Anyone Try Smart Tabs on a 185 sport

I have installed them on a 180 sport and a 220 Sundeck and have had the same great results. Everything they publish on their website is true. Best performance upgrade I have ever made on my boats! They also save fuel! Worth every penny!

jcohen17 said:
Has anyone installed smart tabs on a 185 sport and do they work?
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I have them on a 2004 185 Sport and they are great. They do everything advertised. I have photos posted here in the Gallery.
 
I installed the Smart Tab SX system on my 2007 185 Sport. Well worth the money and pretty simple to install yourself. They significantly improved the ride of the boat in rough water and in my opinion improved overall handling. I have lost about 3mph of top end, but I have not taken the time to adjust them to see if I can get that back. Installation was straightforward but does require drilling below the waterline.
 
you still use the legs trim for adjustment.. they generally get you out of the hole much quicker.. also when on play when in rough water they kind of go up and down with the waves like shock absorbers to level the ride.. i have them on a 180
 
I still use my trim for the lower unit, but I don't have to manage it nearly as much and I don't need to start with it all the way down for a good hole shot. They keep the bow down while on plane so the 'v' of the boat cuts the waves and softens the ride. Get em! I think the 185 and boats like it should come with them!
 
They do help hole shot, and offer some stability improvements in rougher conditions. However, they do not help at all in leveling a boat that is loaded heavier to one side than the other, and offer very little in a following sea. Do not consider them as effective as a pair of conventional trim tabs, which IMO are worth the extra $'s over the smart tabs.
 
Here is a link to my install

http://clubsearay.com/photoplog/index.php?n=198

If you have a boat that list to one side all of the time you can adjust to correct that, but if it is due to shifting load as in people moving around they do not correct for that. They do get you out of the hole quicker and with much less bow rise, improve the ride and handling in rough water, save fuel, allow you to run faster on top end and I also get more speed in the cruising range for the same rpm, you can still trim up or down to raise and lower the bow for speed or to smooth the ride, as well as a few other things. Call John at Nauticus and talk to him about the type of boating you are going to do and he will tell you what his product will and will not do. He is a stand up guy and excellent product support.

800-233-0194

http://nauticusinc.com/
 
i bought some but havnt had a chance to get them installed. next time im at my florida house im going to get them installed.
 
Mentally you have to get by the drilling holes in your shiny boat below the water line, once you get by that, read and understand the directions, get all your questions answered before you start, then very carefully layout the mounting, check yourself two or three times, that way you only drill once and do not have to fill any holes, carefully drill the holes, fill with 4200 sealant, install tabs with screws, set in the middle and go boating, and yes you can play with the settings just to be sure the middle is best. After all of this, yes they are fairly simple to install.
 
Took me about 3 hours to install.. i did change some stuff though.. for example i changed the screws at the top bracket with bolts, as the fiberglass was thin where they mounted.
 
The transom is fairly thick back there; don't drill any deeper than you need to, i.e. all the way through. Use a piece of tape on the drill bit to set the depth just slightly longer than the screw length. Chamfer the drilled holes to keep the gel coat from cracking, fill the holes with 4200 like Midway said, and you'll be fine.

BTW, I found that a prop change will affect the setting on the SmarTabs. I went this year from a 23 inch pitch to a 21 inch and I needed to reset the strut setting to get the best performance.
 
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Okay so I am really thinking about these but I am seeing a contradiction on Top Speed, one person says you loose one person says you gain... whats the general consensous on this? I really like the improvements these offer but I in no way can take a drop in top speed... I'm maxing out at 30-32 mph and really can't afford to loose anything on the top end as we boat on the St Johns River and a 20+ mile trip each way to get where we're going happens often. In fact I would love to gain a few MPH.
 
I would think that you would get more that 30-32 mph at wot, are you at or near 4600 to 4800 rpm. I am a Smart Tab user and they do increase speed, save gas, make the ride better in rough water, the low speed wander goes away, they are well worth the money. If your transom is belled out like mine you will need to call Nauticus and check on which ones to get or what parts you will need. The Stainless version will mount fine, the composite version either will not mount or you need different upper brackets, they can tell you. Phone # 800-233-0194
Nauticus website, http://www.nauticusinc.com/

You can buy them here from Jim at BOE, http://www.boemarine.com/searchresults.aspx?SearchText=Smart+Tabs&Page=1
 
midway said:
I would think that you would get more that 30-32 mph at wot, are you at or near 4600 to 4800 rpm. I am a Smart Tab user and they do increase speed, save gas, make the ride better in rough water, the low speed wander goes away, they are well worth the money. If your transom is belled out like mine you will need to call Nauticus and check on which ones to get or what parts you will need. The Stainless version will mount fine, the composite version either will not mount or you need different upper brackets, they can tell you. Phone # 800-233-0194
Nauticus website, http://www.nauticusinc.com/

You can buy them here from Jim at BOE, http://www.boemarine.com/searchresults.aspx?SearchText=Smart+Tabs&Page=1
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Thats at about 4200 rpm is where it's maxing out right now but it's currently got a Stainless 17 pitch prop, I've got the original 21 alum that I'm going to see if I can put back on this week and try next time out. Here's a pretty novice question is there a red line or a do not exceed RPM? or is the boat set up to do what it can do without over reving the motor?
 
When it was new it should have been set up for wot in the 4600 to 4800 range, and 4800 would be the max you should ever run it and that really for a short period of time. Now I have to ask, you are trimming up once you get on plane and trim down when you take off. With the prop you say you are running and the original prop you say you have that you can try, 21 pitch should bring rpm even lower, the 17 pitch should have you at the top of the rpm range if not over at wot. I'm thinking that maybe you are not trimming up and the bow is still in the water which would kill your wot rpm and mph to about where you are.

I just looked at your previous post list and see that you are a new boater with first boat so I am going to say look at your shift lever and there is a small switch that trims the drive all the way down then the first click trims up and on its second click brings the drive to the trailer position. You need to play with that switch and you can do that on the trailer just make sure you have ground clearance for the drive to come all the way down. Lower the drive all the way, then ease the switch up and the drive will start to raise then quit, this should be max trim, then move the switch further up and it should raise to trailer position. Get a feel for this, I think maybe you have not been using it correctly when on the water, start with the trim all the way down, once on plane trim up a little at a time as you do the speed will increase a little at a time until you reach the best trim setting, it won't go any faster if you trim further, may start to porpoise, when that happens trim back down slightly, with a little trial and error you will figure out the best setting. Also how heavy are you loading the boat, that does make a difference also be sure the engine is performing properly, but it sounds to me like trim may help you a lot, then get the Smart Tabs.
 
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