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View Full Version : Can Trim Tabs be dangerous



troy
05-10-2008, 08:02 PM
When i had my 625 Cruise Craft i asked to fit trim tabs and his answer was it did not need them and they could be dangerous.
Any thoughts on this.
Troy

whiteman
05-10-2008, 08:51 PM
Yeah. I installed a Permatrim on my 115 Yammie 2s a few years ago to get better slow speed planing and better control. Never regretted this. This boat has been in all sorts of seas from offshore Sydney to many, many reef trips in its current home in Nth Qld. Never any danger from following seas which is an urban myth spread by others with an agenda.

Quaker
05-10-2008, 09:08 PM
Yeah. I installed a Permatrim on my 115 Yammie 2s a few years ago to get better slow speed planing and better control. Never regretted this. This boat has been in all sorts of seas from offshore Sydney to many, many reef trips in its current home in Nth Qld. Never any danger from following seas which is an urban myth spread by others with an agenda.

What's that got to do with trim tabs & why they're dangerous? :huh2:

-spiro-
05-10-2008, 09:12 PM
Troy if you don't want them i have a good home for them...lol

tenzing
05-10-2008, 09:25 PM
I had tabs fitted to the victory a few months ago. I cant imagine life without them now.
They help you nose down into the swell, correct a list effortlessly and deal with a sea coming onto your front quarter . I tend to get them pretty much out of the way in a following sea but I cant see where the danger is except if you make gross adjustments very quickly.
I'm a definite vote in favour.
Brendan

Angla
05-10-2008, 11:30 PM
Hey Tenzing, I have thought about them on my 575 outsider. I have used a set on a 6.8 metre plate boat once and found that they can be very scarey if used in the wrong conditions. We were going in towards Stanage bay boat ramp and I wanted to keep the nose down in the lumpy conditions as well as correcting a list towards the port side. I lowered the port trim only and it nearly flipped us out the starboard side. My advice would be to make small adjustments when using just one side and see what the effect is. When using both together then I think faster trimming would be fine. They worked really well at keeping the nose down when heading into the waves, which stops the boat from rising then crashing into the next wave hollow.

Chris

finding_time
06-10-2008, 07:55 AM
When i had my 625 Cruise Craft i asked to fit trim tabs and his answer was it did not need them and they could be dangerous.
Any thoughts on this.
Troy


Yep who ever said it was a fool!;)


The cruise craft DOES need tabs . in fact all mono hull boats over 5.5m should have them fitted as standard imho as they make a boat handle the differing conditions of the ocean soooooooo much better!;) I guess they could be dangerous if totally mishandled but mishandle a boat and it's dangerous, in fact mishandle a glass of water and it's dangerous!

It would take you about 15 minutes to start working out how to use tabs properly, not real difficult mate!


Ian

Chimo
06-10-2008, 10:56 AM
There are some really brilliant people on this site and Ian / Finding Time is one of them. Well said Ian. Spot on about boats from 5.5m on benefiting; be they tin, plate, plastic or glass.

When I first read this thread I thought what a load of BS; on the same basis drinking water, eating food and crossing a road are all dangerous if done wrong.

How about a bit of common sense pleeease!

Cheers
Chimo, a very GOM today.................

tenzing
06-10-2008, 01:09 PM
Hey Tenzing, I have thought about them on my 575 outsider. I have used a set on a 6.8 metre plate boat once and found that they can be very scarey if used in the wrong conditions. We were going in towards Stanage bay boat ramp and I wanted to keep the nose down in the lumpy conditions as well as correcting a list towards the port side. I lowered the port trim only and it nearly flipped us out the starboard side. My advice would be to make small adjustments when using just one side and see what the effect is. When using both together then I think faster trimming would be fine. They worked really well at keeping the nose down when heading into the waves, which stops the boat from rising then crashing into the next wave hollow.

Chris
Hey Chris,
I took mine for a run in the broadwater as soon as they were fitted, and had the same kind of experience.
Firstly in a balanced boat they are not that necessary in the still water.
Secondly, reading the instructions really helped. Bennett recommends activating them in 1/2 second bursts. Certainly when using both there is not such a problem but with one side at a time the short bursts are definitely the go as the boat takes a moment to react to the change.
The other thing is that the control pad with indicator lights is EXTREMELY useful.
My model has an automatic retractor feature which I have interrupted with a separate toggle switch, otherwise if you are drifting the little motor goes off for 10 secs every time you turn the boat motor off. I normally just activate it when we set out in the am , and when we turn for home.
Brendan

The-easyrider
06-10-2008, 02:06 PM
I've got them on the 650 sea legend and love them. Did have a moment once , had been running with the portside tab down to combat a rather stiff brease on the starboard bow . After stopping for a while then when we got going again this time in the different direction , motor trimed in and brease on the port bow gave it the berries to put it on the plane , came up on plane quickly but with a nasty lean to starboard as I had not retracted the trim tab , now I have got in the habit of retracting them as I come of the plane. Didn't think it was dangerous just a bit off putting.

uripper
06-10-2008, 02:59 PM
Ditto to all the above.
Have them on my HH560 - took a bit to learn optimum positions for tabs & motor trim in various conditions - a good fuel flow meter is invaluable.
Yes that can be dangerous ... in the hands of a reckless idiot or inexperienced tosser ... having them down in a following sea is usually asking for trouble ... like trying to pull a stuck anchor with a rear corner bollard.
A cautious approach / learning curve is all thats required & you'll enjoy much beeter ride & probably better economy /performance depending on your rig & how you drive it.

