How did you mount your Smart Tabs?

Has anyone mounted some smart tabs on a 220 bowrider? I have the swim deck and it didn't look like there was enough room to mount some tabs.
 
lilsac said:
Has anyone mounted some smart tabs on a 220 bowrider? I have the swim deck and it didn't look like there was enough room to mount some tabs.
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I have a 190 bowrider and ended up putting the Smart Tabs (the original stainless ones), not Smart Tabs SX (the newer composite ones), on my boat because of the curved shape of my transom. The Nauticus (nauticusinc.com) installation instructions say that if the top attachment point is on a curved part of the transom, they recommend not installing the SX variety.

I thought I might have enough room on the flat part of my transom to use the SX kind but when they got here and I held them up to the back end of my boat it because obvious that I'd need the stainless kind. It only cost me about $25 in shipping charges to learn this lesson as iboats wouldn't refund the original shipping cost to me or the return shipping (which I have no problem with FWIW). They did fully refund the cost of the SX tabs though but it took a looooong time.

The stainless Smart Tabs were $185 shipped from amazon and I believe the SX type were $120 shipped so it wasn't that expensive to "upgrade" to stainless and imo they look cooler. I know they work incredibly well as my boat now gets on plane almost immediately and the wandering at idle speed is 90% gone. </$.02>
 
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lilsac said:
Good enough for me. I'm ordering tonight. Thank you.
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You're welcome. I didn't mention it but I also have a swim platform that I added on to the boat which has two support rods attached to the transom and I still had plenty of room to install the Smart Tabs. In fact, after my swim platform they are the second best money (and a close second) I've spent on the boat so far.
 
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After installing mine last week and getting to test them out this week,I am very pleased. The boat gets on plane much faster now, and without having to use as much throttle. I'm not sure how it affected top speed, but I need to do some more testing on that. I have a pesky alarm that keeps sounding, and it's honestly been so long since I've run the boat all out (a new baby and empty lakes last year) that I can't really remember what top speed used to be with my high5. I know that with the old vengeance, I could easily touch 50 with two people in the boat (pegged out the needle a couple of times when she was new), but the high5 cost me some top end.

Anyhow, the point is that they tabs work awesome when planing. I noticed that now the bow sits quite a bit lower in the water on plane, so it was necessary to play with the trim quite a bit more than I used to. The trim seems quite a bit more responsive as well. I would be interested in trying out some of the 20psi cylinders actually, just to see the difference. I think the 60psi would be way too much.

At this point, I still have the WhaleTale installed. I didn't notice any adverse affects, but I might remove it and try some more top speed runs to see how it works. It's just so nice to use it as a step that I'd like to keep it on if possible.

I'll throw some pictures up as soon as I get them off my camera.
 
Here is a picture of the back of the boat with tabs installed.

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I wanted to test out putting pics on the forum and thought here would be a good place. 97 175 with Smart Tabs installed. I used clevis pins to make the tabs easily removable. I don't recall the improvements by number but there were improvements in holeshot and lower planing speed, didn't notice any top end gains. Originally had a TP Hustler 21P prop, shown in pic, I've been happier with a 20P Vortex 4 blade I have now, and just got a High Five 19P to try out in a few weeks. Spend most of the time in tow mode with tubes and skis.
 
Gentlemen,
I am having a hard time trying to figure out exactly where to mount my tabs on a 2003 220. It has the integrated swim platform and if I try to mount the tabs as far outbound as I am supposed to, they will not fit. I have three different step ups on the v hull one closest to the middle of the boat, then another wider portion and then the final step up that has the last chine. I guess what I am asking is if it is ok to mount them on the middle step of the v hull?
 
I forgot to add if I do mount it to the farthest outside step closest to the outside chine I would have to mount the upper attachment to the swim platform. Would that be a problem??
 
lilsac said:
I forgot to add if I do mount it to the farthest outside step closest to the outside chine I would have to mount the upper attachment to the swim platform. Would that be a problem??
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Are you mounting the Smart Tabs or the Smart Tabs SX model?

I also had to work around my swimplatform, which is an add-on, and the fact the upper part of my transom is curved. Because the top end of the actuator would have been mounted on a curved part of the transom I returned the Smart Tabs SX I originally ordered and bought Smart Tabs. FWIW, I also had to add zinc anodes as my boat is run in salt water frequently.

My Smart Tabs are mounted closer to the center of the boat than most of the installation pictures I saw but they still work fine. I'll take a picture on the way home of where mine are and post it tonight.
 
