Trim Tab size for a Seafarer Vagabond

[JJV555]

Hi All,

Looking for some advise from fellow Seafarer Vagabond owners or someone that has had experience with fitting tabs to Vagabond's.

I am considering putting a set of Lenco's on however l am unclear as to what is the perfect size tab, is the 9x9 suitable or should l go the 12(L)x9(W)

Have read plenty of post on here and thanks for the detailed pics Chimo they are great especially the ones that show the cut out through the duck boards

Was considering going the 12 x 9 edge mount and fitting the short stroke actuator 101XDS to keep everything under the duck boards which by my measurements will fit but not to sure if this is the right size and it is getting very close to the boarding ladder on the duck board with the 12".

Any advice suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The vagabond is a 2001 with a single outboard

Thanks in advance.
John

[Chimo]

John

IMHO 9 x 9 is all you need based on how mine affect the boats presentation to side wind and waves and ditto for fore and aft trim ie bow up or down "ness" As you know mine has two motors two oil bottles and also 4 batteries in the bum and the tabs even then do up lift the tail when moving,due to hull lengthening I guess. Any how you could fit 9 wide and 12 long and let us know how they go. Maybe even more is good but Lindsay Fry who fitted and nominated the size on mine and who appeared to be one who never skimped on power or anything else went 9 by 9.

Cheers
Chimo

[tenzing]

Chimo's comments are obviously more valid as they relate to the exact same hull, however for what its worth I have 12X10 (250 X300) I think, Bennetts on my victory and they are perfect.
I think if you could fit the longer tab in you will be able to get the benefit of more lift, hull length and side to side for little more cost or effort.
Also for what its worth I think that getting the geometry of the tabs right is a lot more important then not cutting the duckboards. I havent regretted cutting mine for a minute ( except when the installer tried to seal the gap with silicone (GGRRRR!)
Cheer
Brendan

[tenzing]

Attached Thumbnails - Click to enlarge

Cheers
Brendan

[JJV555]

Chimo's comments are obviously more valid as they relate to the exact same hull, however for what its worth I have 12X10 (250 X300) I think, Bennetts on my victory and they are perfect.
I think if you could fit the longer tab in you will be able to get the benefit of more lift, hull length and side to side for little more cost or effort.
Also for what its worth I think that getting the geometry of the tabs right is a lot more important then not cutting the duckboards. I havent regretted cutting mine for a minute ( except when the installer tried to seal the gap with silicone (GGRRRR!)
Cheer
Brendan

Hi Brendan,

Can l just confirm, your tab lenght is 12" long is my understanding correct?

Could you please explain what you mean by providing more lift with a longer tab what will this actually do, sorry for the stupid question.

Regards
John

[Chimo]

Hi Brendon

Interesting pics. Your tab "up" position appears quite high cf to mine which, when up, seem to just follow the hull line all be it with their 3mm space as set when Seafarer fitted them.
Do you know if that was to allow for the rt angle strengthening section of your tab clearing the hull water flow when you have the tabs set in the up position?

Size wise, there must be a "sweet" spot size that limits drag but allows for optimum tab benefit given that all tabs must when in use, burn some fuel. Ref to Peter Webster's comment about the impacts good and bad (loss of 1 kn speed) from the tabs he fitted to one of his recent boats.

Cheers
Chimo

[tenzing]

Hi Brendon

Interesting pics. Your tab "up" position appears quite high cf to mine which, when up, seem to just follow the hull line all be it with their 3mm space as set when Seafarer fitted them.
Do you know if that was to allow for the rt angle strengthening section of your tab clearing the hull water flow when you have the tabs set in the up position?

Size wise, there must be a "sweet" spot size that limits drag but allows for optimum tab benefit given that all tabs must when in use, burn some fuel. Ref to Peter Webster's comment about the impacts good and bad (loss of 1 kn speed) from the tabs he fitted to one of his recent boats.

Cheers
Chimo

Hi Chimo,
"Not really sure " is the answer.
I rarely if ever have the tabs fully up, its just that I use the auto retract when I trailer the boat only. remember that I cut the retact wire and put in a toggle to stop the very annoying and useless function that retracts the tabs for 10 secs every time you go to the top of your drift.

I only know that several differnt setups seem to work, and I am 100 percent happy with mine.
Cheers Mate
Brendan

[stue2]

Hi Chimo,
"Not really sure " is the answer.
I rarely if ever have the tabs fully up, its just that I use the auto retract when I trailer the boat only. remember that I cut the retact wire and put in a toggle to stop the very annoying and useless function that retracts the tabs for 10 secs every time you go to the top of your drift.

I only know that several differnt setups seem to work, and I am 100 percent happy with mine.
Cheers Mate
Brendan

Hi Brendan, can you remember which one is the retract wire? Think I will do the same.

Cheers, Stu

[tenzing]

Hi Brendan, can you remember which one is the retract wire? Think I will do the same.

Cheers, Stu

Sorry again for delay
I think the purple one but I can double check that a little later
Certainly not unhappy with my decision in that regard.
Brendan

[tenzing]

Hi Brendon

Interesting pics. Your tab "up" position appears quite high cf to mine which, when up, seem to just follow the hull line all be it with their 3mm space as set when Seafarer fitted them.
Do you know if that was to allow for the rt angle strengthening section of your tab clearing the hull water flow when you have the tabs set in the up position?

Size wise, there must be a "sweet" spot size that limits drag but allows for optimum tab benefit given that all tabs must when in use, burn some fuel. Ref to Peter Webster's comment about the impacts good and bad (loss of 1 kn speed) from the tabs he fitted to one of his recent boats.

Cheers
Chimo

Hey Chimo,

You have got me wondering whether my tabs were located for ease of attachment re duckboard etc and with rather less interest in the final tab position .
Any chance of a shot of yours fully down?
Or anyone else with a bennetts set fully down to compare??
Cheers
Brendan

[tenzing]

Heres the tabs fully down:

[FisHard]

I've got the 12Lx9W Lencos on my 6.2m Seafarer and they are very effective. Wynnum Marine handled the install and did a very nice job, inc cutting the duckboards. Go with the LED indicator switches. Despite the substantial extra cost- well worth it.

[stue2]

Mine are set under the step, no holes. They are a wisker low and they angle out slightly but there is no lost of speed.
They are M80 bennets and they were working very well.
One tab stopped working a little while ago so I rang the bennet people. They rang back almost straight away with some problem solving tips right while I was fighting a snapper to the side of the boat. This was an important call so I took it and suddenly I was multi tasking well over my natural limits. A fishing rod, a net and a phone. I did it.
Anyway the sealed brains pack is the problem and is to be replaced. I am asured this will be very quick.

I cant seem to find the pics of this at the moment. but I didnt want holes in the step so went with the short actuators and happy with the results.

Cheers, Stu

[Chimo]

Your good and patient wife will be pleased to hear that you can multi-task. Its a feat many of us avoid................ Lencos dont seem to have a brains pack, they don't try and multi task, just go up and down, especially if you don't get the xmas light set.

Not a the coast for the annual easter bash?

Cheers
Chimo

[stue2]

Your good and patient wife will be pleased to hear that you can multi-task. Its a feat many of us avoid................ Lencos dont seem to have a brains pack, they don't try and multi task, just go up and down, especially if you don't get the xmas light set.

Not a the coast for the annual easter bash?

Cheers
Chimo

Yep, here now pleasant fish yesterday morning. just waiting for the wind to die down.