Just bought a boat with trim tabs.....question

[Newbie@boats]

Unsure of the brand but they on a Bayliner trophy 2002 WA, they have 2 buttons at the helm for up or down, but there's really no way of knowing what position there at.

Can you guys explain how you use your trim tabs? I understand how they work, just don't understand when's the best situation to use them

 

[Oshkosh1]

It's mostly trial and error. Although they can be used asymmetrically, for the most part they'll be used to equally trim the boat bow up or bow down. If they're slightly skewed run them either full up or down and that will return them to a neutral symmetry. There's no patent answer due to all of the variable sea states, loading, boat etc... I found that I run my drive mid point and once I'm on plane I use the tabs to bring the bow up or down from then on. You can go slightly bow down prior to jumping out of the hole to limit the bow rise as well. Use them in "bursts" of a second or so and give a few seconds for the boat to stabilize before changing again. They're not instantaneous. Once you get the hang of it, you'll realize how nice they are! Good luck with the new boat!

 

[oldboat1]

Not instantaneous, but pretty quick. Play with them when you have some room around you. Toggle forward, and the bow will probably go down, aft and the bow will likely rise. Tabs down pushes the bow down (or stern up) -- best not to overthink it. Initially, operate at the same time, as they can cause you to veer fairly dramatically individually. When used to it, will use the right or left tab to counter current or wave action.

I have a 26' Trojan (single screw) and the tabs make a big difference. Every hull is different, but the tabs make cruising a lot more enjoyable.

 

[Chris1956]

I would observe the trim tabs from behind the boat as someone trims them fully down and then up. Note the angle when all the way up. They should be less than a 90* angle, so they do not influence the trim of the boat.

Now in practice, trim fully down, motor trim down and accelerate to plane. Experiment to see what gives best planing action. Trim fully up when on plane and observe speed changes. Trim down at cruise speed and observe changes to boat trim and speed.

Trim tabs down are good for planing a full boat of people/equipment, staying on plane at a lower speed and keeping the bow down for better ride in rough water. I usually do not use them for other purposes.

They are especially useful in rough water. Put 'em down and back off the throttle until you are just on plane. That gives the best ride with some planing speed.

Also, I could pull a skier in my 18 footer (with I/O engine) with 6 people aboard. I needed full tabs down to plane and partial tabs down to cruise. The boat handled like a barge, but without the tabs it would not have worked at all.

You can balance the boat side-to-side using the tabs, however, I prefer to shift weight if I can, to do that.

 

[Newbie@boats]

Thanks for the advice guys, I took the boat out yesterday, for about half an hour to figure out how the bait wells and stuff work. Not enough time to play about with the trim tabs.