Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

[Bello85]

We just bought a new 2012 Tahoe Q4 SF. Gonna pick it up this saturday and take it out on the lake without any mods. I know alot of people on here are talking about propoising and the tahoes do weired stuff before they get on the plane. Thats cool, we liked the boat alot and after all is said and done we bought it anyways. I know that tahoe q4 s have changed their motor to the 4 cylinder 3.0 Merc 135 hp california spec. Mainly because the weight in the back and.......... fuel economy. Thats fine, I am still going to buy the Smart Tabs SX from Nauticus, because we expect to wake and tube with it.

My 3 questions of wisdom are:

1. I see alot of people choose to put them on the outside under the swim platform vs more closer and under the out drive. Which one would you prefer or have a change of heart to and most importantly why?

2. Does it interfere with either the outdrive turning sharp or the swim ladder?

3. Where would you place the trim tabs to benefit from clear obstruction for the fish finder transducer (meaning vibrations and blocking the device from picking up acurate signals. I have a Garmin Echo 550 with the Wide 120 angle transducer) and not have to move the tie down to strap the boat to the trailer?


Thank you all!

I hope to get a response back soon since I'm sure I will need to put those tabs on anyways.

 

[nlain]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

OK, I am not a Tahoe owner but, I can tell you the the more outboard you have the tabs the better they are. Can you put them more inboard, yes you can and they will work. My advice is to call Nauticus and talk to them, they are good people, they want all of their customers to be completely satisfied with their product, they will not tell you something just to get you to buy the product. They know that they cannot stay in business that way. You may even get the owner of the company when you call. Telephone:800-233-0194

800-233- 0194800-​

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Email or call nauticus.. they're great about helping with install questions. I had basically the same questions about smart tabs on my stingray, and they sent me pictures of the same boat's transom with their tabs installed in the best location.

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Thanks guys. I guess its best to call them.

 

[Skiya]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

The farther out the better. As for the ladder on the swim plat form, smart tabs are close to the transom and not even close to the ladder. Smart tabs are the way to go w/ your size of boat. I found a spot on mine that clears the swim platform supports and the tie down straps.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

It is hard for me to believe that a brand new boat right out of the box would need tabs just to be manageable. Is it just to get on plane faster or other reasons? If its a plane thing I would try a prop before I went with the tabs but thats just me.

 

[dursetto]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

You can find more information about smart tabs on a Q4 in this thread in the Tahoe Boats forum. Good luck!

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=384107

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Thanks for all the info. I love pictures, it just tells you so much more. I was leaning towards the outside myself, since it would make sense to help the back rise evenly. Now the tabs you got on there are different from the ones I was buying, any difference as far as effectiveness. And what brand do you have?

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

It is hard for me to believe that a brand new boat right out of the box would need tabs just to be manageable. Is it just to get on plane faster or other reasons? If its a plane thing I would try a prop before I went with the tabs but thats just me.

I'm sure it gonna be OK, I will take it out tomorrow just to see how it goes, my biggest concern is of course planing faster to see where you're going, plus pulling someone will just make it worst.

I also wanted to get some more opinions on fish finder transducer mounting so it does not interfere with the beams and where I wouldn't have to move all my stuff in the long run.

I plan on owning this boat till it sinks!!!! Or if we move closer to the ocean.

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

The farther out the better. As for the ladder on the swim plat form, smart tabs are close to the transom and not even close to the ladder. Smart tabs are the way to go w/ your size of boat. I found a spot on mine that clears the swim platform supports and the tie down straps.

I think i ordered the same kind of led lights also. Do you have a pic of what they look like in water... just out of curiosity.

Thanks a lot for the pic

 

[Skiya]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Bello, the tabs are from nauticus, stainless steel. I also used the PR500 brackets to flip them up out of the way, my bunks stick out past the haul a inch or two. When I first got them they came w/ the 80# actuators and they were to strong, called up nauticus and they shipped me the 60's. I'm on another forum and just about everybody had the same issue, too strong w/ the recommended actuators. We all switch down one from 80's to 60's or 60's to 40's and that worked out well. SS prop did make the hole shot a little faster but the tabs cut the time in half and you can stay on plane at a slower speed w/ the tabs, no prop can do that.

The underwater lights are from attwood A5's I believe, put those on 3 or 4 years ago. Here's a couple pics of the lights.

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Bello, the tabs are from nauticus, stainless steel. I also used the PR500 brackets to flip them up out of the way, my bunks stick out past the haul a inch or two. When I first got them they came w/ the 80# actuators and they were to strong, called up nauticus and they shipped me the 60's. I'm on another forum and just about everybody had the same issue, too strong w/ the recommended actuators. We all switch down one from 80's to 60's or 60's to 40's and that worked out well. SS prop did make the hole shot a little faster but the tabs cut the time in half and you can stay on plane at a slower speed w/ the tabs, no prop can do that.

The underwater lights are from attwood A5's I believe, put those on 3 or 4 years ago. Here's a couple pics of the lights.

Awesome. I can't wait to get mine on there.

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Well.... Took it out today and wow how ****ty of a ride. I can not believe how bad it was. I was all over the place unrill the plane and and one on there poisoning was pretty crazy. The dude at bass pro suggested the Bennett tabs instead of nauticus.

 

[Skiya]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

You don't need bennett tabs for a 18' boat, he's full of it. Now if your boat was a 25'er that would be a different story, that's when you want powered tabs. I don't think most smaller boats had tabs till nauticus came along. Stay w/ the smart tabs, they will make a big difference in performance and for about 1/3 the price.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Well.... Took it out today and wow how ****ty of a ride. I can not believe how bad it was. I was all over the place unrill the plane and and one on there poisoning was pretty crazy. The dude at bass pro suggested the Bennett tabs instead of nauticus.

Have you talked to Nauticus yet? I have yet to hear a case where someone wasn't happy with their smart tab's when they installed and adjusted them properly. Did you do any tuning with the different actuator positions? What actuators do you have? 80# or 60# or what?

I'm sure the guy at bass pro would be more then happy to sell you tabs that cost 6x as much as the ones you have...

 

[Bello85]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

Have you talked to Nauticus yet? I have yet to hear a case where someone wasn't happy with their smart tab's when they installed and adjusted them properly. Did you do any tuning with the different actuator positions? What actuators do you have? 80# or 60# or what?

I'm sure the guy at bass pro would be more then happy to sell you tabs that cost 6x as much as the ones you have...

Thanks for the info. I really didn't think I needed manually actuated tabs on a 18 footer lol. I didn't buy the tabs yet. I will get the 60lbs. Since i read alot of people changing their servos from 80 to 60 lol. Yesterday I took it to another lake here and it was pretty calm and it made a bit of difference. So I will get the nauticus smart tabs sx 60 lbs. any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thx.

 

[Skiya]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

If I remember right nauticus recommends 60# for a 18' boat. I think most of the guys w/ that size boat started w/ 60# but had better performance when they dropped one size down to the 40#. Just something to keep in mind. I know I dropped down from the recommend 80# to 60#. If you feel your bow is riding high/porpoising when you install them, nauticus will swap your actuators for ones your happy with.

 

[nlain]

Re: Need help from all my Tahoe Q4 guys regaring Smart Tabs SX!!!!

I ordered the 80lb actuators for my boat, had to change to the 60lb actuators. Dry weight of my boat per SeaRay site is 2650 with standard power of 3.0L, I have 4.3L. Your boat per Tahoe site is 2270, so you want to start with 60lb actuators and may have to go to 40lb actuators. Once again I advise to call Nauticus. They will swap the acutators, they did for me and quite a few others.