 lb on a 90 degree pull with a medium taper E Glass rod. Also fishing for bass we had another guy useing spider line and he had to glue the knots to keep them from coming untied. Been kind of a project of mine to test different lines, over 40 now, lots of spectra line and a lot of small diameter Mono Lines.

Only found two I will not use SPIDER LINE and KEVLAR but I do not think they make kevlar any more.