Seafarer Victory trim tab pictures please

[Deelirious]

I have just picked up a second hand seafarer and after asking around was informed that Bennetts sports tabs m-120 with the rams swapped out for the extra short rams fit "under" the swim platform, without having to cut out the swim platform.

I've just sized mine up and can't see how I am going to avoid cutting out the platform.

Can anyone who has installed tabs on a seafarer victory please post some pictures of them installed - regardless of what sort of tab or if they go through the platform.

It would be great to see one set that doesn't cut through the swim platform though?

Thanks in advance for your help guys.
Eddie J

[gofishin]

Try here http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=157541&highlight=sig+tabs
look for Chimo's post with pics.
cheers

[TimiBoy]

Bung on a set of these Mate!

Cheers,

Tim

[Chimo]

Hi Eddie

I was looking through a catalogue at Viper boats the other day and Lenco have tabs with really short rams too. These may even fit under your step.

You may find that lencos or bennetts will create less drag than the other type of tab. Also interesting to see that lenco have a change over ram to fit Bennets if you want to get away from oil.

Ask Pedrodepacus for the info, he has the book

Cheers
Chimo

[Deelirious]

Thanks guys,
I am happy with the concept of the bennetts and agree with Tim in the other post that fitting the Qls would be a big job in the victory, but its all relative if I'm not prepared to cut out the swim platforms. Chimo yours look fine but even then, cutting out the swim platform while they are on the boat without damaging the transom will be tricky.

I spoke with the factory today to the guy who does the installations and he assured me that on the seafarer you have to cut the swim platform even with the extra short rams just enough to get the tip of the top ram mount coming through. He also said that how much comes through is dependent on the exact height of the platform which can vary by as much as an inch, which would make all the difference.
I'll see how I go.
Cheers
Ed

[Isaac]

Eddie, Just wheel it back into my shed and bring a couple of cartons, I've got plenty of gear to make holes with ;D ;D ;D

[Chimo]

Eddie

Don't worry about a couple of little holes in the steps.

If it was in the bottom I might be concerned:P

Cheers
Chimo

[Deelirious]

Thanks for the help guys, everyones input has been very valuable, although Ben I think I saw some of those "tools" there in your shed the other day (at least one of them was drinking beer) and I'm pretty sure none of them are going near my boat with a hole saw.

I've managed to get the tabs under the swim platforms but not by myself. A good friend of mine CJ helped out yet again, the man is an engineering legend. Anyhow it involved moving the bottom ram mount on the tab, changed the trim max extension a bit but preserved the correct amount of negative trim. I haven't got any pictures yet as the whole thing is still only tacked into place with a few self tappers until I get around to actually reparing some of the old holes in the transom and finishing the installation. Should all be done this weekend and following some on water tests to ensure all is ok I'll post some pics for others who are interested. I've definitely lost some max bow down but I figure I've already got enough max down now with the engine alone so hopefully Ive got enough trim for side to side correction - only time will tell.
Ed

[Deelirious]

OK to all the guys that helped me out I have finally finished my installation and am uploading some pics for you to have a look at. It took a while as there were some related jobs like moving the transducer, disconnecting an external pieto (spelling?) tube and hooking up the one from the engine, repairing the old holes etc but we are all done now.

The job was actually quite simple. Follow the instructions in the kit and install the tabs and rams. This results in permanent down trim, soooo....

remove the tabs and cut off the bottom ram mount then reassemble on the boat moving the bottom ram mount rearwards until you have the correct amount of negative trim (as per instructions). Clamp the bracket, remove the tabs tig weld them back in place and fill the holes left by the rivets used to fix it to its original position - I used the very same rivets just welded them back into the hole. Reassemble on the boat and seal into place and you have bennets hydraulic trim tabs on a seafarer victory without cutting out the swim platform.

I say the job was simple but I would never have been able to do it without the help of my mate CJ and his astute engineering prowess so thanks heaps for help mate. I should also thank his wife who looked after the kids granting us the shed time required to do the job.

Thanks also to my wife who has looked after my kids for the last couple of weekends while i've been buried in the boat - hopefully it will pay off when we are at 1770 next week.

This mod results in a reduced amount of down trim - it still looks significant but the proof will be in the pudding.

The top mount of the ram is above the floor level inside which means I haven't had to cut the floor out to mount them or run hydraulic lines.

Pics to follow.

[Chimo]

Hi deelight


You can resize pis to 600 by whatever it comes out at; usually about 450 ish. Lots easier to see than the 150 by 113 that you posted.

Hard to tell from the pics you posted but are the tabs, when up, in the same line as the hull bottom ie parallel ?

Cheers
Chimo

[Deelirious]

Chimo,
I resized the pics to 800 pixels wide as per instructions and then they were still too big so I just cut them back further onviously too much. They aren't great pics though anyway as I was limited for room in the shed.

The leading edge of the tab (attached to the boat) is 1/4 inch higher than base of transom and the trailing edge is 5/8 inch higher than base of transom giving negative trim. These measures are as per the instructions. Haines said they set up about 1 inch of negative trim I figured there wasn't much in it and I'm happy with the amount that these give me.

I took them for a run today and was very happy. Because of the negative trim you have a short period of inaction when first pushing them down but from then on they are very responsive. Heaps of side to side control and bow down was excellent when taking off out of the hole into a slow plane. min planing speed and ease of planing was greatly improved. They will be excellent for wakeboarding which we do at about 22kn and they give the wake a nice shape and some degree of control over the wake shape also.

Next time I've got it out I'll take some better pics I've resized the originals of those so I pretty sure they are ruined now.

Ed

[Deelirious]

Final report on this in case anyone is interested:

Just had the boat at 1770 for 2 weeks in horrible weather and although I only got out twice...

The tabs work great, I haven't found a situation where I do not have enough down trim despite the poor conditions and reasonable load on board. I haven't had any issues with the installation, modification or operation of the tabs. If I do I'll attempt to ressurect this post and update it so until then knock yourself out and stop hacking up the swim platforms on these beautiful boats.
Ed

[Shayne_Blue]

I am in the process of fitting up QL tabs to my Victory, so far so good. All the holes are drilled and sealed, I will have the system fitted up in the next few days so I will post some photos and show you the result. One thing I did find out however is that boat builders (even Seafarer) do not take that much care when laying up floors. The starboard side is 20mm lower than the port side at the transom.

Shayne