Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

Bustedknuckle84

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Sep 29, 2010
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Boat is in my signature Counter rotate prop. Underway my boat is leaning to the right bad if a bunch of weight is on the starboard side, but the boat sits level on the water when its just sitting. the boat drives straight and holds a heading now.

but I have to use about 50% trim tab on the starboard side to even the boat out. Also the steering wheel seems tougher to turn to the left unless I even the boat out witht he trim tab. Its a newer boat to me so dunno if im still not trimming the motor right or its the boat..

-The hull has been verified thats its in good shape.

any ideas?
 

JoLin

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Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

I'm not sure I understand the issue.

- The boat leans to the right when the passengers are on the right? That's normal.
- Steering is a little tougher in one direction when the load is unbalanced? That's normal.
- You need to use the tabs to level the boat when the load is unbalanced from side to side? That's normal, too- it's what the tabs are designed to do.

What am I missing?
 

JoLin

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Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

<sorry- double post>
 

tpenfield

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Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

Deep V hulls are very sensitive to engine torque. So, you have to use trim tabs or adjust the weight accordingly.

My boat favors the port side since it is a standard rotation, so I store the heavier stuff on the starboard side. That way I have to use less trim tab to levle the boat. It does not sit level in the water, but I'm OK with that
 

Tabman

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Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

Furyman,

What you describe seems pretty normal. But looking at the picture of your boat the Trim Tabs appear to be mounted further inboard than the optimum location closer to the chines. However they should work well even mounted where they are. The picture is too small for me to determine their size, but they look to be 12 x 9 or 12 x 12 which would be a good size for the boat.

I would suggest that you might want to experiment with trimming the motor out just a little bit at higher speeds when you are using the Trim Tabs to level the boat side to side. Since the Trim Tabs are mounted a little inboard they will contribute a bit more bow down trim when leveling the side to side trim. Trimming the motor out a small amount may result in a little better handling.

Experimenting with combinations of motor trim and Trim Tab deflection in small increments can yield some improvements. But as others have mentioned it seems like the Tabs are doing their job of compensating for an uneven load. Also as Ted noted you may want to redistribute some weight in the boat so you do not need to deflect the Trim Tabs so much to compensate.
 

Bustedknuckle84

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Sep 29, 2010
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421
Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

After I get to about 50% on the starboard side it definitely levels out, but is that normal and safe(operating) when the port side it still at zero??
Tabman- can I send more pics to you to make sure it is in the correct location?
 

Tabman

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Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

My e-mail is Tabmanhelp@gmail.com if you would like to send me photos.

With Trim Tabs there are really no "normal" settings, but as long as the boat is running level and handling well then it is likely just fine. The one thing that can really result in "unsafe" handling is having the bow down too far when running at higher speeds. This can result in "bow steering", you will know if this is occurring as the steering will become "squirrelly" and the boat will tend to pull hard to port or starboard.

Each boat is different and loading, speed and sea conditions make it impossible to say exactly what is correct, but having one Trim Tab down 50% and the other one fully up to correct for "a bunch of weight" on one side sounds acceptable to me :).

It is advisable to not use Trim Tabs to correct for extreme unbalanced loading and it is the skipper's responsibility to insure that is the case.

But it does sound to me that the way you are using the Trim Tabs properly.
 

Bustedknuckle84

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Sep 29, 2010
Messages
421
Re: Bennett Trim tab safety questions??? Lean to starboard side...

Thanks Tab man, I highly recommend your trim tab indicator (with my Bennett sport trim tabs) to anyone because it really helps me out alot! http://bennetttrimtabs.com/indicators.php?cID=2

I am concerned though because I have put most of my gear,ice,and passengers on the left side mostly. The only thing that I can think of thats weight on the starboard side is me(215lbs) and batterys plus cables and wiring.
 
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