Which type/brand of "tail fin" or hydrofoil stabilizer?

rhino_160

Seaman
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Nov 10, 2013
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63
trying to get my boat on plane quicker. its a 2007 tahoe 222 deckboat and before i start messing around with props i want to try the stabilizer. My question is what brand do you recommend? XL or regular? Plastic or aluminum? Is there a specific fitment i need to order? My boat has the alpha 1 drive on it. Any help is appreciated, thanks
 

batman99

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Was told by many experts that hydrofoil stabilizer (engine fins) push the motor up. And, the motor pushes on the transom. And the transom lifts the boat's tail. Besides this, the rear of boat is being lifted by 1 load point. This makes its steering / balance very unstable in the sharp corners as well. Was told if one wants to lift the rear of the boat, one should install Trim Tabs instead. These tabs are installed on the "outside" area of the lower stern and they lift the boat via balance lift (using 2 x load points). Being sterm mounted, there's NO extra stress on the transom - like engine fins create. And being 2 x different lift points, the boat is stable on the sharp corners as well.

If wanting to install tabs, do investigate Smart SX tabs (for small to medium size boats) and adjustable Bennett Tim tabs (for medium to large boats).

re:
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...nett+trim+tabs
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+smart+tabs+sx

If wondering, I installed Nauticus Smart SX tabs on my little 17ft Bowrider and love them.

BTW: For water sports, I use a 4 blade prop. A 4 blade gets faster out the hole and faster on plane.

Hope this helps.
 
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alldodge

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Oxymoron term, smart tabs :pound: no such thing as a smart tab that is fixed to the hull which does not move other then by a spring. Now actual trim tabs are better then hydrofoil fins or spring tabs.

I have a stringray hydrofoil on my 23 footer and it works very well. Has been on the boat two years after I bought it new in 1995. Steering has no issues, performance is fine, jumps out of the water and on plane. Only issue is WOT is reduced 2 to 3 mph at top end due to additional drag. smart/dumb tabs will also increase drag
 

Blind Date

Chief Petty Officer
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Mar 5, 2014
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Forget hydraulic tabs. They are not for helping get a boat on plane faster. They are for leveling and adjusting hull attitude. They do not under any circumstance help a boat plane faster. Been there - done that. Had boating friends at work tell it me it wouldn't work and they were right. End the end I put a High 5 prop on the boat and never touched the tabs again.

Also had a Stingray hydrofoil on my first boat. It worked! Period! First time I put the boat on plane with it installed I could immediately feel the difference. Less bow rise which meant quicker planing time. That boat had none of the instability or turning issues. Maybe 1MPH slower on the top end. I think the thing with foils is you get different results depending on the boat .
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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Our 27' Bayliner Sunbridge with a 350 would never have gotten up on plane without trim tabs.

My 20' old cuddy cabin came with a Doel Fin on it, Would cause the rear end of the boat to wash out in tight turns. Took it off threw it in the trash and watched my speed go up 2MPH and it was then safe doing tight turns,
 
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Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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best think you can do with a 22' deck boat is put on a set of bennett tabs.

however the easiest thing you can do to get the boat out of the hole is move the cooler forward of the helm vs aft.
 

Fun Times

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trying to get my boat on plane quicker. its a 2007 Tahoe 222 deckboat and before i start messing around with props i want to try the stabilizer. My question is what brand do you recommend? XL or regular? Plastic or aluminum? Is there a specific fitment i need to order? My boat has the alpha 1 drive on it. Any help is appreciated, thanks
Hydrofoils are liked by some and disliked by others. They help in some areas of performance and may worsen other areas of performance on some but not all boat models. And of course boating styles differ amongst boaters especially when it comes to Hydrofoils, trim tabs, engine oils, etc. :)

The hard part is deciding if you really need or want one enough to drill into your anti-ventilation plate or not. If you find you don't like the Hydrofoil, you typically have up to 4 holes in the anti-ventilation plate to contend with.:(

But now the SE sport SE300 Hydrofoil available here at iboats offers a "no drill clip-on kit". So should you not like the performance the Hydrofoil offers, it's easily removable with no holes to look at or repair.:)

If interested, here's the clip, http://www.iboats.com/SE-SPORT-DRIL...e__ProductInfoContainer__Customer_Questions__ Answers

And the first item listed in the following link should be the Hydrofoil SE sport 300 in Black, http://www.iboats.com/Se-Sport-High...31644688--**********.207737682--view_id.40037

Also here's one of a two part installation video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkYj91gZb4

Product Description
Stay on plane at lower speed. Better cornering, with reduced cavitation and prop blowout. Especially good for deck boats and pontoon boats.
New Sport Clip for SE Sport 200/300/400 Hydrofoils gives you the option for drill-free installation of SE Sport hydrofoils. Now, there?s no need to drill holes in the cavitation plate! The Sport Clip fits most outboards and stern drives 25hp and larger and it includes all required hardware.

SE Sport hydrofoils boost fuel efficiency, get you on a plane up to 50% faster, and enable you to remain on a plane at much lower speeds. With the patented features of Turbo Trac and thrust catching contoured surface, SE Sport hydrofoil users experience a whole new level of control. Rated the fastest foil in its class by independent testing, the narrow footprint and modified hydrofoil shape does not adversely affect trim at planning speeds which means you get maximum top end performance and excellent hole shot. SE Sport 200 is recommended for outboards from 8 to 40hp and it also fits many larger engines. SE Sport 300 is recommended for outboards and stern drives (including Volvo) from 40 to 350hp. Site Gauge? for a perfect installation included. Lifetime Warranty.
  • Boost fuel efficiency, improve performance, reduce on-plane rpm and plane at lower speeds
  • Narrow footprint and sleek shape offer less drag resistance for greater speed and lower rpm
  • Sport Clip enables hydrofoil installation without drilling
  • Fits: Outboards and Sterndrives 8 HP and up
    Except for the following:
    Volvo with exhaust thru cavitation plate
    Mercruiser Bravo II
    Mercruiser Bravo III (with only one round anode on cavitation plate)
    Honda 200 HP and up
    Yamaha 350 HP
  • Drill-Free! Sport Clip Adapter for SE Sport Hydrofoils sold separately.
 

