Nauticus Smart tabs vs Bennett Self Leveling Trim Tabs?

[-Jim-]

Hi Gents,

A good Buddy of mine has a new to him 19' 11" Lund Aluminum Boat with a 1999 Honda 4 stroke OB. (I'm not 100% sure yet on the model but he said it's a 2000 SE Adventure - I think its the 2000 Fisherman. He lives 25 miles away and put it away for a while so I haven't got to confirm.) . He bought it used last season (it was in very good shape as he had a marine mechanic checked it all out), and he finally convinced me to go out in it in Georgia Strait (the Salton Sea some call it now) between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, to do some fishing. He got it from the original owner, and only added a second battery and some Scotty Downriggers at the stern, and a Lowrance Elite 7 Ti at the helm.

Anyway, as I'm reasonably experienced with boats, and certainly have far more time than he does on the chuck, I did almost all of the driving. I was appalled how much Bow Rise there was (pretty close to being dangerous in my opinion) when starting, and "porpoising" badly once on plane. It also required constant steering correction on plane, and also when trolling. (I'll tackle that issue separately.)

I'm used to larger boats on the ocean, and all of them have Trim Tabs. Larger heavier boats by nature don't have much Bow rise, but this Lund is light and the Honda is not. And I expect adding the extra Battery, Cables, etc. at the stern probably just made the situation worse.

I've read about Nauticus Smart tabs vs Bennett Self Leveling Trim Tabs (SLTs) but have not seen any posts (or YouTubes) with either one installed on a Tin Boat. Also the actuator technology is different spring vs pneumatic , and the material is Stainless on the SLTs and some kind of Plastic on the Smart Tabs.

Typically one would be looking at electric or hydraulic trim tabs but this boat is under 20 feet and my friend like to be frugal. (I know what boat stand for...). These seem to be well accepted solutions for this size of boat - along with Hydrofoils. So I'm looking for some guidance and references here.

Do you know anything about these devices? Is one of them the solution here, or should I push him to manually adjustable Trim Tabs or a Hydrofoil? Please advise your opinions Thanks.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Buy real tabs. Either electric or hydraulic

 

[Stinnett21]

He will also have to consider how much stuff is in the way of mounting them. Transducer, kicker motor, boarding ladder, live well drains, etc.

 

[dingbat]

You didn’t mention what size motor….

The boat is rated to 225 Hp. Shouldn’t have “performance” issues with 225 hp on a 1,600 aluminum boat….

Under powered, wrong prop or operator. None of which tabs will correct.

No way I would would installed “fixed” tabs on a boat used in tidal water

 

[-Jim-]

Thanks for the inputs so far Gents. Sorry, the Honda is 130 HP and 500 pounds. When on plane the boat scoots well above 35 MPH. My Buddy said he got it near 40 with him alone and empty on flat water.

We'd certainly have to see if there is anything in the way, and I am expecting perhaps the Transducer, and even maybe the Kicker. If there is too much, maybe a Hydrofoil would be the only solution.

Comments?

 

[Scott Danforth]

If there is too much, maybe a Hydrofoil would be the only solution.

Comments?

that is never the answer

 

[JASinIL2006]

SmartTabs would certainly help with bow rise and porpoising, but I am a small-water boater. I would listen to the oceangoing boaters here regarding the appropriateness of fixed versus adjustable tabs.

 

[Stinnett21]

Those old Hondas of that vintage were very heavy and the adding of the 2nd battery I imagine was the death nell. Moving the battery forward might do wonders. Also tell him to check his engine height. A few pics of his stern would be great.

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Gents,
One of the reasons I haven't got an accurate ID for the Model of the Lund and any Pics, is my Buddy is over at his Cottage on Gabriola Island for the first time since Covid hit. He's trying to setup a remote Web-Cam if he can get the internet sorted with a neighbor.

And no, he didn't take his Boat over. I really don't think his wife is too crazy on crossing the Strait is such a small craft. They went via BC Ferries.

 

[-Jim-]

Hi again Gents,

FYI, the boat is a 2001 Lund 2000 Fisherman OB. We went fishing in Howe Sound last month. (He wants me to go again tomorrow but there's a 70% chance of Rain, but I'm a Fairweather Fisherman type, so I'm probably going to decline.)

Anyway, last month we had a lot of Prawn Traps and Crab Traps on board. After most of the Prawn Traps were set, the remaining gear was all forward under cover near the Bow, and to no one's surprise the Bow Rise was of much less duration. So that proves his addition of the extra battery in the stern was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I've mentioned it to him, and suggested moving both batteries forward, but in winter he's not too keen on working on it outside. I've also tried (unsuccessfully so far) to get him to jump into a bit bigger Huey, Kingfisher, etc., with a Cabin that's heated and dry all the time; if he want's to fish year round. Even though he can easily afford it, he didn't bite.

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Gents,

I forgot I hadn't tidied up this thread, and finished reporting on what went down.

Last year I did get my Buddy to buy a Hydrofoil suitable for his engine. Then he procrastinated for the rest of the year and never got it mounted. This year we went Lake fishing in June with his lake boat from my family Cabin at Paul Lake in the Kamloops area before the fires made it too smoky; and it still wasn't done. He was having problems with the engine (a very old 40 HP Mercury) and wanted me to come over to his house (I'm a bit mechanical / electrical) and take a look. So while I was there I made him bring out the Hydrofoil and we put it on. I had no idea why he didn't do it himself (maybe a lack of confidence but he's a Mechanical Technologist?) as you didn't even have to drill any holes!

It was a couple weeks until we went out and I got to see the impact the hydrofoil had after we launched the boat at Vanier, and headed over towards Lions Gate. It was amazing. I was frankly blown away by the difference. The bow never jumped up like it did before, and we were on plane so much quicker. I can't say how impressed I was with it's performance especially for a 20 minute install with minimal tools. What I thought was an unsafe boat before, when you did a hole shot, with the bow sticking up for 12 seconds before you could trim it down to see, now has very little rise and your vision is great.

The plan now is to take the boat over to another buddy's warehouse in mid November where it's dry, and move the batteries forward into a compartment that was designed for them. The boat came with a single battery put near the transom and my Buddy added another right beside it. IMHO the stern of this boat was always sitting too deep in the water with it's heavy 500 pound Honda BF130AX engine, and the 9.9 Kicker as well. We are also going to swap the propeller for a new one, change some cabling as he used the wrong cable for the downriggers when we installed them and they are going green!

Shifting the batteries forward should make it more balanced. It probably won't get used again until 2024 after all that, but it'll be ready for it.

So if you are in need of getting the bow down on a boat when doing a hole shot, I heartily recommend trying a Hydrofoil.

 

[H20Rat]

Buy real tabs. Either electric or hydraulic

Depends on the boat... I've had nearly identical jet boats, one with smart tabs, one with a hydraulic ride plate. (basically a large single tab). Although I had more control with the hydraulic, the smart tabs gave a better ride, better low speed planing, but also a larger hit on top speed.

Current boat (heavy and relatively short deck boat) responded really well to smart tabs. No drop off at the top end, and a stable plane around 17 mph. The previous owner had a foil on it which was garbage.