Trim Tabs on 2003 Captiva 212

wootdog72

That's what I'm wondering about the whale tail. If it really is that effective I may look into one!

Michael T

I have found with tails, like Stingray, that you get a better hole shot, somewhat better handling (as in less low speed wander) but on the one application a tried (for 48 hours) and on all the applications I have heard about from friends etc. they lost at least 5 mph from the top end. As well, in my case, the Stingray made my boat real "squirrely" at high rpms. MT

212rowboat

I moved the tabs from the middle setting to the next to firmest, and it made a huge and noticeable difference.. jumps on on plane easier and stable at speed.. held solid plane down to just north of 2800 rpm, which, according to the dash speedometer was slightly above 15mph..

Cruising at 3200 rpm, where I usually run, I'm around 25~28mph or so, and cruising solid on top with less trim..

I'll keep em... :-)

212rowboat

One last entry for me in this thread: after adjusting these things to 5 of 6, a world of difference could be felt.. These are the 80# rams.. definitely quicker plane.. definitely lower plane speed.. I removed the foil and tossed it, and once adjusted the boat is a good four to five mph faster at wot.. dunno if it was the foil or the tabs, or a combo of both, but in a following sea I was running 40ish mph at 4k rpm.. my wife noticed, which is saying something.. she asked "what have you done to.the boat?"... And followed with "oh God, are you going to hot rod this thing too?" ... Why yes, darlin.. sooner than later.. :-)

Robs_232

Madcow

I bought a 2004 232 BR with 350 Mag and Bravo 3 late fall and just had it out this weekend. Seems like it needs to trim down more as it takes a lot to get on plane. I am wondering about trim tabs and have been looking at the Lenco's. What size did you install and were they edge mount? Also, did you get auto retract? Boy they are a little spendy!

Rob

212rowboat

I lied...

One more one last entry... :-)

I've decided that even if our hulls/transom allowed for outside edge mounting of smart tabs, (which overall would be preferable), I'd still mount some where I did, which is just outside the outdrives sweep.. reason: it makes low speed handling infinitely better in skinny waters with the drive trimmed, like around my launch... my best guess is that they 'hide' the prop behind them, forcing it to pull from the tabs inside edge, which allows the boat to turn more abruptly at low speeds with less wander while in less than 2.5' of water...

Once I got the hang of it, I'm confidently navigating through marina traffic with little pause and less timidness. If I hook a full lock up turn from idle, and pop the throttle just a touch, the boat swaps ends with more certainty and alertness, for lack of better descriptive words.

Now, I just need a shower mounted.. and this rig has all she needs to be a happy rig.

nhsd

Well, I finally got around to installing my tabs. **** I hated pulling the trigger on that drill! I haven't had a chance to try them yet, hopefully next weekend if the weather holds and the river is in decent shape.