Trim tabs - your thoughts?
Submitted by beeroclock on Wed, 2021-05-12 14:15
Gday guys, ive just finished a complete refurbish of a voyager marquis (old school 7.2m fibreglass ) and done pod extension after removing the big old chev v8 inboard. Whacked a new 4st 250hp yamaha on , sea trialed a few times and i couldnt be happier with her. Ive had 6 smaller boats previously and none of them ever had trim tabs. I know the main reason for trim tabs is to level boat off if its leaning due to poor weight distribution. Apart from that is there any other good reason to add trim tabs? Its just that ive always found uneven weight distribution is not to hard to solve by moving gear around. any pro's and con's for trim tabs greatly appreciated cheers dave
paul d
Posts: 252
Date Joined: 16/03/13
They are also great to stop
They are also great to stop the bow porpoising and keeping the bow down when heading into sloppy seas.
wagyl
Posts: 218
Date Joined: 08/03/09
I have lenco electric trim tabs
and they are really great putting the nose down into the seas giving a much more comfortable ride. Also, as you say, to balance the boat. When you have them down you can feel the drag and do use more fuel, but can certainly ride much better into the sea. Don't forget, you can vary the amount you use them and can adjust them to suit conditions.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
They do make a big
They do make a big difference if you have a following sea. I found with a bit of fine tuning it helps keep you straight . And as mentioned great for going head on into the slop
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
dano83
Posts: 790
Date Joined: 25/05/12
Zip wakes
Just got some Zipwakes for my boat had them for 6 months now
its 5.9 and very narow boat so it was very unpleasent and a danger to drive as it was unstable underway, would list from the motors and lean to the wind.
I didnt have room for the typical trim tabs so had to get the zip wake type.
I am so glad I did!!!!
its a completly diferent boat!!! The thing self levels roll and pitch to give you optimum performance you can tune it up to your boat as you drive it.
the auto roll corrects it in rough seas and you can adust how harshly
and it holds the boat dead on its knifes edge.... just for example i used to be able to do 15 kn in chop being very on edge to being very capable and sure footed and comfortably get about 25 knots plus out the same conditions.
depending on how hard you want to cop a beating or jump waves !
Totally rate them!!
And id spend the extra $$ to go the zip wakes all day long !
J Mann
Posts: 47
Date Joined: 02/09/15
trim tabs
There is the old saying that trim tabs make a good boat a great boat.
I put some Lenco's on my Cruisecraft OS 595 and they made a huge difference. As a couple of guys have already mentioned they are great for keeping the bow down when heading into sloppy seas. As my boat isn't as deep v hull it did slap a bit, now feels like it's stuck to the water and doesn't take flight. Great for heading to Rotto in summer from Hillary's into strong south easterlies.
Wish I did it years ago!!
Jim
Posts: 1321
Date Joined: 05/05/06
Ahhh, another thing to add
Ahhh, another thing to add to the wishlist!!! my new boat bloody porpoises and its bit of a pain.
Good work on the rebuild 7.2m voyager sounds likje a beast
Bend over
davewillo
Posts: 2258
Date Joined: 08/09/16
I have them on my Searay and
I have them on my Searay and admittedly it's a bigger boat at 30 foot but they really help the ride. Weight distribution isn't a big deal so it's more trimming it to ocean conditions. I don't use a lot of adjustment but it certainly makes for a more comfortable ride.
PGFC member and lure tragic
brown364
Posts: 247
Date Joined: 25/08/15
have them
on the thunderbird and they make a massive diff for leveling out if some heavy bugger doesnt want to move his weight for risk of getting wet. Small adjustments make a mamouth difference to a ride.
Gunnawundai
Posts: 43
Date Joined: 04/04/18
Looking at them
For my 6.2 metre Coraline. Would like to hear pros and cons of Zipwake vs conventional trim tabs. Zipwakes are costly but are they so much better?
The Coraline is a good boat but it does piss me off when people move from side to side while steaming and the boat takes on a list. Also I wonder if they would help to stop the boat dropping off the plane in a following sea?
Comments guys?
dano83
Posts: 790
Date Joined: 25/05/12
zipwakes are basically a
zipwakes are basically a block with an interceptor a 30ish mm blade that inserts vertically straight in the water (slimline and discreet)
coventional is a flat blade about 200-300mm long and pushes its flat surface against the water (chance of fowling on ladders)
the Zip wakes interceptor design makes it react faster making the auto roll perform better
It has a great digital gauge with buttons that make it easy to use in manual mode (twist left or right) but you will never use manual mode
you can tune them to your boats weight and size then adjust them to your individual requirements
it uses gps satalights to keep your boat level and stable (im not sure if conventional does this)
I didnt really have a choice due to the design of my boat so i was hesitant... but id do it again in a heartbeat. changed my boat from a POS in anychop
to Something prety damn decent.
go the biggest you can get to it will peform better
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
TAB's
New boat has trim tabs where as all my previous boats I have used manual weight distribution like you
I would never have another ocean going boat with out them.
Being able to mix motor trim with tab adjustment gives you so much more ability to trim adjust for the conditions, loads, wind/sea directions
richie68
Posts: 165
Date Joined: 07/08/11
100% for trim tabs
Put Trim tabs (Lenco) on my 6m caribbean and have never looked back. Would not want a boat without them now, for all the reasons mentioned above.