Smart tabs.

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chambers1517

Petty Officer 1st Class
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I have a Mariah 212 with a 454mpi. It's pretty heavy in the rear. How do you think Smart Tabs would change the overall performance?
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

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Which performance aspects would you want to see improved? Holeshot? Minimum speed to stay on plane? Eliminate porpoising?
 
A

airshot

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Trim adjustments need to be very small, folks often go way to much !!
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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If the power set up is factory, shouldnt need much. Do you have a weight distribution challenge?
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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Is it sbc or bbc? If sbc weight is about the same, bbc about 200 more lbs. Id look into how to shift weight is you can in that event.
 
JimS123

JimS123

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Been there, fixed that.

If its no trim at higher speeds, Smart tabs won't help you since they won't be deployed. You truly need expensive Bennett tabs to correct your anomaly. The bottom line, though, is that you will need to deploy them at higher speeds, which is counter intuitive. Sure, you'll enable more trim, but there will be a speed loss.

How old is the boat? Did it have this problem when new? Look at the bottom for a rocker. Likely the hull is deformed because of poor storage.

So, what is your problem? Can't go fast enough? If your hole shot is good, just live with it. The solution won't help with speed or fuel economy.
 
Y

YellowT

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I owned a Mariah 212 with the 454 a few years ago. Looked identical except mine was a bright emerald green. And I just sold an 18 foot outboard deck boat with a set of Smart Tabs installed. So perhaps I have some insight into the original question.

1. Smart Tabs aren't as bad as a lot of people would have you think; they actually work fairly well on small, light boats. And, of course, they're cheap. They do get light boats up on plane faster, and they'll hold plane in rough water at lower speeds. They're much less useful at balancing the boat, but they'll make a bit of a difference at planing speeds.

2. However, other kinds of trim tabs, and other brands of self leveling tabs (Bennett, for example) perform better or are better-made.

3. For the Mariah 212, I'm pretty sure you'd be better off spending the extra money for a proper set of adjusting tabs, hydraulic or electrical. I had Lenco electrics on mine. The 212, especially with that stern-heavy engine, is too heavy and somewhat imbalanced (in my opinion) for the Smart Tabs to make enough of a difference to be worthwhile.

Hope that helps.
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

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Smart Tabs cured porpoising and chine-walking on my boat. They also helped quite a bit with bow rise on holeshot and they allow me to stay on plane at speeds 3-5 mph slower.

True trim rabs would doubtess give you more control and adjustability, but SmartTabs might help in your situation.
 
Q

QBhoy

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if you don't always need to have a full tank of fuel...that hugely helps. Just having the fuel you think you need for the outing, plus a safety margin/reserve amount on top (10% or something) will make things better for sure.
With that engine and a full tank of fuel...you're likely talking about 1400-1500 lbs sitting right at the back end of the boat there...ad in a few family members sitting in the back...you get the idea...
 
JimS123

JimS123

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QBhoy said:
if you don't always need to have a full tank of fuel...that hugely helps. Just having the fuel you think you need for the outing, plus a safety margin/reserve amount on top (10% or something) will make things better for sure.
With that engine and a full tank of fuel...you're likely talking about 1400-1500 lbs sitting right at the back end of the boat there...ad in a few family members sitting in the back...you get the idea...
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That's one way of looking at it. But if a full tank causes problems, then I suggest that the boat wasn't designed very well.

I only had one boat that would not accept trim. Turned out the hull deformed over Winter due to poor storage (my fault).

I'm not a fan of smart tabs, but based on other responses maybe that is an option. I just cringe when having to drill all those holes...

Personally, when I leave the dock my tank is always 100%. You never know when ship happens.
 
dingbat

dingbat

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JimS123 said:
Personally, when I leave the dock my tank is always 100%. You never know when ship happens.
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“Ship happens” is the reason for the 30/30/30 rule.

My speed and fuel economy drops with every gallon I put in the tank. Makes carrying an excessive fuel load a liability.

I typically run 50-60 miles a day. Following the 30/30/30 rule, I carry ~ 40 gallons (98 gallon tank) to get me through the day. Gives me a 15-20 mile reserve to run to a “hot” bite or the fuel dock
 
Q

QBhoy

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JimS123 said:
That's one way of looking at it. But if a full tank causes problems, then I suggest that the boat wasn't designed very well.

I only had one boat that would not accept trim. Turned out the hull deformed over Winter due to poor storage (my fault).

I'm not a fan of smart tabs, but based on other responses maybe that is an option. I just cringe when having to drill all those holes...

Personally, when I leave the dock my tank is always 100%. You never know when ship happens.
Click to expand...
I get that...and to be honest my own father usually always has at least 3/4 tanks to full tanks..
But just to emphasise my point a little, using his boat as an example...him carrying full tanks is just about 300 gallons of fuel...then add on another 140 gallons if he has his water tank full. That adds up to the equivalent of him carrying about a bmw 3 series across the boat...crazy when you think of it that way..costs fuel to carry fuel usually.
 
JimS123

JimS123

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dingbat said:
“Ship happens” is the reason for the 30/30/30 rule.

My speed and fuel economy drops with every gallon I put in the tank. Makes carrying an excessive fuel load a liability.

I typically run 50-60 miles a day. Following the 30/30/30 rule, I carry ~ 40 gallons (98 gallon tank) to get me through the day. Gives me a 15-20 mile reserve to run to a “hot” bite or the fuel dock
Click to expand...
So if you leave with the extra 50 gallons it's like having 2 extra people aboard. If that is enough to cause a huge cost penalty, well, I dunno.

For me, a 15-20 mile reserve ain't good enough. But, of course, that's just me. I didn't buy a boat to save money.
 
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