MalM

troy
06-10-2008, 07:21 PM
There are some really brilliant people on this site and Ian / Finding Time is one of them. Well said Ian. Spot on about boats from 5.5m on benefiting; be they tin, plate, plastic or glass.

When I first read this thread I thought what a load of BS; on the same basis drinking water, eating food and crossing a road are all dangerous if done wrong.

How about a bit of common sense pleeease!

Cheers
Chimo, a very GOM today.................
Chimo
This came from the Dealer i bought the boat from and he had the same boat.
Just curious as to why he would say this as he would have got extra dollars.
Troy

Tazmaniac
06-10-2008, 07:36 PM
Had them on my last 2 boats and they were great for all the reasons already mentioned. Never found them dangerous. Don't have them on my latest boat but wish I did !
Taz.

Greg P
06-10-2008, 07:42 PM
Chimo
This came from the Dealer i bought the boat from and he had the same boat.
Just curious as to why he would say this as he would have got extra dollars.
Troy


Troy - a few years back I went to the Cruisecraft dealer here in Brisbane to look at a new 625 Outsider. The guy I spoke to there told me exactly the same thing that CCs did not require trim tabs and his reasoning was that they had relatively little wind heel due to the lower sides compared to other boats. ::)::)::)::) He was a member of the nicholls family too.


Anyway - that was his theory. I think any boat will benefit from tabs. Anything you do wrong while operating tabs you only do once :-X

TheRealAndy
06-10-2008, 07:52 PM
I was going to say that owning a boat can be dangerous, but I think Chimo summed it up very well!

finding_time
06-10-2008, 07:52 PM
The americans have it all over the aussies in this respect with many of there boats being moulded with recessed area's for the tabs and having them fitted as standard!


Greg P

Did he really say that? I guess he forgot about all that lovely staino work that's covered in clears and cloth that CC's have.;) Talk about getting carried away with ones self!

Ian

Vitamin Sea
06-10-2008, 08:42 PM
Agree totally with Ian, all mono's' over 17' will benefit from tabs, flat days don't need them at all, but put a bit of wind on and they are great for leveling the ride, if nothing else.

Only possible problem I can think of is if you have tabs extended whilst you are traveling down hill, as you want the bow up.

Don't listen to the dealer Troy, he is full of it:-X

Cheers

VS

ozscott
06-10-2008, 09:05 PM
Mate - you probably have an overwhelming sense by now that trim tabs are hugely popular here.

I fitted my 1970s Seafarer Vagabond with a set of Bennetts and never looked back - it transformed the ride and slow speed ride in really rough conditions.

The list issue is just not an issue in heavy side wind when they are being used.

I cannot see them being dangerous - even in a following sea provided in those conditions they are trimmed up. They add waterline length in effect also which is handy.

They are a wholly different proposition to a cav plate mounted foil. I doubt I would ever had another 5m plus glass boat without a set.

Cheers

ScottB
07-10-2008, 11:15 AM
I think that tabs will make a bad boat good, and a good boat even better. I do think that they can be dangerous, for all of the reasons mentioned above, But the best piece of advice I got on them is that as soon as you are heading with the sea, put both of the tabs all the way up and leave them there. Tabs should never be used while travelling downsea. I wouldnt be without them now.

Scott

gofishin
07-10-2008, 06:02 PM
Dangerous...! Unfortunately sales people sometimes say the most ridiculous things, and this is one of them.

Well I suppose the steering wheel is dangerous too as it will let you steer into another boat or a stationary object, the prop is dangerous as it might slice someone up...gee, where do you stop!

Like any ‘performance’ orientated equipment on a boat, correct tabs operation needs to be learned, and yes they could ‘raise an eyebrow’ if used incorrectly. But hell, it won’t take you long to realise that something‘s not right & adjust the tabs accordingly! As someone said, you’d only do it once.

I took my new 685 CC out for her maiden voyage on Sunday and came back from Peel (to Manly) in a nasty 20+ kn Northerly, wind against tide, with a decent wind heel due to full campers/clears, and boy was I crying out for my tabs. I have bought them, but decided not to get them fitted until I work out how to modify the ladder (and give it an extra rung) so that the tabs can be installed out wide where they are supposed to be & not half way in to the motor - but that's another story!


The americans have it all over the aussies in this respect with many of there boats being moulded with recessed area's for the tabs and having them fitted as standard!...Yep, but it's good to see we are slowly catching on. I see the bigger Whittley's and the new Haines Patriot have them recessed.


...I cant imagine life without them nowTroy, you will find that anyone who has had them will say the same, and when you don't have em you miss them like hell.


...in fact all mono hull boats over 5.5m should have them fitted as standard imho as they make a boat handle the differing conditions of the ocean soooooooo much better!...Agree 100%, but I guess there is also the argument that for the smaller boats it will add an extra 1.3k that might make brand X seem expensive compared to the others, and it's always the push for less $'s that drives the decisions unfortunately

Once you have had tabs, you will never go without them. Best grand + you will ever spend.
cheers

troy
07-10-2008, 07:21 PM
I do not have a problem with tabs as i have them on my new boat.
Just asking why the Dealer of my ex boat said they do not need them and can be dangerous.
Curious of why he would say this as Grep P was told the same thing.
I guess a following sea with one side down would be a reason why the boat would be in a not safe mode.
That is the only thing i can see where you could get into trouble.
I stand to be corrected.
Troy