trim tabs on aj270?

E

esquire727

New Member
Oct 26, 2016
11
south shore long island
Boat Info
Looking at Amberjack 290
Engines
boatless
Hello. Just bought a 2005 amberjack 270. First ? The fuse has blown twice on the trim tabs. It's a 20 amp. Could there be something wrong with the pump?


Second, I think the boat is undertabbed. I need to constantly apply tabs to stablize boat, especially on turns. I read this is common for the AJ 280. Suggestions?
 
Hi,

I have the same boat, and it is very trim sensitive. You can place the tabs up or down at the same time, but you cannot raise on side and lower the other side at the same time. This will blow the fuse. On my boat i always have to trim the right side tab up or down to straighten out the boat. In order to get up on plane put your drive down and as you pick up speed raise it to about midway, setting #5 on the indicator. If you have a lot of weight in the stern put your tabs all the way down along with the drive. and then raise them as the boat gains speed as to not to plow the bow.

I am out of Wantagh Pk. Where are you located?

Lenny
 
Last edited:
The fuse for my trim tabs fuse blows, on average, about once a season for some reason. I don't know why. I second Lenny's suggestion to move the tabs one at a time. I can usually move both when at low speed, but I think the stress of moving them together (especially DOWN) at higher speeds may cause the fuse to blow. This is just a theory though.

As for undertabbed, in 10 (almost 11) years of owning my 270 AJ I've never thought that. The hull is quite sensitive to tab input and you need to adjust them in small, pulsed increments. Set them at the same level, then quickly press and release the button. There is typically a delayed reaction so wait to see if the input was enough.

Once I have the tabs set for conditions I don't touch them unless the sea state changes or a passenger moves. The trim of the boat is very sensitive to people moving around when on plane. If a passenger moves from one side of the boat to the other I need to adjust the trim. I always tell my passengers to sit still when I'm coming up on plane otherwise things get a little bit squirrely.

Lenny has good points on the operation. Drive trim is very important for the ride. I'll note that when running in calm seas at cruising speed, I push the drive out to higher to about 7. I think you'll be more comfortable as you gain experience with your new boat. There are not a lot of 270 AJ's so happy to see another owner around. Enjoy it!
 
Thanks for reply. Boat is in merrick. It drives different than my last boat , a robalo with twin outboards. When I turn, it tips to side and needs tabs to level also. It doesn't seem to drive straight at idle speeds. I have to constantly adjust the wheel Is this normal for the boat? Mike
 
All good points above. And what you are experiencing with the "tips to side" and not driving "straight" (often called wandering), is very normal. Your Robalo tipped to the side (called listing) as well (all V-hull boats do), but it was not as noticeable because the boat wasn't as tall... or, more specifically, your eyes were not as high off the water in the Robalo as the Sea Ray. Let it list - it's totally OK to do it. To exaggerate this point, imagine if you were 10' higher than you are - there would be an illusion that you are listing even more-so, but in reality the boat is listing the same amount of degrees, but because you are further away from the pivot point, you are "travelling" a greater distance in an arc pattern. But it's still the same amount of degrees.

Wandering is normal for MOST single engine boats (less of an issue with twins), especially of the "planing hull" type. This is not specific to a Sea Ray. You probably have a Bavo 3 drive... if you had a single prop, the wandering would be even worse. You'll eventually get used to it and be able to turn the wheel back and forth sort of "unconsciously" to keep it going straight. You can also lessen the wandering effect by playing with the position of the drives and tabs. You can also lessen the effect by increasing your speed slightly (sometimes by just a few hundred RPM's)... if conditions/location allows, of course.
 
Lazy Daze said:
All good points above. And what you are experiencing with the "tips to side" and not driving "straight" (often called wandering), is very normal. Your Robalo tipped to the side (called listing) as well (all V-hull boats do), but it was not as noticeable because the boat wasn't as tall... or, more specifically, your eyes were not as high off the water in the Robalo as the Sea Ray. Let it list - it's totally OK to do it. To exaggerate this point, imagine if you were 10' higher than you are - there would be an illusion that you are listing even more-so, but in reality the boat is listing the same amount of degrees, but because you are further away from the pivot point, you are "travelling" a greater distance in an arc pattern. But it's still the same amount of degrees.

Wandering is normal for MOST single engine boats (less of an issue with twins), especially of the "planing hull" type. This is not specific to a Sea Ray. You probably have a Bavo 3 drive... if you had a single prop, the wandering would be even worse. You'll eventually get used to it and be able to turn the wheel back and forth sort of "unconsciously" to keep it going straight. You can also lessen the wandering effect by playing with the position of the drives and tabs. You can also lessen the effect by increasing your speed slightly (sometimes by just a few hundred RPM's)... if conditions/location allows, of course.
Click to expand...

Exactly right.

The wandering is affectionately known as the outdrive wander. You won't get this from twins.

The listing in a turn is totally normal for this model. It's a function of the type, height off water, hull design, and engine. If you really crank it over you'll been in for a ride. You'll have to accept that it's not a ski boat. Don't bother with the tabs while turning, it's not really going to help and will unsettle the ride when going straight.
 
i feel your pain because my 2006 240 sundancer is also pretty tippy which is unpleasant . my old 21foot daycruiser was very stable in comparision . i think it is somekind a searay affair because it appears the 2005 or newer 240 and 260 hulls ( the 270 amberjack features a 260 sundancer hull i think ) feature a very deep vee hull with much tippiness . but with experience you indeed get used to it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,350
Messages
1,430,884
Members
61,197
Latest member
Larry Hogg
Back
Top