Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

[mydogmax]

I understand that Trim Tabs will not help increase my boat speed but they should help to lift the stern. I also understand that a hydrafoil on the gear case of the motor will also lift the stern.
The problem is I do not have the garage space for the additional 6 to 12 inches to back up into the garage, thus it would be better to add the Trim Tabs.
Does anybody have an opinion on Trim Tabs vs. Hydrafoil?
Which one is better?
What benefits do each offer?
Will it smooth the ride out?
Will it increase speed?
Will it stay on course better?

Note: I have a:
15'2 Klamath ADW Windshield series aluminum boat.
40 HP Evinrude ETEC
6HP Tohatsu Four stroke as a kicker
Used on coastal waters off San Diego and in the San Diego Bay.
Used on lake and rivers
So far I have topped out at 28.5 MPH (per GPS)

Thank you for any information you can provide.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

You will get answers on both sides of this, kinda like the Harley Honda debate( I ride a Honda and use a foil)

Tabs are probably better and you won't have to modify your garage to install them.

Some say it is bad to add lift on the motor, I am in the camp that thinks the transom and motor mount are plenty strong enough to hold this additional force.

Tabs are like a hull extension and lift on the hull itself, people swear by them and I don't question them but I fish a river and find myself in shallow water pretty often and don't want anything hanging below the hull except the motor which I can tilt.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

all i can say is i highly recommend these, http://www.iboats.com/SX_Smart_Tabs...3703934--**********.297344271--view_id.352486

i would never put a foil on a motor.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

i've never had tabs, but would consider them if i was having a issue.
as for the foil. i had one of them stingray foils on my last boat that i ran in the river (read debris filled). all the foil did for me was break off a chunk of my vent. plate on my drive after hitting an unknown object... i took it off and ran nothing after that..

 

[capt sam]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

a foil won't help balance a boat which is what I mainly use tabs for, plus you can control tabs, a foil you can't.

 

[captmello]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

I'm thinking of buying some of those smart tabs. Those are not hydrolically adjustable however. Does anyone know what is smart about smart tabs?

 

[nlain]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

I have run both, foil on the old boat, never again, Smart Tabs on the current boat, highly recommend them. They will increase you speed when adjusted properly, also I boat in water that is anywhere from deep to sand/mud bar, I back into the beach and my drive always hits before the tabs are even close.

 

[joe09]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

i run both also,what is wrong with foils?and i would use the adjustable tabs,you have control over weight distribution.if you use only one i would get tabs.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

There is a very detailed description of how Smart Tabs work on the Nauticus web site. I own them and they work. I've installed foils on a couple boats and ended up removing them. If engine mounted foils were so great, the engine manufacturers would have installed them or built them into the AV plate to start with.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

Get tabs "if" you need something. You didn't say what your problem is, but you did mention stern lift and tabs do this well, fins sort of do it, but that's not what they really help with. Tabs and fins are designed to do different things.

 

[The_Kid]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

There is a very detailed description of how Smart Tabs work on the Nauticus web site. I own them and they work. I've installed foils on a couple boats and ended up removing them. If engine mounted foils were so great, the engine manufacturers would have installed them or built them into the AV plate to start with.

I'll play the devils advocate here. If Smart tabs were so great, the boat manufacturers would have installed them to start with.

Actually, I think each of them have there place depending on what the problem is. I've had a hydrofoil on my pontoon for over 10 years without it causing any problems with the motor or tramsom. I don't have power trim and the manual adjustments wouldn't let me get things dialed in. The hydrofoil solved the problem and gave me better fuel economy.

 

[Edko]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

Do they pre install hydrofoils?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

on a toon you have no choice as there are no tabs for a toon.

look at it this way. if you want to lift the stern of your boat, do you lift from the center top, (that is what foils do) or do you lift from the sides and the bottom of the transom. foils add extreme pressure on the transom mount of the motor, which it was not designed to handle, making steering harder, more wear and tear.

tabs lift where the lift is suppose to be. at the bottom of the transom.

what is smart about Smart Tabs, is they are self adjustable, it you like gadgets to mess with and maintain, get some bennett or lenco tabs

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

Same answer as the other thread on this today...

Since this question comes up every week there should be a sticky with "Facts" for each one. Tabs and fins (foils) are totally different products designed to do different things, comparing them is unfair to both.

I don't love or hate either one, they're just tools to help the performance of a boat "if needed", if you don't need what either one may offer, then it will be a waste of money and may hurt performance.

Both need to be set up correctly to be of any value, the bolt it on and go crowd (most boaters) will not be getting all they can out of either one, and again, performance may be worse than without it.

The issues that most boaters are looking for help with are better served by tabs, people frequently think the two products (tools) are interchangeable, they aren't, no more than a hammer and crescent wrench are interchangeable.

 

[QC]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

Good idea . . . ^^^^^^ I'll volunteer on the tab portion of it, as I have run and installed Bennet's, K-Plane type, Lenco's and Smart Tabs, but will need someone to volunteer for facts on Foils. Never even held one. I think they have cooties

 

[QC]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

BTW, tabs actually can be argued to increase top speed by allowing higher trim levels and allowing a speed favoring rear weight bias. Without tabs the weight shift to the stern will often cause porpoising that limits the ability to trim out.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

I'll play the devils advocate here. If Smart tabs were so great, the boat manufacturers would have installed them to start with.

You argument is slightly off target here. Engine manufacturers have no input regarding the equipment a boat builder installs on it's hull. They do, however, control the design and engineering of their engine. None of them recomend a "foil", in fact they suggest that one not be used.

Also, the decision for boatbuilders to not include tabs as standard equipment has nothing to do with necessity, it is pure economics. Advertised base price competes with advertised base price. If this were not the case then standard equipment lists would include EFI, bimini tops, full inclosures, tabs, fishfinders, full enclosures and galvanized trailers with brakes. And that base price jumps up 10K...

 

[CAVU V]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

With trim tabs you don't just adjust the stern and bow, you also adjust the port or stern lists.

On my Bennetts I added a automatic retractor when the ignition is turned off.

Dale

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

BTW, tabs actually can be argued to increase top speed by allowing higher trim levels and allowing a speed favoring rear weight bias. Without tabs the weight shift to the stern will often cause porpoising that limits the ability to trim out.

The same argument can be made for fins.

I have an aluminum prop on my 19' CC (200hp Evinrude), this prop would ventilate badly under hard acceleration. Now I could have invested $500.00 in a SS prop, but this boat doesn't get used all that much and I couldn't justify the expense and since I had a foil sitting in the shop I thought I'd give it a try. With a fin I was able to raise the motor another hole higher and reduced the ventilation problem too far less than what it had been before. By raising the motor I reduced the gearcase drag and gained rpm's, MPG and speed. Having the gearcase (prop) higher also reduces bow rise and improves hole shot, with it higher the fin is also out of the water at speed, so there are no negative handling affects. I will admit that going SS would have most likely yielded even greater gains, but at a much higher cost. Most of the other claims or ideas of what a fin might do are misunderstandings of how they work.

 

[QC]

Re: Trim Tabs at transom vs. Hydrafoil above prop

Maybe it could be said that with an I/O there is no way to compensate for the addition of the foil. I did find some good positive foil data here on iboats from a member and that was an I/O, so what the heck do I know . . . I have been poking around for the "sticky" You can write the Hydrofoil section if you want, I am definitely not the right one for that.

My version would be like this:

Tabs are blah, blah, blah, and some of this blah, and they go on like this, and they make the sun brighter and the water cleaner.

'Foils suck.