Lifters vs. trim tabs

[nova_gts]

Which would you say is better?

 

[nobrainsd]

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.

 

[nova_gts]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

So do you tend to think that the product came off because it was poor quality or because your boat was too fast to handle?
Did the lifters ever get in the way when turning shap?

How does each attach?
Lifters used high bond glue tape what?

Trim tabs use screws?

Your general feeling is that since my boat is smaller and has less power that the lifters would not fall off most likely?

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

The lifters have a bracket that attaches to your transom with screws and has some sticky tape to seal the holes. There is a hook cut into the handle on the lifter itself that clamps onto the bracket with the tip of the hook engaging into a hole in the bracket. The handle on the lifter reinforces the lifter, forms the hook clamp and free floats a bit (sliding in holes with screws and washers). To install and remove you just clip the lifter onto the bottom bracket and tighten the wingnut to hold the top end of the lifter tube to the transom (it attaches to a through transom bolt). All in all a quick and easy set up. I am not crazy on the water, but I do take my boat out to surf and it does get a workout going over standing face waves. How the lifters would work on your boat? I just don't know. But I would guess that a 10' rib with a 15 hp outboard (and no speed tubes right there) would be fine. I really liked the performance of the lifter. Maximarine seemed surprised I had problems. They even supplied me with a new hook shape on my last replacement lifter... I just didn't want to mess with it anymore. If you are going out expedition style these lifters might not be for you, but I would put them on a tender or dink for sure.

I didn't have any trouble with clearance between my prop and the lifters, except in shallow water tilt mode. It was possible to rack the steering all the way over and clip the lifter. I just avoided doing that. The smaller smart tabs leave loads of room.

The smart tabs attach with screws into the transom. They are hinged, so there isn't a clamping mechanism to fail. They are smaller, they don't pop you up on a plane as quickly as the lifters. The tabs do help with bow lift on hole shots.

Both perform better than my dolfin did and don't snag kelp all the time either.

 

[nova_gts]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

So chances are on 2-3' waves (max I see) the lifter wont break off and nearly kill me...
Glad I didnt buy a dolfin, there is an *** load of hydrillia in the river i live on, wasnt even thinking about that...
It sounds like the Lifters are better, but I am a little skeptical on them failing (they also look obnoxiously large on such a small boat)...
would either be affected by me keeping my boat on a jet dock? I currently do.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

I have to admit that I am very happy with the smart tabs I have installed. They are a big improvement over no tabs. The pulley arrangement works well to move them up for the trailer and beaching. They haven't peeled off yet. The same company is now selling the same design in composite plastic. If you are going to leave them in water for extended periods of time that might be a good idea. I have anodes on both stainless tabs.

Yeah, the lifters are big. But goofy or not they will plane your smaller inflatable at less speed than anything else I've tried. It was nice while it lasted... Hopefully someone else who has them will venture by the boards and enlighten us.

 

[nova_gts]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

Oh yes, What are speed tubes?

 

[bayman]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

I'm interested in this thread as well and am looking forward to more info.

Speed tubes are inflatable tubes that run the length of the boat, on the bottom of some inflatable boats. The ones I have seen were around 4 to 6 inches in diameter. You often hear people saying that it feels like it's running on rails when you have them. I remember seeing one of the fast Zodiac inflatables a few years back - a sport model. They said it could get up to 65 mph with the speed tubes.

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

Yes, the speed tubes are inflatable tubes that run from front to back. They do work well, the boat handles and planes better with them. My older model has the tubes set in farther toward the center of the boat. Nice in that any glue repairs don't involve the tube surfaces, but Zodiac now glues them on farther out. Maximarine's rep hypothesized that the turbulent water flowing right off my tubes and across the lifters was causing the lifters to pivot back and forth excessively. They felt that this was the reason I experienced wear and release issues. It would be great if someone who didn't have the same set up could comment on the long term durability of the design. I still wouldn't put them on a newer futura or other sport boat, but the performance would tempt me to put them on a smaller boat with less hp. Small tabs or dolfins won't give you that low speed lift.

 

[nova_gts]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

I would be willing to try... Know anywhere they would be cheap? I saw them on ebay for 106... but shipping was like 21$... thats a ***** of shipping.

 

[fastroller]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

If the lifters get the boat to plane at slower speeds, do they have any affect on boat handling in choppy water? In other words, do they provide for a more comfortable ride in rougher water than otherwise?

Also, the advertising for Adventure stabilizer claims it is the best device for getting the boat to plane at slower speeds. I wonder if there is any difference between this brand and other brands (say dolfin)?

By the way, I have a 1997 14' Zodiac Fastroller with hp air floor and speed tubes: so, would the speed tubes on this boat present the same problem you experienced with your MK II?

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Lifters vs. trim tabs

I really couldn't tell you if you will have a problem. I find it hard to believe that maximarine can guarantee these things and stay in business if they failed very often, but the previous pictures capture my experience. I don't have any experience with lifters on other boats. If they stayed attached to my boat I would still be using them. If they didn't work so well it would be easy to dismiss them altogether. If you have a bigger boat, blast around at higher speeds and don't roll it up a lot then smart tabs might be the best bet. Have an inflatable that dogs around, pushes a lot of water, maybe has lot's of bow rise and doesn't plane at slow speeds or maybe much at all with a smaller engine? Gotta try them... be sure to let us know how it goes.
Those on the gear case fins (like dolfin) are out of the question for me. I run through way too much kelp. I still get grabbed occasionally, but losing the dolfin has saved me from getting cleaned up by set waves for sure. The lifters did help in choppy water, particularly as you throttle back. My boat deals with serious chop the best on a reasonably slow plane (can't spend all the time blasting around at top speed while bouncing the full 6 inch range on my suspension seats). Now I drop off plane with my smart tabs at speeds that worked with the lifters. I wish someone else who has them would chime in... You might e -mail maximarine and see what they have to say (though I would always prefer to hear from a fellow boater).