Nauticus Smart Tabs

Let me preface my posting by saying that I am not an employee of Nauticus. Nor am I related to or being paid by them. The reason I say this is because I'm probably going to sound like a commercial. I have a 10 foot Livingston which is a catamaran style fiberglass dinghy with a very heavy 15hp Tohatsu 4-stroke with tiller handle on the stern. I had such a bow-high attitude with this configuration that I thought it would be impossible to correct. After researching some, I came across Nauticus and their smart tabs that were designed with my sized boat and power plant in mind. The tabs have nitrogen gas filled actuators attached that sense water pressure and move the tabs accordingly and automatically. With my weight and the weight of the OB in back, I thought they might help but had no idea how much. The results were astonishing. My first test drive with these tabs had me reeling. I couldn't believe it. The boat got right up on to a plane and manuevered itself in way that was perfectly straight and level. It still blows me away. They were fairly easy to install. I'm an accountant, so if I can put them on, anyone can. I would highly recommend these tabs. They make them in different sizes with larger pressured actuators for larger boats too. They truly are amazing. Trust me, if you have any kind of stability or bow-high pitch problems, these tabs will cure your problem.

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If I may add, they also eliminate chine walk better than I thought they would, and the plane-out time is cut atleast in half.<br />I'm impressed as well with what I've seen so far.

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victorjohn... nautijohn... Hmmmm.......Just kiddin!

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I put a set on my bass rig and was so pleased that I am going to put a set on my other bass rig.

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I just put a set on my 21' CC iboard, tunnel shaft drive. Comes on plane much better, but bow seems to rid a little to flat now so I am gonna tweak the settings a bit; she is front heavy cause the engine is in the cc and the fuel tank is in the bow. Jury is still out as of this post.

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biloxriver;<br /><br />It sounds as though you need to reduce the pressure. This adjustment is done only at the Plate bracket. Loosen the ball stud lock nut and move the ball stud (actuator does not need to come off) closer to the plate about 1/2" to 3/4". Run the boat - and if needed reduce the pressure more until you achieve the same or more speed than you had before the Smart Tabs. If you still can not regain all of the speed then call me and we will exchange the actuators for lower pressure. No Charge!

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NautiJohn I have been reading about your tabs for a couple of monthes,I was wondering if they would work on my boat which is a175 smoker craft with a 130 hp johnson, I have a lot of porpoising in wavy water. Do you ship to Canada. thanks in advance. J.C.

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jc1933;<br /><br />If you call Smakercraft customer service you will fiind that they have bought some from us to send to customers (new boats) to help with "problems".<br /><br />The answer is we have been very successful with your size boat. Call 800-233-0194 for info on Canada distribution.

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Not sure if I'm supposed to tag this onto an existing topic...but here goes...<br /><br />I'm thinking of getting smart tabs for my self-built 10ft mahogany runabout with 15hp 4 stroke. My question is...will I have to change my trailer bunk arrangement? My bunks extend about 4 inches past the transom when it is trailered. Would the bunks get in the way of the smart tabs?<br /><br />Pics of my boat are here>><br /> http://www.sum-it.biz/squirt/website/

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Rudderman;<br /><br />Your boat is ideal, and looks great I might add.<br />Since you will only need the ST780-20 tabs (7" wide by 8" long) you should be able to position them to either center on the bunks ( the tabs would be pushed up by the bunks) or move them to the outside so they miss the bunks.<br /><br />They should not be pushed up from one corner.

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Another Smart Tab Believer here!<br />Boat - 2003 Sylvan 1600 Profish approx 975lbs dry <br />Motor - 2004 Yamaha F90 4 Stroke approx 400lbs wet<br />The problem with my boat is caused by a light hull and heavy motor, even filling the 30 gal live well in the bow (300lbs) only helped a bit. This boat flat out fly's, but quite honestly my wife didnt like having to mash the gas to get onto plane, or having to mess with the throttle all the time to maintain plane (turns etc.).<br />Before Smart Tab:<br />Time to plane - 5-6 boat lengths under full throttle with 40* bow rise<br />Speed on plane - 19mph (gps) and constantly fiddlin' with the throttle to keep the back of the boat from "falling in".<br />Top Speed (GPS) - 44.7 with 21 pitch prop.<br />Other Issues - coming off of plane was associated with about 35-40* of bow rise as the stern settled back in to the water. I could keep the boat on plane easily at about 22mph but this is a little too fast for water sports for smaller children, and my wake was huge - good for adult skiers, not so good for the kiddies. Turning at minimum planing speed resulted in me having to increase the throttle significantly to maintain plane.<br />After Smart Tab Installation<br />Time to plane - 1 boat length - half throttle - No Bow rise.<br />Speed on Plane - 13 MPH (GPS) and I can turn the wheel lock to lock, the boat slows a little but never falls off of plane.<br />Top Speed - 42.3 with the 21 and 40.5 with the 19. I did lose a little top end but the other benefits outweigh this drawback.<br />Cost was (taxes in) $307.00 (Canadian), certianly alot more expensive than the Whale Tail options, but I am very impressed and pleased with my boats performance at this time. Changing the settings on the Smart Tabs is relatively simple, but no amount of adjustment could get me my 2.4 mph back on the top. I did use a couple of pieces of 1/4" rope to pull the units to fully retracted position - got my speed back, but as expected, got all of the poor handling conditions back as well.<br />Over all I give them a 97.6 out of 100 (-2.4 points for the speed I lost) and will almost certainly install on my next hull before I even take it from the dealer.<br />The included instructions were great, but for the uninitiated, drilling 14 holes into your hull, can give cause for some shakes. After the installation and sea trial, I drilled 4 more holes in my hull to mount my swim step - no shakes at all! <br />Edited to correct spelling

