280 Sundancer Trim Tab Control Confusion

[Mike-S]

I just bought a 2004 Sundancer 280. The port side control panel has momentary switched labeled Bow Up and Bow Down but no explanation what happens to the trim tabs. Does Bow Down mean the tabs are down? Where should they be for slow wake speed?

 

[Scott215]

Tabs should be down for slow plane cruising. I put mine all the way down and drive all the way down when getting on plane, then adjust drive and tabs from there depending on the sea conditions

 

[stg099]

Slow or No wake speed really doesn't matter for the tabs. There's not enough water moving past them at no wake speed for them to have a meaningful effect. Per the above from Scott, bow down means the tabs are down. When I had my 280 I put the tabs down and drives down to get on plane, then retracted the tabs until I got to the ride I wanted. the faster you're moving, the more effect they'll have, so when I was at a fast cruise I generally had the tabs fully up, but at slow planing speed they were at least 50% down.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Adding on to the above...

-- Pressing the TOP of the switch (labelled bow down) extends the tab.
-- Pressing the BOTTOM of the seitch (labelled bow up) retracts the tab.
-- Pressing the PORT side switch controls the STBD side tab and vice versa.

Essentially, just think of the buttons as controlling the bow and the port side switch controlling the port side bow and the stbd side switch controlling the stbd side bow. Just ask yourself "What do you want the bow to do?"

With the V8's and B3's, though, don't mess with the tabs right now. That particular boat is quite quick with that engine/drive setup. Get used to the boat with just using the drives for now. Once you're comfortable with that and have a good sense of how the boat maneuvers/reacts, then start playing with the tabs.

At slow speeds, it really doesn't matter. They don't do anything - there's not enough flow underneath them to have any type of effect. On single engine boats (moreso smaller ones), especially those with an Alpha drive, boats tend to "wander" back and forth... SOMETIMES, dropping the tabs can help alleviate that. Adding a Bravo drive helps alleviate that wandering and having twins even further alleviates it.

 

[Mike-S]

Thanks guys! As a total newbie I may be back again but your insight/experience is a lot more valuable than the semi-worthless manual!