Very touchy to get Lund 115hp on plane properly

[smokeonthewater]

Nauticus makes smart tabs and Bennett makes their own version of the same thing...

Nauticus has been doing the smart tabs longer but Bennett made the hydraulic tabs for Fred Flintstone's rock boat.... I'm more familiar with the smart tabs but I suspect that either would be great for ya.

 

[Iluvfishin]

Ok.. I've got a set of Nauticus smart tabs on order.. Waiting to see what they will do. I looked at their videos and it looks impressive.

 

[Watermann]

Don't forget to remove that fin thing from the AV plate before you head out for sea trials.

 

[smokeonthewater]

This^

 

[Iluvfishin]

Don't forget to remove that fin thing from the AV plate before you head out for sea trials.

If the fin thingy is so bad why do they even make them? You think it makes it worse with it on?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Because people will buy them....

They can be helpful on some boats but pull it off and get your tabs set up... You will be better off without it.

Look at it this way... You go to walk the Appalachian trail.... Hiking boots (tabs) are the preferred footwear..... Sandals (fin) would possibly be better than nothing but if you find a pair of boots you take the sandals off.
:-/

 

[WIMUSKY]

Get the fin off the motor. Adjust the motor height so it is correct. Post a pic if you can. There is no way that this boat needs trim tabs. There are thousands of 17' boats around with max hp without having porposing issues. Maybe I'm totally wrong on this but if weight distribution doesn't matter then there is something not right. Water in bilge maybe. Hook in hull?

X2. Around here that's what you see 16'/17'. They're everywhere. I don't think I've ever seen tabs. A guy I know has a 17' Crestliner Fish Hawk maxed out with a 125 2 stroke. No fin, no tabs, no porpoising issues.

I'll be willing to bet the tabs will work. but, it's masking an issue..... I suppose it really doesn't matter if the porpoising goes away.....

 

[Iluvfishin]

I'll be willing to bet the tabs will work. but, it's masking an issue..... I suppose it really doesn't matter if the porpoising goes away.....

Now you are making me wonder what's wrong with my boat...


[/QUOTE]
Because people will buy them....

They can be helpful on some boats but pull it off and get your tabs set up... You will be better off without it.

Look at it this way... You go to walk the Appalachian trail.... Hiking boots (tabs) are the preferred footwear..... Sandals (fin) would possibly be better than nothing but if you find a pair of boots you take the sandals off.
:-/
[/QUOTE]

LOL!!! Very good example. I guess my fin is coming off....

 

[Watermann]

Relax fishluvin, I used the Nauticus tabs to mask the big heavy black chunk of iron problem in the stern of my 18' Starcraft.

 

[smokeonthewater]

They don't 'mask' a problem so much as they compensate for a condition.
Don't sweat it, put em on, dial em in, and forget them as you enjoy owning a whole new boat.

"Boats don't need tabs.....

Women don't need high heels and leather mini skirts but man does the combo work well together.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I may have misspoke by saying mask. I do like compensate. Tabs will compensate for and an issue that could be corrected. I wouldn't get too excited either. Now if the tabs don't help...............

 

[Iluvfishin]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm getting my smart tabs end of next week... I'm starting to get antsy to try them out!

 

[Iluvfishin]

I may have misspoke by saying mask. I do like compensate. Tabs will compensate for and an issue that could be corrected. I wouldn't get too excited either. Now if the tabs don't help...............

So if the tabs compensate for the problem, if I put on tabs and don't fix the actual problem, my boat should run like a normal boat. And if I install tabs AND fix the cause for my need of tabs I should be on plane within a second and not porpoise even with trim not adjusted properly? Sorry for all these questions... But I am wondering what I could do to get the best speed/performance on this tub and have it running exactly like it should.

 

[smokeonthewater]

You should maximize anything you can if you are after the ABSOLUTE best performance ie worried about a tenth of a second or .05 mpg

Otherwise put on the tabs and forget it.

 

[Iluvfishin]

First time on the water with my new smart tabs. Love them! !! Had 7 large people on board and got on plane fairly quickly. And about 2 mph faster at top speed then before. I can trim in and out and it won't porpoise now at all. Only thing is it wants to cavitate too easily. As if motor isn't low enough. But i think it's plenty low.

 

[redfury]

Where did you mount the trim tabs in relation to the motor? You should look at the motor while you are running at cruising speed and see the anti-ventilation plate just skimming the top of the water if it's high enough. If it's buried, then you are dragging the lower unit through the water and losing efficiency.

 

[Alumarine]

With 7 large people you're way over loaded with that thing.
It's rated for 6 people (at 150 lbs I would guess=900 lbs) and has a total weight capacity of 1500lbs INCLUDING motor, gear, fuel etc.
No wonder it was hard to plane.

 

[jbcurt00]

Yep ^^^

BTW: Its a limit of either 6ppl OR 1500lbs load

So even if its 7 100lb 'people' you'd be overloaded

 

[ondarvr]

The boots and sandals comaprison is good, now here's where the comparison advantage goes the other way. The boots are great on the hiking trail carrying a pack, now you're on the beach and in and out of the water, those boots ain't cutting it now, the sandals are now in their zone of comfort and are the correct tool for the job.

The Tabs are doing what they're supposed to do now, the problem is you are getting a bit of ventilation, you could lower the motor and eliminate it, but the boat may run a little slower due the extra drag from the gearcase being deepr, or it actually may increase the porpoising tendencies. A fin is actually designed to help eliminate ventilation, not all the other things they get used for. So by putting the fin back on you may be able to run the motor higher on the transom and achieve better performance, this is the real value of a fin.

It doesn't work on every boat, motor and prop combination, and may not be the best way to get the results, but it can help at times.

 

[smokeonthewater]

The fin mounts to the anti-ventilation plate... That plate should be out of the water at planing speed... If it's out of the water it's doing absolutely nothing....

He most likely needs to lower the motor.