Holy Smoking Smart Tabs Bat man!

[jamnn]

Okay so I am a bit enthused! My original post http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=575345 gave me some answers as to the choices out there. I decided against the hydra foil because I did not want to drill holes in my new motor. I bought some smart tabs and put them on for the Labor day weekend. What a difference. My ten foot inflatable was actually racing a jet ski! Not as fast with "the admiral" (my wife) on board but a much more pleasant ride for her. No porpoising or bow rise. I even crossed some big wakes and these tabs work great to keep the boat on a plane. Thanks for all your advice. Oh and the guys at Nautica that make the tabs are great. Great service and very helpful. You can tell they really care about their product. I will take a video this weekend and post it here so you can see for your self!

 

[Peter_C]

Re: Holy Smoking Smart Tabs Bat man!

How slow can you plane now? My boat planes at 13mph.

Sometimes I wonder why the rear (tubes) sponsons weren't made to put more downward pressure on the water like the trim tabs.

 

[fbpooler]

Re: Holy Smoking Smart Tabs Bat man!

The reason the tubes extend beyound the transom is to support the weight of the motor. Since the advent of the four stroke outboard, new designs of inflatables have increased the volume of the extensions to handle the increased motor weight. You give up cockpit space by the length of the extension.

Compare the tubes on an older design such as the Avon Rover to older Zodiacs. The Zodiacs were faster but had smaller cockpits. If we used our inflatable more, tabs would be on my short list.