Home made trim tabs???

kfa4303

kfa4303

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Sep 17, 2010
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Hi all. I was doing my daily c-list hunt when I stumbled across this little set up. It looks lit a typical flats boat you see in my neck of the woods, but it looks like it has a couple of what appear to be home made trim tabs on the back. They look to be little more than curved/bent pieces of 1/4" aluminum, riveted to the exterior transom. Has anyone seen this before? Any idea if they would actually work? Just curious.......Thanks


home made trim tabs.jpg
 
Philster

Philster

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Sep 15, 2009
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3,344
Re: Home made trim tabs???

Trims tabs are great when they lower at an angle into the water, so you can figure out whether these static pieces have anything more than a minimal affect, if any. Maybe -- maybe -- they help slightly just sitting there, but that is not what trim tabs are all about.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Apr 17, 2002
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71,357
Re: Home made trim tabs???

Ayuh,... I've seen a few homemade tabs,...
of Course they work, some are just better than others...

By the looks of that Loonnngggg motor, maybe he's bandaiding the long shaft motor, on a short transom hull...
 
Mischief Managed

Mischief Managed

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Dec 6, 2005
Messages
1,928
Re: Home made trim tabs???

Assuming they have no down angle, those will extend the running surface of the boat which would provide a slightly slower minimum planing speed, and if the boat squats under acceleration, those would provide lift to get it on plane faster. Should not affect the tops speed much. Won't be as effective as smart tabs or Bennett/Lencos. If they have a down angle, they will dramatically reduce the time to plane and planing speed, but will also reduce the top speed.
 
Tabman

Tabman

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Feb 21, 2002
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566
Re: Home made trim tabs???

How about these for some home made Trim Tabs?

bOARDS.jpg
 
jacoboregon

jacoboregon

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Oct 6, 2011
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Re: Home made trim tabs???

Bond-o said:
Ayuh,... I've seen a few homemade tabs,...
of Course they work, some are just better than others...

By the looks of that Loonnngggg motor, maybe he's bandaiding the long shaft motor, on a short transom hull...
Click to expand...

It looks like the loonnngggg motor may be an optical effect of the angle of the shot, hopefully.
 
D

dan t.

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Feb 28, 2008
Messages
1,137
Re: Home made trim tabs???

Definitely a long shaft motor,you can see the leg extension,as for the tabs I did something similar with a slight downward angle and bracing on my 8ft 9 in inflatable,made all the difference in the world as far as planing with 2 people aboard. Only a 6 hp motor.
 
5150abf

5150abf

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Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
5,808
Re: Home made trim tabs???

you could maybe get it right if you used thinner aluminum like .090, it would flex up as the boat picked up speed like a real tab, I could see this working.

I almost made a set of homemade tabs but as I was going to install them I discovered my transom was bad so that became my job for the weekend and I never got around to putting them on but I could see them working .
 
Tabman

Tabman

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566
Re: Home made trim tabs???

Bond-O,

I think these are HDS Trim Tabs (Home Depot Specials)!
 
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