tilt and trim is a misnomer??

I see the phrase "tilt and trim " all the time but I have only ever seen a unit tilt up and down. What does trim refer to?? Kinda like WIFI where WI means wireless internet but no one knows what the FI means. Just curious...

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

I may be wrong but I think the term "trim" refers to the adjustment made while running the boat. The term "tilt" refers to the adjustment made when the boat is not running.

On the boats I have owned, (outboards), the trim adjustment is much less than the total tilt adjustment, making sure the lower unit stays in the water while running.

It is all the same mechanism, but when using "trim" on my boats while running, the lower unit never raised as high as it would using the "tilt" when out of water and not running, ensuring the lower unit stayed deep enough. Not sure how it actually worked.

I hope someone corrects me if I am wrong.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

There are basically three ways "tilt & trim" are incorporated.

1) One switch controls the up and down movement of the motor through its entire travel. The motor travels at the same speed throughout.

2) Separate tilt and trim switches. The trim switch controls up and down movement (trim) of the motor through a narrow range while the boat is under way. This switch has a limit and will not allow raising the motor outside the trim limit and it cannot raise the motor (tilt it) out of the water. The Tilt switch bypasses the trim limit switch and raises the motor all the way out of the water. During the tilt function, the motor may travel slower in the trim portion of travel and then move faster as it enters the tilt portion of upward travel.

3) One switch but dual travel speeds. My Suzuki for example, moves the motor slowly while in the trim portion of travel but the up/down movement increases quickly when the motor has moved outside the trim portion of the travel.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

but movement is only on one axis, up and down. just different speeds??

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

You could say one axis, but when the engine is in running position, the trim function moves it in and out from the transom (bottom), not actually up and down. But it is still the same (portion of an) arc of a circle. This will help to adjust the hull's running attitude on the water.

Complicating the question is that some older engines DID indeed have a power tilt only function. It was used solely to tilt the engine either out of the water while tied up or beached, or on the trailer. Running attitude was adjusted by a stainless bar and adjusting holes in the transom clamps.

I do not know of any engine that has or in the past has had power trim only. Once you add power trim, it is cheap and easy to include power tilt.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

I now see the dual t&t speeds that Silvertip mentioned on my Suzuki, never noticed it before. but it seem to have little or no real effect on my pontoon.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

How about the old OMC outdrives where the trim was changed by a electric jackscrew on the front engine mount and the tilt was cylinders that lifted the outdrive for trailering.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

Pontoons do not react to trim as much as a planing hull would but react they do. The only time you use the TILT range is tilt the motor out of the water for trailering or docking. The TRIM range moves the engine just a few degrees which can be noticed only at faster speeds as trimming out will tend to raise the bow slightly and the boat will gain a small amount of speed. The seat of your pants is the best indicator of where the best trim setting is and it will vary at any given time depending on the load.

Re: tilt and trim is a misnomer??

ralphl said:

I see the phrase "tilt and trim " all the time but I have only ever seen a unit tilt up and down. What does trim refer to?? Kinda like WIFI where WI means wireless internet but no one knows what the FI means. Just curious...

Click to expand...

Fidelity.

8hygro