Trim Tabs

[Boater]

I have a 22' Searunner w/hardtop. With my 9.9 kicker and e-dyne puller and davit both on the left side of the boat, I find I have to weight my boat heavily on the right side to run more or less level.

I've been thinking about having trim tabs installed. Does anybody have any experiance or advise about installing these?

Thanks

[alaskapiranha]

they are easy enough Bennet comes with good instructions, good factory help too, they are the way to go for that when running lopesided

[Snowwolfe]

Personally my opinion is trim tabs should be installed on any boat other than a flat bottom one. As people move around, fuel tanks are emptied, etc they are invaluable to help a boat run level.
Even the larger, better quality inboard jet boats now come with them.

[SkinnyRaven]

I have a 22' Searunner w/hardtop. With my 9.9 kicker and e-dyne puller and davit both on the left side of the boat, I find I have to weight my boat heavily on the right side to run more or less level.

I've been thinking about having trim tabs installed. Does anybody have any experiance or advise about installing these?

Thanks

It seems in general most listing issues tend to be on the port side, assuming you have the extended transom and your load is constant you might consider adjusting the manual trim tabs on the ET, the local dealer has a tool for this and more than likely will let you borrow it. Adjustment information can be found in the owners manual and available on line at Hewescraft.

[russiarulez]

A buddy has trim tabs on his 20 foot searunner and they work great for keeping the boat level. The only downside to trim tabs that I can see is added drag, but I doubt it is very much.

[skydiver]

Personally my opinion is trim tabs should be installed on any boat other than a flat bottom one. As people move around, fuel tanks are emptied, etc they are invaluable to help a boat run level.
Even the larger, better quality inboard jet boats now come with them.

A friend put trim tabs on his C-Dory. When he was pounding through the waves he could put the tabs down (putting the bow down) and substancially smooth out the ride.

[Boater]

they are easy enough Bennet comes with good instructions, good factory help too, they are the way to go for that when running lopesided

I went to the Bennet website and they do seem to have a good product. Thanks for the tip.

Given that I just put on the e-dyne puller and davit, I'll be saving my pennies to make the trim tab upgrade next spring.

[AkGrumpy]

Anyone ever put Trim Tabs on a Wooldridge Alaskan with an outboard? My boat always seems to run a little stern low and bow high.

[Doug from Anchorage]

Anyone ever put Trim Tabs on a Wooldridge Alaskan with an outboard? My boat always seems to run a little stern low and bow high.

You can usually correct your level with the trim on your outboard. That said, cruising with a level trim, is not fuel efficient. If you can get the front 1/4 of your hull out of the water (bow up), you will have less drag. That's just my observation on a 20' searunner.

[AK_Kid]

Strongly advise installing trim tabs. The guy who runs Bennet is on forums frequently providing advice about the products Bennet sells. If something isn't working right, he often offers to fix it at no cost.

With that said, it's always best to try to resolve a list by redistributing weight. I had the same issue and moved my batteries to the other side of the boat. That helped.

[broncoformudv]

Another option than standard trim tabs are the Volvo ones, simpler design and nothing sticking out from your transom.

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/TrimTabsVOLVO.htm

[broncoformudv]

Anyone ever put Trim Tabs on a Wooldridge Alaskan with an outboard? My boat always seems to run a little stern low and bow high.

With your Wooldridge the hull extends an inch or so past the transom. You can take a pair of vise grips and bend this up or down to adjust the way your boat sits when on plane. It does not take much so be gentle with it.

[AkGrumpy]

With the motor trimmed in as far as it will go I seem to run bow high. Everytime I hit (bars or rocks) it is always the the foot on the jet unit. And that is with a tunnel hull. When I am running in deep water, I agree, the front 1/4 or 1/3 out of the water the boat runs better and less rpm for the same speed.

You can usually correct your level with the trim on your outboard. That said, cruising with a level trim, is not fuel efficient. If you can get the front 1/4 of your hull out of the water (bow up), you will have less drag. That's just my observation on a 20' searunner.

[AkGrumpy]

With your Wooldridge the hull extends an inch or so past the transom. You can take a pair of vise grips and bend this up or down to adjust the way your boat sits when on plane. It does not take much so be gentle with it.

That may be an option too.

[akdeweyj]

These are the ones that Hewescraft puts on their boats. http://www.lectrotab.com/ I added them to my 22' SeaRunner about 5 years ago & it was the best $500 I put into the boat.