Will Smart Tabs Correct a List?

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MrGiggles

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Took my 17' Tracker Deep V on it's first solo trip. Everything worked decent enough, but it seems to list pretty badly with only one occupant.

From what I understand, smart tabs will only provide transom lift under acceleration, and cannot compensate for a list. Am I correct?

The boat has a set of holes on both sides of the transom, like it had trim tabs in the past.

As far as weight distribution, I only have one trolling motor battery which is on the opposite side of the driver. The gas tank and rear battery and placed in the rear and there is really not any room to move them around.
 
MrGiggles said:
From what I understand, smart tabs will only provide transom lift under acceleration, and cannot compensate for a list. Am I correct?
Yes. Not only that, they cause drag and hurt fuel economy at non-planing speeds.

You have a RH prop, helm & console & all related weight on the starboard side and then add you in (no offense intended) ... there’s the source of your list! Trim is super important on small boats, but I’d try an SE Sport SE200 fin. Do not use their ‘snap on’ kit.

I’ve seen some guys, where it bothers them, use ‘water ballast’ to correct the heel, i.e., 5-gallon bucket of water.
 
Re: 1st solo trip. NOTE ... if you also had a strong wind coming over the starboard side of the boat, that will also cause the hull to heel into the wind!
 
DaleH said:
MrGiggles said:
From what I understand, smart tabs will only provide transom lift under acceleration, and cannot compensate for a list. Am I correct?
Yes. Not only that, they cause drag and hurt fuel economy at non-planing speeds.

You have a RH prop, helm & console & all related weight on the starboard side and then add you in (no offense intended) ... there’s the source of your list! Trim is super important on small boats, but I’d try an SE Sport SE200 fin. Do not use their ‘snap on’ kit.

I’ve seen some guys, where it bothers them, use ‘water ballast’ to correct the heel, i.e., 5-gallon bucket of water.

The wind was not blowing hard at all.

The motor already has a whale tale hydrofoil, do you think the SE Sport is an upgrade from that?
 
MrGiggles said:
The motor already has a whale tale hydrofoil, do you think the SE Sport is an upgrade from that?
Probably not. If you ran solo a lot, I'd replace the whale with a homemade tin one and would 'bend' down the starboard trailing edge to lift that side of the boat.
 
No tabs or whaletails or anything else will correct a list if the boat isn't moving forward. As Dale suggested, move some weight around or add ballast on one side if you must.

If you decide that you want to correct your list while moving, then Lenco's or Bennetts (hydraulic) tabs that are individually adjustable, on the fly, would be better than Smart Tabs.

Having added Smart Tabs to three boats, if the problem called for them, I would favor them over any Whaletail devices. They added speed to my boats, where my prior fins slowed the boat down. Properly adjusted, they are a great addition to small boats to cure porpoising and allow for planing at slower speeds.

I haven't found any references to Smart Tab owners who didn't like them, when properly adjusted, over the last ten years. Your results may differ.
rich

p.s. One trial run isn't enough, IMHO, to assess what issues you may have with the boat. As already pointed out, wind; current; weight distribution can throw off your observation. I'd go out a half dozen times to see what the real issues are.
 
richg99 said:
I haven't found any references to Smart Tab owners who didn't like them, when properly adjusted, over the last ten years.
Based on your experience with them, I came “.” this close to putting them on my new boat, then realized a potentially serious flaw with them for use in any current or following sea condition, so I could never recommend them for saltwater use running inlets.

In any sea state or flowing river waters where a large wave forms behind you, you’d want to RAISE your trim tabs. Whereas those Smart Tabs would likely be in the full DOWN position.

Look at this video, a large offshore center console boat swamps in seconds!

https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-news/watch-drone-captures-capsizing-boat-and-daring-rescue
 
As you know, better than I, running inlets is probably the most dangerous mode of operation for any boat.

Both Lencos and hydraulic Bennett tabs can be raised, automatically, completely out of the water when needed.

Even Smart Tabs can be equipped, manually, to raise the tabs completely up. That process is described in the Smart Tab literature.

It consists of two manually controlled lines that attach to the aft end of the tab(s). The lines are pulled (manually) up and cleated off when one needs the tabs to completely clear the water.

The "raise-up process" is helpful when backing down in inches of water on a mud bottom (don't ask how I know this).

My best guess is that 95% of the potential users of any small-boat tab system will never see any inlet. And, if they do, they will only return to base when the tides and current are at an ebb.

But, your point is well taken. Anything that adds to danger on a boat should be planned and used wisely. We've all done something and later wished that we hadn't.
regards, rich

p.s. In my limited experience, there was never ANY time that the tabs would be in a Full-Down position. Properly adjusted, my tabs were, at best, about one-inch, fully extended, below the bottom of the boat.

They are not airplane flaps. (Ha Ha)
 
Rich:

And your point would be well taken that smart tabs would be an awesome option for stillwater boats! I also noticed Bennett Marine came out with their own version.
 
re Bennett, yeah, as I understand it their version..though..is that they do not use the gas struts/shocks. I think they use springs. If that is correct, they are not utilizing the very best feature of Smart Tabs.

Gas struts give and take, and absorb and reflect, the pressures of waves. It is an action that flattens out your ride.

Some guys, after putting them on, cannot believe how much smoother their boat runs in waves. That same feature allows for planing at much slower speeds than without them. They fix porpoising. Heck, I know I sound like an old Snake Oil salesman, but using them is believing.

I only learned about them when I bought a used Carolina Skiff. I took the boat to a mechanic to have the engine checked out before completing the deal. The mechanic took me back in the yard to show me the Smart Tabs that he had added onto his own boat. That sold me on my first pair.

rich

p.s. An ideal setup, IMHO, would be Lenco actuators with gas struts controlling the tabs. Viola! All of the best attributes of tabs in one package.
 
Makes me wonder if the smart tabs are adjustable, maybe it would be as easy as adding more downforce to the starboard trim tab.
 
You certainly can manually adjust one tab further down than the other. But, you cannot adjust them on the fly.

The extra advantage of Lenco's or hydraulic Bennetts is that you can adjust them on the run for windblown waves etc.

I never had a big need for adjusting while the boat was running, so the Smart Tabs worked for me. In my 14/16 foot boats (all of which were center consoles) I could just slide my big body over a foot or so and flatten her out.

One of my current side console boats has a bench type seat, so I could move over a bit on that, too. The other one has a fixed seat and moving would not be as easy. If moving were a big deal, one of Tinboat's sponsors makes a seat slider that would help.

Different strokes for different folks.
rich
 
richg99 said:
You certainly can manually adjust one tab further down than the other. But, you cannot adjust them on the fly.

The extra advantage of Lenco's or hydraulic Bennetts is that you can adjust them on the run for windblown waves etc.

I never had a big need for adjusting while the boat was running, so the Smart Tabs worked for me. In my 14/16 foot boats (all of which were center consoles) I could just slide my big body over a foot or so and flatten her out.

One of my current side console boats has a bench type seat, so I could move over a bit on that, too. The other one has a fixed seat and moving would not be as easy. If moving were a big deal, one of Tinboat's sponsors makes a seat slider that would help.

Different strokes for different folks.
rich

Real hydraulic or electric actuated tabs are out of my budget.

The boat has a "bench" of sorts but with two seats mounted on it.

As mentioned, I need to spend a little more solo time to see if it's really that big of an issue.
 

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