Tabman

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Feb 21, 2002
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566
I will leave the rest of the discussion to others since I am biased towards Trim Tabs :)

But I have to say properly sized Trim Tabs will absolutely get a boat on plane faster and with far less bow rise!
 

alldodge

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Agree, without my hydraulic tabs on my cruiser it has one heck of a time getting on plane. Their a few times without using them, it came up but no where near as fast as with using them. That said it weights in at 12K
 

redneck joe

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 18, 2009
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best think you can do with a 22' deck boat is put on a set of bennett tabs.

however the easiest thing you can do to get the boat out of the hole is move the cooler forward of the helm vs aft.



Best post here, and I can speak to Tabmans customer service. As far as quality I've had two 20+ year old boats that had them (25' and 34' cruisers) with zero issues with them, and thus far three years into my fresh install on my current boat (23' in sig) no issues and much help on the install questions. I've got a thread on THT about it somewhere...
 

redneck joe

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 18, 2009
Messages
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oh actually best post is move cooler up... :D But I do like the ability to trim against wind for a level ride, and in really choppy water bow down heavy to chug thru at slow speeds, but on plane.
 

Blind Date

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"Our 27' Bayliner Sunbridge with a 350 would never have gotten up on plane without trim tabs."

So the tabs were a band aid for an underpowered and/or poorly designed boat. Sure put 10 adults in the rear cockpit of my Sundancer and it might not get on plane either without the tabs down. But at that point the boat is over/improperly loaded.

I've owned 3 boats with trim tabs and none of them planed out faster with the tabs down. Hit the throttle and it's like taking off with the brakes on. They raise the stern with brute force and that sucks horsepower(you can feel it) which slows the boat down. Come play with my SeaRay all you want. It will get to on plane fastest with the tabs up. Like I said in my first post I put them on a boat to help it get on plane quicker when pulling up slalom water skiers doing deep water starts. My boating friends tried to tell it wouldn't work and it didn't.

Just trying to keep the topic starter from making the same mistake I did.
 

Tabman

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Trim Tabs are no more a "band aid" for boats than flaps are for aircraft :)

It does depend on the boat and having properly sized Trim Tabs.

They will help many properly designed, powered and loaded boats come up on plane faster and with less bow rise. But as I said I am a bit biased after working for a Trim Tab manufacturer for 18 years :)
 
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Tabman

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Feb 21, 2002
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Why would a hydrofoil (that generates lift aft) work any better than Trim Tabs generate lift aft)?
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
Messages
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Trim Tabs are no more a "band aid" for boats then flaps are for aircraft :)
Exactly!

I used to fly. Not sure I would want to be taking off without flaps.

Hit the throttle and it's like taking off with the brakes on. They raise the stern with brute force and that sucks horsepower(you can feel it) which slows the boat down.
You aren't using them properly. There is usually never a need to put them all the way down.

As far as them being needed for an underpowered or poorly designed boat, I have to agree that they were needed because it was underpowered. If there was an option for a bigger motor in that boat, it would have happened. A 454 could not fit but the truth is that you could NOT get it on plane without the tabs.

Saying that tabs will not help a boat get on plane is just plain false. I have had tabs on many boats and they always help. Very useful when you are in rough seas and you don't want to be going faster to get up on plane. They allow you to go slower and plane at a lower speed.
 
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Blind Date

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"Trim Tabs are no more a "band aid" for boats than flaps are for aircraft :)"

Tom I'm saying they are a band-aid if the boat can't even get on plane without using them. Don't get me wrong, I use the Bennett tabs ALL the time on my SeaRay and they are an absolute necessity with that boat. You can bet if I ever have problems with them they will be fixed ASAP.

But with what the topic starter is trying to achieve, I don't believe they are the best/correct tool for the job. That's all.
 

JaCrispy

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
391
What prop are you running now? And are you trimming the drive while throttling?

My boat came with a Doel Fin and they do exactly as advertised. Just like others said, you can feel the drag and loose a few mph. The only drawback for me removing it is I can't see over the bow in no wake zones.
 

smokeonthewater

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Dec 3, 2009
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Sure tabs are a bandaid for an underpowered boat

On the same theory an engine is a bandaid for an unpowered boat

A Bimini is a bandaid for a boat without a hard top

A fan is a bandaid for a boat without A/C

And a boat is a bandaid for someone who can't swim 40 mph with several passengers and a skier....

Tabs (and prop he has already addressed) are ABSOLUTELY the best option to make the boat plane and perform better.

I have had tabs and fins on many boats and have consistently (after testing) removed the fins and tossed em, with one exception which was a small underpowered aluminum boat with tiller steering... The thing barely planed and the fin worked well enough for my needs with it. I have no doubt that tabs would have worked better but that was over 25 years ago... Smart tabs didn't exist (pretty sure) and as a teenager I could barely afford $10 to fill the gas tank (those were the days) so they wouldn't have been an option... Heck the fin was only possible because I found it at a garage sale for a buck or two.
 

Rentaltux

Seaman
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
72
I would have to agree with Smoke on this one. I put Smart Tabs on my old Tahoe and they changed the boat in a good way. I never considered it a bandaid at all, just a performance enhancer like any other upgrade you would do ie. prop, engine mods etc. The boat ran without them, with them it just ran better. Hole shot and low speed wandering all but went away.

R
 
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