260 Sundeck Trim Tabs

J

john murphy

New Member
Oct 23, 2008
10
lake travis, austin, texas
Boat Info
260 Sundeck 2008
Engines
350 Mercuiser
I'm relatively new to boating. Getting the feel for my boat I have been trying to figure out the optimal setting for trim on the engine and setting the optimum location for the trim tabs. Does anyone have some simple rule of thumb recomendations while running at 10 mps - 40 mph?
Thanks
 
I think you described it... getting the feel for it. I normally run our 240 about 3200 rpm. After coming on plane i trim just a little and can see the rpm's go up a bit.. it's usually just a second of a touch on the trim control. As far as the the tabs I only use those for correcting a list to one side.
 
I pretty much agree with Larry, but I started using a small amount of both tabs when I have a few guests on board. I find that a little bit of down on both tabs gives a smoother ride and also minimizes the amount of "sway" that you get when people shift around. If the 260SD has a beam wider than 8'6", then this might not be necessary for you.
 
Larry&Leisa said:
I think you described it... getting the feel for it. I normally run our 240 about 3200 rpm. After coming on plane i trim just a little and can see the rpm's go up a bit.. it's usually just a second of a touch on the trim control. As far as the the tabs I only use those for correcting a list to one side.
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Ditto:thumbsup:

The only other time I would play with the tabs/trim was when I wanted the bow down for rough water/seas.
 
The Trim Tabs on Rumblefish only get used when we have her full of passengers. By and large, they aren't needed for where we boat. I have heard of people using them to decrease time to plane then retracting them, but we don't have that problem :)
 
As for the outdrive trip, there is a sweet spot for max performance/fuel consumption and it will be trial and error for you to figure it out on your boat as all of them are gonna be a little different. I've been told on the outdrive trip start all the way down and then once on place watch the speedo and bring it up a little bit until you see your speed jump up a little bit without giving more throttle, that is where your sweet spot will be.

As for the trim tab's on a sundeck you probably will only need them to balance out the boat if it's listing to one side or the other. Also as Chuck said if rough water you may want them to get the bow down into the waves to cut through them better.

As for understanding how they work:

Always start with them all the way up. That would be by pressing both DOWN.
Imagine looking at your boat from the top looking down at it. pushing down makes the rear of the boat sit down in the water and up makes the bow of the boat sit down in the water.

This also comes in handy when there is a cross wind causing your boat to list it will help you balance the boat out and make for a more comfortable ride.
 
I usually use mine with passengers on board.
Once on a plane my 270 levels out nicely on her own with a 10 foot beam.
 
I still can't understand with all of the electronics and gadetry that finds its way on the SeaRay boats why the still don't install trim tab indicators.
 
You can add trim tab indicators apparently pretty easy. Just call Bennet Trim Tabs they will set you up with exactly what you need and how to do it.
 
Always start with them all the way up, once you get out more you'll have more feel for what they are actually doing and how to use them to your benefit.

Off topic- Real boaters don't need a trim gauge or a tab indicator:thumbsup: ... Please don't let that hurt anyones ego...:grin:
 
Morpheus said:
You can add trim tab indicators apparently pretty easy. Just call Bennet Trim Tabs they will set you up with exactly what you need and how to do it.
Click to expand...

I really wanted to add the indicators when we first got the boat but like most say here I don't goof with them too much unless I need to level the boat out.
 
chuck1 said:
Glad sombody else said that:lol:
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Yea I can't see how indicators would help much, I'd prefer the Auto retract feature so that when you turn the boat off the tabs retract to their full up position (this is available from Bennet) that way you always start with them up which is what you should do anyways. Having some pretty lights to tell you where they are just seems like a waste because their position will very depending on the conditions you are currently in.

I would however love to have a rudder indicator for my outdrive but then again everyone just says turn it all the way one direction and then back half way an indicator would be quicker that way I don't have to remember to center it every time I leave the boat. Very frustrating to come back to the boat and not remember in what direction you left it and then try to pull away from the dock to realize oops wrong direction :smt021
 
Having moved up this past summer to the 280 was a learning experience. Bigger boat plus two motors, I thought a few times it would be nice to have a rudder indicator. Now I know why they came up with a bow thruster!:grin:
 
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