Smart Tab SX on 2003 176 BR - need advice on mounting position

[rodneybarrett]

Pretty sure it is water (not gas or oil for sure). Definitely been there a while. kinda of foul smelling. Less than a tablespoon though. Sucked as much as I could out with a suction tool and will let it dry.

The area is not viewable from the engine compartment either. Looks like it is sealed from that direction.

I did some searching after I posted and found several folks who were also installing did get some water out of a few of their holes.

So, maybe not that big of a deal. I sure hope not.

 

[LawyerMan]

ok, I am freaking out a little bit here. I just started drilling all the holes for the bottom tabs.

I HAVE WATER (I think) TRICKLING OUT OF ONE OF THE HOLES. It is the one on the bottom row but is the highest hole from the ground. It is on the Starboard(right) side What is this? Am I scr$#'ed? Did I hit something I wasn't suppose to? I only drilled as deep as the screws needed.

Any quick help would be greatly appreciated. I will try and post a picture.

I had water as well when I drilled the holes to mount tabs on my 175. It was probably about a cup of water total from both sides (combined). Mine was also foul smelling water - I smelled it and it definitely wasn't gas or any type of boat fluid. I wouldn't be worried. I used an air compressor to blow out as much water as I could and let it dry in the sun for a few hours, used PLENTY of 5200, and installed the tabs.

My guess is it's from the foam core (if there is foam core at that part of the boat - anyone care to chime in on this).

Again, I wouldn't be worried. Let it dry, use a lot of 5200 or some other good marine sealant (a lot of people in this forum recommend Lifecaulk and Lifeseal), and install them. Allow PLENTY of time for the sealant to dry prior to taking the boat out on the water.


(See my post here - about half way down - about installing tabs on my boat.)

 

[Hampton]

Same for me on my dinghy! I tasted it - I thought it was a weak solvent, not water. I'm pretty sure. I thought it was water until I tasted it. I let it dry, then sealed as described. Freaked me out too. Forgot about it until just now.

 

[rodneybarrett]

no more water and talked with Sea Ray too. That said it shouldn't be an issue with that little of water.

Installed the tabs tonight. went reasonably well. I used 3M 5200 in all the holes. I hope to try them out this weekend. I am using 60 lb actuators right now and these seem pretty hard to me. I have a feeling that these are going to be too hard especially due to the installation angle. I should be able to determine it pretty quickly once on the water.

will update again after test run.

 

[rodneybarrett]

Took the boat out today. The waters were fairly calm. First impression of the tabs are that due to the way I had to mount them, the 60lbs actuators are way too hard for my boat. I had roster tails coming from both of the tabs all the way up to about 35 mph. Now, they did do what the advertise though. The boat planed a lot quicker than before (even with my 4 blade 19 pitch prop which planed a lot quicker than the 21p 3 blade stock prop). I could also cruise at about 14mph pulling a tube without the bow rising. They definitely smoothed out the boat overall. I will call nauticaus this week and get the 40lbs actuators to try.

My top speed was right at 40 MPH (speedo) at 4700 rpm with the 4 blade 19p.

Another thing is that they definitely change the wake on the boat. When pulling a tube, I had a really strange rooster tail at about half back to the tube. Plus the kids that were getting sprayed the whole time. Hopefully this attributed to the hard actuators too.

 

[LawyerMan]

I also have the 60 lbs and think they are a bit stiff.

 

[Black180BR]

Nice follow up thank you! I've been pondering smart tabs for a couple years now. I'll have to look into them this winter.

 

[rodneybarrett]

I contacted Nauticus this morning and they are cross shipping me the 40 lb actuators. Great Company!!!


Will update the thread once I have tested.

 

[Mimsk]

I had roster tails coming from both of the tabs all the way up to about 35[/COLOR]]

Is this good solid indication that the 90# units have on y boat might be to stiff?

 

[rodneybarrett]

each application may be different but the general theory of how these tabs as supposed to work still holds true. If at speed (probably pretty subjective here), the tabs are still down into the water, then they might be too hard.

From what I can gather, the perfect size actuators are the ones that are balanced out by the water pressure running under them at a cruising speed, therefore not causing any more drag than needed.

But to be sure, call the Nauticus guys, they are great.

 

[LawyerMan]

I contacted Nauticus this morning and they are cross shipping me the 40 lb actuators. Great Company!!!


Will update the thread once I have tested.

each application may be different but the general theory of how these tabs as supposed to work still holds true. If at speed (probably pretty subjective here), the tabs are still down into the water, then they might be too hard.

From what I can gather, the perfect size actuators are the ones that are balanced out by the water pressure running under them at a cruising speed, therefore not causing any more drag than needed.

But to be sure, call the Nauticus guys, they are great.

Did they charge you for the new actuators?

 

[rodneybarrett]

no, they cross shipped them with a valid tracking number.

 

[LawyerMan]

no, they cross shipped them with a valid tracking number.

Let me know how yours work out. If the 40lbs work better than the 60lbs (what I have on my 175), then I'm going to request that they do the same thing for me. Thanks for the info.

 

[rodneybarrett]

took the boat out this weekend with the 40lb actuators on. Still had rooster tails on both but not as bad. It was windy and the lake had some good waves. I felt that the boat handled very well with the trim tabs and the 40lb actuators. Much smoother ride in rough water. I may purchase some 30 lb actuators just to have some options.