Does size matter when it comes to trim tabs?

[91 Dancer]

One of my tabs has stopped working. I'm gonna try to troubleshoot this week. If I end up having to replace the acuator, I am thinking about putting on bigger tabs. Mine are 12 x 9 and the Benett web site recommends 30 x 9 on a boat the size of mine. Has anyone put on bigger tabs, and did it make a big difference in performance? (i.e. slower planing speed, more hull out of the water at cruising speed, etc...) Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[chuck1]

Only if you ask a woman.(Grin)
Sorry I could not help myself.
IMHO - With the narrow beam we are talking about on the smaller DAs I would think the bigger the better. That 30" sure sounds like overkill. What is your beam 9'+-? Your talking almost 2/3 the wide for tabs????

 

[91 Dancer]

Yeah, I think my boat was in the lower end of the 30" and the upper end of the 24" recommendations. I haven't even looked closely to see if 30's would even fit. I'm still in the mulling it over stage, and just wanted some opinions as to whether it would be worth the trouble.

 

[wish2fish]

there are some people on here that talked highly of the folks they talked with at Bennett. You might want to give them a call.

You would almost be tripling the size of the current tabs by moving to the 24". Got to imagine that would be a huge improvement.

 

[91 Dancer]

there are some people on here that talked highly of the folks they talked with at Bennett. You might want to give them a call.

You would almost be tripling the size of the current tabs by moving to the 24". Got to imagine that would be a huge improvement.

Thanks, I think I may just give them a call.

 

[everthing's irie]

Had one of mine quit working earlier this year. Turned out it was not the actuator. Bennett gave me some trouble shooting tips and solved the problem. First if your tab is in the up position and you can push down on it and it returns back to the up position it is not the actuator.

swap the hydrolic lines see if it will operate with the opposite button. next test the electrical side to rule out the switch. This is where I found the issue. When I pulled the harness apart at the pump I found that one of the connections was loose. Spread them apart snapped the harness back to gether and all was fixed.

I have deatails on the electrical test written down or you can call bennett and they can give you the info. if needed.

 

[Morpheus]

+1 on calling bennett directly, they were super helpful at answering all my questions about the tabs.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Was the Bennett site quoting you 30" of total tab? Meaning (2) 15" tabs?

I don't think I'd want more than (2) 12"x12" tabs or (2) 9"x15" tabs.

 

[91 Dancer]

Had one of mine quit working earlier this year. Turned out it was not the actuator. Bennett gave me some trouble shooting tips and solved the problem. First if your tab is in the up position and you can push down on it and it returns back to the up position it is not the actuator.

swap the hydrolic lines see if it will operate with the opposite button. next test the electrical side to rule out the switch. This is where I found the issue. When I pulled the harness apart at the pump I found that one of the connections was loose. Spread them apart snapped the harness back to gether and all was fixed.

I have deatails on the electrical test written down or you can call bennett and they can give you the info. if needed.

The tab is up and I can push it down and it does come back up, so that rules out the actuator. The pump runs on both switches, so I don't think it is electrical. The pump runs as if it is under load, laboring on the side that isn't working. Maybe a valve problem? I was going to try switching the lines, but I think I'll call Benett first on the recommendations. Thanks

 

[Alex D]

Don't believe what anyone says ... size ALWAYS matters. Period.

 

[everthing's irie]

The tab is up and I can push it down and it does come back up, so that rules out the actuator. The pump runs on both switches, so I don't think it is electrical. The pump runs as if it is under load, laboring on the side that isn't working. Maybe a valve problem? I was going to try switching the lines, but I think I'll call Benett first on the recommendations. Thanks

That is exactly what mine was doing. Call bennet and run the tests the suggest.

 

[91 Dancer]

Was the Bennett site quoting you 30" of total tab? Meaning (2) 15" tabs?

I don't think I'd want more than (2) 12"x12" tabs or (2) 9"x15" tabs.

It says "per side". Here is a paragraph from Bennett's sizing guidelines: "As a rule, choose at least one inch of trim tab span (per side) for every foot of boat length. (Examples: 22-foot boat = no less than 24" x 9", 36-foot boat = no less than 36" x 9"."

 

[Lazy Daze]

Well, that's just ridiculous! :smt101

Hopefully you can figure out what's wrong, though.

 

[dpmulvey]

I just added to mine. They were 22x9. Not near enough to nudge the nose over. They are now 22x16. Square inch for square inch they are 18% shy of what they should be. The originals are more than 50% shy of Bennetts recommendation for a 33 foot boat.

 

[91 Dancer]

I just added to mine. They were 22x9. Not near enough to nudge the nose over. They are now 22x16. Square inch for square inch they are 18% shy of what they should be. The originals are more than 50% shy of Bennetts recommendation for a 33 foot boat.

Was the improvement substantial, worth the trouble?

 

[91 Dancer]

Problem solved. Thanks Irie, it was a bad connection at the helm control. So no major surgery right now, but I'm still thinking the bigger tabs might be a good winter project...

 

[everthing's irie]

Glad it was as easy a fix as mine was.

 

[91 Dancer]

Haven't been on the water since I got them going, broke a trailer axle on the way to the lake last weekend. Trying again tomorrow. Ah the joys of an 18 year old boat!

 

[dpmulvey]

Was the improvement substantial, worth the trouble?

Still on the hard. New props due in Monday. I'll let you know regarding how substantial the improvement is, however, anything would be an improvement.

WRT the trouble, tab removal is a screw driver and a pair of vice grips. 10-15 minutes at most. A phone call to Bennett got me the rough dimensions and some answers to questions regarding tab shape. A fellow club member owns a welding shop. He did all the work. Figure another 10-15 minutes putting the tabs back on and off we go. In actuallity, if someone had sheet metal expertise you could probably do it for under $100 by bolting the extensions on to the existing plates. It cost me well under $300 parts and labor to include stainless welds.

 

[91 Dancer]

Thanks David, would appreciate the update after you get back out. Putting larger tabs on mine will require moving the actuators, as mine are all the way out on the edge where the hull turns upward. With extensions, I could only go out the back or to the inside, putting the actuator off-center. I'll look forward to hearing your results.