Boatworld Trim Tabs
Operation: Tabs work on the opposite reaction principle. For example, the starboard tab raises the starboard stern and depresses the port bow.
A pair of electric or hydraulic trim tabs should be on the short list of indispensable marine accessory equipment on board any planing powerboat. Few things will affect or control the way your vessel rides in a variety of wind and sea conditions more than trim tabs. A timely touch of tabs can cure many ills. Let’s take a closer look at when and how to use these plates that extend from the transom.
Planing: Fully down, trim tabs help the boat get on plane “flatter” and also allow for planing at lower speeds, which often improves ride quality.
Tim Barker
Planing
To correct excessive bow rise, deploy your tabs down all the way and bring your engine or drive to its most negative-trim position. This should flatten your takeoff angle when you punch the throttle(s) and offer improved visibility forward. Once your boat is up on step, adjust the tabs to reduce your hull’s wetted surface and keep level across the beam. Bring your engine(s) trim up accordingly too in order to make the prop as perpendicular to the water as possible for a level running attitude.
Listing: Whether it’s caused by shifting weight or running across the wind, trim tabs instantly cure list.
Tim Barker
Listing
Shifting loads, crew members in motion, and quartering winds on the bow all affect your boat’s lateral attitude. If your vessel lists, a wet, bumpy and potentially dangerous ride may result. For instance, if wind on your port bow is causing that side of the boat to “dip” into the wind with increased spray and hull pounding, raise the tab on the side of the list (port up) and lower the tab on the leeward side (starboard down).
Drive Trim
If the outboard or sterndrive is trimmed completely in against the transom, trim tabs may be less effective once up on plane. Always have at least a little positive trim when your boat is up on plane.
Quick Tip: Trim tabs cannot bring the bow of a boat up. That’s where outboard or sterndrive trim comes into play.
A pair of electric or electro-hydraulic trim tabs should be on the short list of indispensable marine accessory equipment on board any planing powerboat. (It’s the first upgrade I made to my new EdgeWater charter boat.) Few things will affect or control the way your vessel rides in a variety of wind and sea conditions more than trim tabs. A timely touch of tabs can cure many ills. Let’s take a closer look at when and how to use these plates that extend from the transom.
Planing: Fully down, trim tabs help the boat get on plane “flatter” and also allow for planing at lower speeds, which often improves ride quality.
Planing
To correct excessive bow rise, deploy your tabs down all the way and bring your engine or drive to its most negative-trim position. This should flatten your takeoff angle when you punch the throttle(s) and offer improved visibility forward. Once your boat is up on step, adjust the tabs to reduce your hull’s wetted surface and keep level across the beam. Bring your engine(s) trim up accordingly too in order to make the prop as perpendicular to the water as possible for a level running attitude.
Listing: Whether it’s caused by shifting weight or running across the wind, trim tabs instantly cure list.
Listing
Shifting loads, crew members in motion, and quartering winds on the bow all affect your boat’s lateral attitude. If your vessel lists, a wet, bumpy and potentially dangerous ride may result. For instance, if wind on your port bow is causing that side of the boat to “dip” into the wind with increased spray and hull pounding, raise the tab on the side of the list (port up) and lower the tab on the leeward side (starboard down).
Drive Trim
If the outboard or sterndrive is trimmed completely in against the transom, trim tabs may be less effective once up on plane. Always have at least a little positive trim when your boat is up on plane.
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