Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs
I really liked the lifters I installed on my mk11 with a 40hp. They performed great. Pretty much eliminated bow rise and popped me up on a plane at very low speeds. Unfortunately I had a series of problems with the durability of the product. Maximarine did respond to my issues, but I would rather have had a refund rather than more replacement parts. According to maximarine they have not had this problem with other inflatables of similar size and hp. Was this failure caused by turbulent water off my speed tubes? I couldn't say. The maximarine people think that is the cause of my lifter failures. My old futura has the speed tubes glued to the floor rather than the the tubes. Water did flow right off them onto the lifter surfaces. I purchased my first replacement lifter because I thought I must have hit something (it tore off and was not recovered). The second lifter replacement was a free one from maxi marine. I haven't contacted them since it got thrashed. I have nothing bad to say about the company. The clamp and bracket surfaces show signs of wear and I decided the current version of the lifter is not for me (it flipped up into the boat and almost clocked me when it failed). I installed smart tabs. They are a permanent fixed installation. They are not as big, nor do they pop me up on a plane as nicely as the lifters did. They are automatically adjusting and I have them rigged to be pulled up for trailering and beaching. They can be unbolted if I need to roll up my boat, but that isn't a normal situation for me. Keeps my bow rise down, but definitely not as much as the lifters did. The really long lifters were also a bit of a problem when I turned with the outboard tilted into shallow drive mode. The smaller smart tabs don't have that issue. What would my final recommendation be? I would be hesitant to recommend the lifters to owners of larger inflatables with higher power engines. I would totally recommend the product to those with smaller inflatables and lower hp. Those big suckers really work and don't lower your top end speed much, if any. Smaller boat with a smaller engine? Looking to get up on a plane with a load? Lifters do perform.
Damaged strut. Bottom came unattached and tore off the strut.
One clamp had wear and the other lost a small piece of the hook end.
The bracket also showed signs of wear.
The smart tabs don't perform quite as well, but they are reliable.