Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

[lucida]

Here is my homemade low cost trim tab,
- 2 gas actuactors from fleabay for $10
- 2 hinge from harbor for $6
- some metal and plastic scraps
- some rivets

 

[QC]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Hey lucida,

I moved this post over to your own thread as it is interesting enough on its own.

My only comment is that I think you should have used a continuous type hinge (piano hinge) as I would be concerned about lateral tweaking and bending of the hinge you have. Not to be a negative nancy, but I think it may break in pretty short order . . . I'd keep a close eye on it.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Yep QC,

I can see that a lot of flexing is going to happen with that design .

 

[Snobike Mike]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

I'm with the general consensus here. I'd give it one trip and one mildly hard turn and the lateral load will kill them.

I see smart tabs in your future......

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

I hope you embedded the screws with 5200 or you will be filling the hull core with water and eventually ruin your boat. I would guess you are looking at a rusting situation in short order. Good luck and keep us informed on how wrong we are... ;}

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Have you water tested them yet? How much down pressure do they exert? I would use a bathroom scale to measure how much pressure it takes to pressure the actuator until they are at a level position.

Very innovative....... I agree that maybe a piano hinge might be better as stated above. Let us know the results.

 

[Hogger]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

I knew it was possible!
I'm planning on doing this myself.
I found the gas shocks at a local RV store. And figure some aluminum sheet, bent on the sides would work well.
But I would have to agree, and say that a piano hinge would provide greater strength.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Where in the heck is Tabman on this. ??

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

There are many good posts about transom repair in the restoration section...

 

[shrew]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

What are the "Some Metals and Plastic Scraps" actually made from? The hinge looks like galvanized steel and the brackets the gas ram connects too (top and bottom) look like enamel coated steel.

Do you boat in Fresh or Salt water?

Incidentally, this is a marvelous idea and I genuinely feel bad regarding the overall panning in the replies. Unfortunately, I don't disagree with the comments. I can practically hear the 'pride balloon' deflating from here and truly feel for you.

Take a few words for Thomas A. Edison:

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

"Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged. "

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work. "

?I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process.?

?Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Where in the heck is Tabman on this. ??

Ayuh,... Sitting somewhere in Florida, laughin' 'is azz off....

But that's Ok,...
I'm in the process of re-inventing a set of Lencos I got from Starsnstripers that'll have SSteel rams, 'n a Bennett pump....

 

[thesledhead]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

How high off the bottom of the hull are they mounted???? looks from the first pic that they are a inch or two from the bottom of the boat???

 

[Tabman]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Where in the heck is Tabman on this. ??

Summer Fun,

Here I am! Since I work for a company that makes remotely controlled Trim Tabs, I tend to limit my comments to them.

Having said that, I love homemade projects! This is pretty cool, but I have to agree with the posts regarding the use of a piano hinge. It would be far better to spread the load and the piano hinge will also lessen the water pressure escaping out the joint between the Trim Tab and Transom, you might get some spray using the set up he did. Bennett uses an interlocking style hinge that is actually stronger than a piano hinge and totally eliminates spray or misting coming through the hinge.

Like the rest of the gang I am interested in seeing how these hold up.

 

[sasto]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Ayuh,... Sitting somewhere in Florida, laughin' 'is azz off....

But that's Ok,...
I'm in the process of re-inventing a set of Lencos I got from Starsnstripers that'll have SSteel rams, 'n a Bennett pump....

Hey, Lenco is a friend of mine and if you can pull that off I want to be part of it!

 

[Tabman]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Ayuh,... Sitting somewhere in Florida, laughin' 'is azz off....

But that's Ok,...
I'm in the process of re-inventing a set of Lencos I got from Starsnstripers that'll have SSteel rams, 'n a Bennett pump....

Actually I'm in South Carolina these days freezing my a** off!

Stainless Steel Rams?

Most people don't know we make those for large yachts and high performance boats.

They are a little more robust than the homemade ones

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Actually I'm in South Carolina these days freezing my a** off!

Stainless Steel Rams?

Most people don't know we make those for large yachts and high performance boats.

They are a little more robust than the homemade ones

Ooohhhhh! Pretty! So how much would it cost to swap out my standard rams for those? Maybe I could beta test them for you...

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

To the OP, is the tab material plastic or metal? You might be able to epoxy and bolt some aluminum L channel to the edges to stiffen it. That combined with the hinge modification suggested above an you might just have a nearly free set of tabs! You definitely get an A for effort!

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

Actually I'm in South Carolina these days freezing my a** off!

Stainless Steel Rams?

Most people don't know we make those for large yachts and high performance boats.

They are a little more robust than the homemade ones

How many more anodes would one need if we had that off the transom? That's a lot of steel... nice bling, but a lot of steel none the less...

 

[Tabman]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

How many more anodes would one need if we had that off the transom? That's a lot of steel... nice bling, but a lot of steel none the less...

Good point Doug,

That's one reason our "standard" composite actuators are a good choice for most "normal" boats. On large yachts the mass of these stainless actuators and Trim Tabs are factored into the boat's bonding system and a large anode or sometimes an active protection system is used.

Metal actuators are pretty common on 70 foot and above boats.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Homemade Trim Tabs install with pics

I came earily close to doing this to my boat a couple years ago, I had 8''x10'' 3/16 aluminum and a full width hinge with the shocks but though about it a ittle too much and decided not to go through with it, if it didn't work I would have a bunch of hole below the waterline and didn't want to mess with it.

As to the OPs design, it is pretty clever, I love taking whatever you have in the garage and making it do what you want, however I am with everybody else, the stuff you used is WAY to lite for this application, you have to remember that little flap of plastic is going to lift the boat adn with it only supported down the middle with a triangle hinge, I just don't know.

You could suprise all of us and have it work really well but prepare for a redesign if this one fails.