Paging Magic Bill - trim tabs, you were right

[luckydude]

So my 228 came with 9x12 trim tabs. I have a fishing buddy with 25 years of experience who said those are too small. I put 18x12 tabs on my 228.
Holy mother f*cking sh*t, it is a different boat.

So my 228, I'm on the digital throttle all the time, every swell, back off, get on it, repeat. I can't be not on my throttle.

Put the big tabs on and wow, they just lift my butt over the swell, I just don't launch anywhere near as much as I did.

I wanted a Marlin, I'm fine, more than fine, loving a 228 with these tabs.

 

[luckydude]

It gets on plane sooner and stays on plane at slower speeds, it didn't take my 22 foot boat and turn it into a Marlin, but it is so much better I'm cured of deadly 2-foot-itus disease.

About the only "downside" was that I had to get longer straps and move them forward on the trailer so the straps didn't push on the tabs. No biggy.

 

[family affair]

Photos of the tabs on the boat?

 

[luckydude]

Photos of the tabs on the boat?

The trick to fitting them is to bolt them to the ram, then see where they naturally want to go. They fit perfect. Well, almost, I had to cut off a corner so the scupper wasn't covered but other than that, easy install. And the cutoff was a few minutes with a angle grinder, then over to the wire brush wheel to clean up the edge. Easy peasy.

 

[Ryhlick]

Larry and Barry and friends adventures in fishing boats

mcvoy.com

4th row down labeled May 27 2022. The trick to fitting them is to bolt them to the ram, then see where they naturally want to go. They fit perfect. Well, almost, I had to cut off a corner so the scupper wasn't covered but other than that, easy install. And the cutoff was a few minutes with a angle grinder, then over to the wire brush wheel to clean up the edge. Easy peasy.

Were you able to use the same hydraulics, did you replace just the tabs? Thanks

 

[luckydude]

Were you able to use the same hydraulics, did you replace just the tabs? Thanks

Same hydraulics, I asked the guy who suggested this idea and he said all the rams are the same. They work great in my case. It's a really easy fix to make your ride way better. You just have to find the sweet spot but that's pretty easy with some practice. Careful with them in a following sea or steep swells spaced close together, I feel like there are situations where you could stuff the bow (I haven't, yet, and hope not to).

 

[glacierbaze]

Tabs up, bow up, in a following sea.

 

[luckydude]

Tabs up, bow up, in a following sea.

In my little experience, it depends. If it is 6 feet @ 12 or more seconds, those aren't steep, rides almost like a flat ocean so you can push the bow down just fine. 6@8 or 6@9, oh heck yeah, tabs up, bow up.

 

[magicalbill]

Luck:

Interesting...In all my discussions with you regarding tabs, I didn't give any thought to them being too small. I have always used the tabs Grady provided on my Seafarer, Gulfstream, and current Marlin.

But OK. Glad you turned the Page into a better chapter. Be careful with the bigger tabs; you could really heel your 22 up on her side if you lay into them hard. You'll slide across the deck...

Glacierbaze; It is not a steadfast rule to have tabs up in a following sea. I run tabs in all following seas under 3 ft. It eliminates bow rise and stops the "Hobby Horsing" that a boat will do overtaking waves. Yes, once they get too large, tabs up so you won't plow into the face of a big one in front of you.

Congrats Lucky: Good to hear your jazzed up.

 

[luckydude]

Luck:

Interesting...In all my discussions with you regarding tabs, I didn't give any thought to them being too small. I have always used the tabs Grady provided on my Seafarer, Gulfstream, and current Marlin.

But OK. Glad you turned the Page into a better chapter. Be careful with the bigger tabs; you could really heel your 22 up on her side if you lay into them hard. You'll slide across the deck...

Glacierbaze; It is not a steadfast rule to have tabs up in a following sea. I run tabs in all following seas under 3 ft. It eliminates bow rise and stops the "Hobby Horsing" that a boat will do overtaking waves. Yes, once they get too large, tabs up so you won't plow into the face of a big one in front of you.

Congrats Lucky: Good to hear your jazzed up.

I think it is something that every 228/226 owner should consider. If you go to the Bennett website, the tabs that came on my 228 are sized for 14-17 foot boats.

Personally, after experiencing the difference, I'd put the absolute largest tabs on the boat that you can. You can trim them all the way up and they do nothing. It's a dramatic difference when you put them down.

Hats off to Magic Bill for pushing me towards using the tabs in the first place, and hats off to my buddy who said mine were too small.

 

[Greysailor]

This is great timing as I been tweaking my 12 x 9 tabs. I never check the tab size to the Bennett guide.
To monitor the trim of the tabs, while underway, I did install the Bennet Trim tab indicator controllers.

EIC Electronic Indicator Control Kit (HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS ONLY) - Bennett Marine

bennetttrimtabs.com

It uses the existing hydraulics and was an easy install.
Larger tabs might be next on the list.