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Slotoplane;<br /><br />I am happy that you are so pleased, however i am not happy that you lost 2.7 MPH insted of gaining 2.7 MPH.. You have too much lift when cruising. This adjustment is easy and only needs to be done at the plate bracket. Loosen the ball stud lock not and slide the ball stud ( actuator stiil attached) closer to the plate (down the slot). If you have done this and there is no more adjsutment, then we need to exchange actuators for ones with less pressure. Obviously, the adjsutments would start back in the middle with the actuator change. Do not be concerned about the slow speed performance, as it should not change. Call me 800-233-0194.<br /><br />Thanks for the detailed comparison.

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nautiJohn thanks for the reply. Here is a better photo showing my bunks.... http://www.sum-it.biz/squirt/website/tabs.jpg <br /><br />Missing the bunks is not an option unless I get out the angle grinder again!! <br />What is my best option for this hull?<br />Would it damage the piston if the tabs were pushed up all the time? <br />My boat will spend most of its life on the trailer. The distance from chine to chine is 45 inches. The bunks are 5 inches wide.

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Rudderman;<br /><br />Having the Actuator compressed for long periods is not a problem, may be even better.<br /><br />Can you move the boat back? If not locate the tabs on in line with the outer bunks.

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nautiJohn:<br />Thanks for the reply.<br />I have adjusted the actuator (as suggested) to the setting whereby I believe the mechanical advantage of the plane is greatest over the actuator - adjustment of the actuator; on the plane; towards the transom, to the end of its travel. When I do this, it fairly substantially reduces the "Good Stuff" attributes (Bow rise, Minimium Plane Speed, Etc). I have not adjusted the actuator on the transom attachment, which I believe would only likely increase or decrease the angle of attack of the plane.<br />Bare in mind I could previously spin the 21 to 6000rpm to achieve the 44.7mph, I now only can get about 57-5800 rpm on this prop, but my 19 spins well to 6000, netting me my 40.5mph.<br />John, My understanding of Hydrodynamics, could be written in capital letters on the back of a postage stamp. That being said, I was/am somewhat scepical of this products ability to give me a speed "increase". To my way of thinking, anything you add to the hull, and pull accross the water, is likely to cause drag, resulting in reduced speed. <br />I know I'm a little overpowered and really stern heavy, so mostly I wanted to fix the plane speed/Bow rise issue - That has been done in spades. <br />My current calculations 6000rpm x 21pitchprop / 2.31gears = approx 14% propslip.<br />Do you think reducing actuator pressure will get me back my precious 2.7? or maybe more?<br />I'm all ears! If your product can accomplish what it has done sofar, as well as pull me past 45, beer's are on me! <br />I have only had them on for one weekend sofar, but this coming week, I'm finally on holidays and will have a week at the lake to play with all the adjustments, and record my findings.<br />My dealer doesn't carry any others sizes of actuator, how do I look into trying a set of the lower pressure ones? I currently have the 1290-60 unit, and my boat specs are in my previos post.<br />Edit - Rudderman - Very cool little Runabout, nice job! What is that thing doing for top speed!

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Slowtoplane...with one person on board its doing 26.5mph. With two people its doing 22mph. Its not finished yet, I still have to add a steering wheel/controls/seat/deck planking/cleats and paint the bottom and sides.

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Slowtoplane;<br /><br />You are on the right track - I would not change the transom bracket adjustment. Keep the plates at a 25 degree angle. <br /><br />When there if too much pressure on the plates, they tend to lift the stern too much and push the bow into the water. The natural correction is to trim the motor out to raise the bow, however this usualy makes the prop run at an angle (facing down) and cause prop slip reducing the thrust and speed. By making some minor adjustment to the pressure on the plate the prop does not need to compensate for the plate pressure and can be trimmed perpendicular to the water surface. <br /><br />Your are correct, if the pressure is reduced too much then the stern lift may suffer, also the control of porpoising may not be as good. What we are trying to accomplish is to make the boat run as clean through the water as possible for maximum speed and efficiency. On the low end we want to provide enough extra lift to keep the bow down and improve the ability to plane (especially at lower speeds).<br /><br />By the way, it appear that you are changing props at the same time you are adjusting the tabs. If you got 6000 rpms from the 21 pitch prop before, adjsuting the tabs should give you 6100 to 6150 rpms with the same prop.<br /><br />I suggest that you maximize the performance with the 21 pitch then change the prop to stay within the motor specs.<br /><br />In any event, if the boat is running to your satisfaction then ENJOY!<br /><br />Call me if you wish 800-233-0194