Smart tabs

I just sent this in to the Nauticus web site but thought I would try here also since there seems to be quite a bit of experience.

I have been considering getting Smart tabs for over a year now and still have a few questions. My hesitation is that I really don't want to drill a bunch of holes in my transom or fill in a bunch of holes. I considered a hydofoil but have gotten conflicting opinions as to how they work for porpoising and a smoother ride. I have a Crestliner CMV 1750 with 115 Yamaha 4S. I really love the boat and gets 45-50mph at WOT but a rough ride and significant porpoising at times. I added wedges per recommendation of my dealer (who is now out of business....so I am sort of on my own now) which helped some but when crossing waves etc and because of the light weight of the boat, I still get some porpoising and a rough ride. My questions are as follows:

1) I know the measurements are 12' x 9' for what I need (1290/60) but is that 12" wide or in depth. As you can see, my speedometer and depth finder may be in the way and I really don't want to have to move things and fill in a bunch of holes.

2) Have you had any problems with the stabilizer pads pulling out of the transom? How secure?

3) As you can see I have the wedges in place.....should I remove these if I purchase the Smart tabs?

4) Do you think a hydrofoil would work....I know I shouldn't be asking you that question but since I am in the educational aspect at present....thought I would take a chance.

5) Will I loose any top end and will the tabs give me a smoother more stable ride????

6) Is there a way I can remove the wedges if necessary in my garage without an engine lift since my dealer is not available?


Thank you for taking the time to help me.

Glen McCleary

Re: Smart tabs

I can't see your pics. Will answer a few of your questoins.

1. They are 12 inches wide (along the transom), 9 inches long (sticking out the back of the boat).

2. When mounted properly, they're solid as a rock.

4. Do not waste time with a hydrofoil, they rarely work well, and often make things worse. Smart tabs are far superior.

5. Most people report a few mph gain in top speed. I personally saw about 1 to 2 mph gain on my I/O.

Since I can't see your pics, I don't know what you mean by wedges. I presume they tilt your motor to a different angle? Seems unnecessary if you have power trim. But I'm not sure what you have there.

If Nautijohn soesn't reply here, he will surely reply to you directly since you sent it to him directly...just give him a little time.

I've found on this site that there seem to be 100's of positive comments about Smart Tabs to each ONE negative. I too will sing their praises. They are the single best performance enhancement I have ever done to my boat. No porpoising, smoothes out rough waters to a degree, faster and lower-speed planing, flatter turning. If you can find the space on your transom for them, I recommend you buy.

Re: Smart tabs

Please check what height your engine is mounted at, the cav plate should be no lower than the bottom of the hull, ideally about an inch higher. This boat is available with 2 different transom heights, yours should have the 25” transom if it’s fitted with a 4S, might pay to check that first. It’s important to get the setup right first before you mess around with tabs etc. Unfortunately the more I read about the marine industry in the states the more I’m convinced that you cannot relay on the dealer to set the boat up correctly from new…… Good luck.

Re: Smart tabs

Thanks Craze and Paulie,
Sorry about the pics...I attached them per instructions on this site but for some reason they didn't work. My cavitation plate is about 1/2" above the bottom of the boat. The wedges are designed to bring the engine in, thus keeping the nose down supposedly. It did help a little but still get the porpoising and rough ride with any surface disturbance. Also...do they make a special sealer screw or something to fill any transom holes that I may need to fill after moving my sonar transducer?

Thanks,
Glen

Re: Smart tabs

Glenmac,

you need to have your pictures "hosted" on a site like photobucket.com or equivalent.

Re: Smart tabs

Thank you...I will try the website.
Glen

Re: Smart tabs

At a half inch above the keel line it would seem that at least you have the right transom height for the engine so that’s a good start. Transom angle also has a lot to do with the way the engine responds to trim. If you fit wedges you than need to accept that the markers on the gauge will no longer be relevant. Start with the engine trimmed all the way in than when the boat is up and planning trim out till the steering feels light and responsive, at that point you’re pretty close. Some boats will only tolerate a small amount of trim before the hull design starts to deliver aerated water to the prop causing it to lose grip in the water while others can through a rooster tail 10’ high and still have good grip on the water. I find that trim is more about how the boat feels rather than what the gauge is telling me. Each boat and motor package is different and trim is there for adjustment, it’s not designed to be used through its full range on every boat. Good luck.

Re: Smart tabs

studlymandingo

I can't seem to get the photobucket to work. I copy the image URL etc and it only uploads the text. Sorry for the ignorance....this is new to me.
Are there any further instructions??

Thanks

Re: Smart tabs

The Smart tabs come with a sealer tape.I also used some 3-M marine sealer in the screw holes.
I had to relocate my transducer and used the 3-M in those holes also..
Tabs work great!

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/garyh38/boat7.jpg

Re: Smart tabs

Trying to post photo....

Test..

Re: Smart tabs

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll try to pics again.

Re: Smart tabs

Pics:

Re: Smart tabs

I give up on the pics.....I have tried 3 times now.

Re: Smart tabs

A better and more permanent fix for abandoned holes in a transom is to use a good 2 part epoxy or plain old fiberglass resin, but flexible silicone or other sealer will probably hold fine for a while. If you just caulk it with something flexible, check it regularly to make sure it's still holding.

Re: Smart tabs

smart tabs, or ANY tabs for that matter , 99% of thetime are better than no tabs at all. dont worry bout the holes, they make sealer for that.

Re: Smart tabs

Glenmac;

Up until now you have been getting the traditional answers to your performance issues. (Ie: change the prop, use a hydrofoil, install transom wedges and so on).
All of these answers are directed at using the prop to lift the back of the boat at slow speeds and the same at cruising speeds when the boat porpoises.

The purpose for the propeller is to propel, and any deviation from that is a waist of fuel and performance.
The transom wedges allow you to trim the motor further under the hull to push the back up. Not only is this inefficient but generally ineffective.

Trim Tabs address the problem from the hull design view point. They adjust the hull configuration as needed to compensate for the conditions at the time (speed, load, water, balance etc) without using the prop. The pro now does it's job of propelling.

You have spent money on transom wedges, and still put up with the poor performance for a year. If you use the boat the average 50 hours per year, you would have had the performance, and saved enough money in fuel to pay for the tabs.

Re: Smart tabs

John

Thanks for the response. I was going to purchase the Smart tabs from here on the iboats store but see that they are currently out of stock. Can't beat the price.

Re: Smart tabs

Glenmac, use the button above the text box that looks like a postcard with mountains on it. It will give you a prompt box where you will post the URL for your photos.

Re: Smart tabs

OK, will try photo's again. There should be 3 of them....hopefully.
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I copied 3 images to this post...so hopefully they will appear this time.
The URL's are present in this reply note before I click "add reply." But the last 3 times I tried when I clicked and saw the final reply on the thread the URL addresses were not there.

Re: Smart tabs





Attempt #2