Beernutz,
Thank you. You helped me out before. I did go with the regular Smart Tabs. I got with Nauticus and discussed with them. It sounds like I'll be mounting them in the same place you have yours. They said there should be no decrease in the performance of the tabs mounted a little further inward. I still would not mind the pic, just to make darn sure I get it right. I'm a little anxious about drilling holes.
 
lilsac said:
Beernutz,
Thank you. You helped me out before. I did go with the regular Smart Tabs. I got with Nauticus and discussed with them. It sounds like I'll be mounting them in the same place you have yours. They said there should be no decrease in the performance of the tabs mounted a little further inward. I still would not mind the pic, just to make darn sure I get it right. I'm a little anxious about drilling holes.
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lilsac, I think calling Nauticus to talk things over is a great idea too. I've spoken with the owner John myself twice for long conversations and learned a lot.

The first picture below gives you an idea where I installed my Smart Tabs.

I added the second picture because it shows how the bracket for the top end of the actuator was mounted to the curved part of my transom.

The third picture shows something that I learned when I talked to John last time. I wanted to attach the bottom end of the actuator to the first hole on the L bracket which would provide the lowest pressure setting for the actuator. However, I could not get the bolt through that hole in the L bracket as it was blocked. John told me to reverse the bolt (doh!) that attaches the L bracket to the trim plate so that the top of the bolt is on top (you can see the outer bolt on the L bracket goes the other way). That allowed me to use that first hole.

Good luck and hope this helps.

Edit: I meant to add that Smart Tabs have made my boat so much more fun to drive that it is like an entirely different boat. The hole shot is hugely improved as is the low speed behavior as it is much easier to steer at idle speeds. Riding through choppy water as I do frequently in the various bays, sounds, and bayous along this area of the gulf coast has also been a much more pleasant experience as a lot of the porpoising I experienced previously is gone.

I lost a few mph top end speed as I haven't been able to get to the 48 mph I got before (I am only getting to 41 mph at WOT) but I also installed a new prop and that may be a factor in the speed loss too. I almost never drive above 40 mph for any reason anyway so that means very little to me. After I talked to John at Nauticus about the top end speed loss he suggested trying the lowest pressure setting hole which I will use for the first time tomorrow and he also suggested playing around with the trim setting.

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This may seem like a silly question but...

As I get ready to drill holes in my pure unblemished hull I was wondering how deep I need to drill. I don't see a reason to drill all the way through the hull if I can just drill a shallower hole. I'm interested in hearing what depth y'all drilled to when you did your installations.
 
If the instructions do not tell you, measure the screws and drill the pilot hole to that depth then the full sized hole almost to that depth since the point of the screw is smaller that the rest of it. Then camphor the hole to prevent cracking the gelcoat, fill the holes with 4200 sealant, put a little on the screw threads and install.
 
OK! Tabs are on. Everything went somewhat according to plan! Missing a few nuts and a bolt which required a trip to the hardware store but otherwise I believe all went well. No obvious signs of damage!!:smt038 Installation was pretty simple but at times I felt the instructions were a little vague. Maybe I'm just slow!!

I won't get to put her in the water til tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see how the boat does with them. The kids like to kneeboard and wakeboard and I have been having a helluva time maintaining 16-20 mph on a plane so I'm really hopeful these work. My wife is getting pretty tired of having to sit in the bow all the time.:smt013

I'll post an update as soon as I get some water time!!
 
I have a '04 185, was wondering if it was possible to get the SX tabs with the cylinders for the metal smart tabs? Wouldn't that solve the problem of the curved transom?
 
Sea Trials were an absolute success. Basically, everything people have said on this board is true. The boat comes out of the hole with very little bow rise and is maintaining a plane at 15mph without a problem. No more jockeying the throttle to hold speeds compatible with wakeboarding and kneeboarding.

At low speed there is a bit of a rooster tail which is new, but presents no problems for captain or skier. The wake does appear to have washed out a bit but my wakeboarder did not complain. I've noticed no problems at wot nor any loss of top end. At idle speed there is no wander at all.

Overall, I have to give the Smart Tabs an A+. I wish I had done this last year when I first looked into it.
 
Birel186 said:
I have a '04 185, was wondering if it was possible to get the SX tabs with the cylinders for the metal smart tabs? Wouldn't that solve the problem of the curved transom?
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I don't think the cylinders are the issue. I think it is the mounting bracket which causes the problem. That is the way it was described to me.
 
I also had first sea trial of smart tabs SX on my 2010 185 Sport....

As everyone has said, bow rise and idle/slow wandering is almost eliminated.

My test today was on the intracoastal off Tarpon Spring FL.... the ride through slight chop at a decent speed (20-30) was much more pleasant for captain and all passengers.

Im running 60lb set at in the middle hole. Not sure if I'll try any other settings, it felt so good today.

These have been a wonderful upgrade :)
 
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Is the anode really necessary? (not asking sarcastically) What type of screw did you use... head.

Since i have the curved transom, thinking of getting the metal tabs powder coated black.
 
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