Trim tabs on 17 footer....

[Miguel]

...has anyone installed them?  What are your opinions?
Read about a guy on THT who says performance in a chop is a lot better on his Genmar made 175 with Bennet tabs.  I guess this will also be the case on a 170.  The bow has a deeper V than the transom and the boat is a bit stern heavy, so I´m guessing the tabs may help the boat achieve a better running attitude thru the waves.....

Hydraulic or electromechanical? (the old Bennet -vs- Lenco question)

[ddd222]

having been there and done that, if were based on customer service i would go w/ bennett. But logically i would prob use lenco's. The most expensive replacement part on bennetts is the hpu which is almost 300 smackers. Have not checked but w/ electric i don't see the same $ amount for replacement parts, i could be wrong, but...

[steved]

Check out the many threads on the tabs topic over at http://www.thehulltruth.com. You wil find lots of info as well as a thread in the vendors forum by the Bennet tab guys.  Very helpful

[frank1861]

I had them on my 170. I recommend the Lencos, because they're easy to install. It really made a diffence in jumping up on a plane quickly and handling choppy seas.

[Miguel]

Frank:  Would you happen to have any pictures????

[Radioshop]

Don't get me wrong here, I think the idea of not having a hydraulic pump is great.   However, I've heard, more than once, Bennett's customer support is downright excellent.  Like Sears Craftsman excellent.  For instance, they've been known to send post warranty repair parts free in some cases.  

Lenco has a great concept, so does Ferrari.  Lenco reliability seems to be like Ferrari reliabilty.  I had a set of Bennett's in my old Hewes that never worked right.  Later after I sold the boat, someone from Bennett, who will remain nameless, suggested had I called them I'd have had working tabs.  I went from thinking no more Bennett's ever again, to it's a definate maybe.  

They are tougher to install, but only minorly so.  The fact they haven't fundamentally changed their actuators in 1 million tabs says alot about the product.

[Fishhead]

I installed tabs on my 230 this year,went with  Boat levellor hyd,300 bucks delivered. I liked the hydraulic with external hose for my application.Would have rather had none exposed hoses but my problem was I didnt have much choice of mounting position IE being able to turn kicker without hitting them. Main problem upper cylinder mounting couldnot pemit running hose or electric wire threw transom because of interferance of gussets inside hull. On external hose you can run hose anywhere you have access to get to cylinder.If you know you have clear shot,then anything will work,all stern drives never to hard.I think Bennet makes external hose cylinders also. I have rebuilt hydraulic tab cylinders in past very cheaply,Not going to happen with lencos.Ill post couple pictures of my job in Gallery.

[RickK]

Hey Miquel,
I read your posts on THT and can see you're itching to get tabs.  
A little OT - When I have 2 guys (me and a buddy) sitting on the seat behind the console and I take off, it takes a little longer than I like before I can see in front of me.  I just ordered a Bob's Stabilizer Plate for mine to help me come out of the hole and should have it within a couple days.  I had a Doelfin on my last motor for years and it was great for helping the boat on plane.  
Back On Topic - They say that these plates or "Doelfin" type apparatus lift the rear of your boat and should push the nose down in the water at lower speeds - helping you do what you're trying to do, cut through waves.  At WOT the fins should be about flush with the top of the water so they wouldn't help much pushing the nose down then. I don't remember how the doelfin affected mine in that aspect but I will watch the affects after I put it on this week (not that I look forward to running through chop but I will for you ).  If this does what you're looking for, they are cheap alternatives to tabs ($25-$40).
I'm also looking at the manual convertible Jack Plate they offer - you can put neg offset which on it which allows you trim down further (because of the offset), pressing the nose into the water more and it's cheaper than tabs too. For more reading.

[JimCt]

Won't keeping the bow down at speed cause unstable steering?

[RickK]

With the jack plate and neg offset, if you bury the bow I bet that will make it a bit harder to steer but easier to cut through the waves.  A trade off?
I don't remember ever having a problem with steering when I had the rude w/doelfin - so I don't expect any with this new stabilizer plate.  Once you're haulin' azz, the plate should be out of the water, then you can also trim up too.

[frank1861]

I was going through my files and I found this picture of my old boat. Hope this helps you out a little. I would recommend tabs on the 170 it made a huge diffrence in the overall ride and balancing out uneven weight.

http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1220/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

[John Jones]

Tabs will make it a different boat once you learn to use them.  I'll never own another without them.

Lenco's = slightly easier to install, fair warranty service

Bennets = Outstanding customer service, only take a couple of hours to install if you read the manual first, they often replace out of warranty items for free.

mine

[Miguel]

Sorry for not having kept up with my own post.
In reference to doel-fins and similar products, I must say that I had them in the past on a 16ft aluminum skiff that I owned.  It really made a difference in running attitude.  It may help with the choppy water situation on my 170, but I´m not sure.  JimCT, I´d be happy to hear your results.  Please post your opinions when you try it.
Another use I have for the tabs is to correct when a fat guy stands to one side.  These boats are narrow and tend to lean towards the heavy side.
Frank:  I really enjoyed looking at your picture.  The Lenco´s look good, but Bannet offers special short cylinders which may require a bit less modification on the swim platform.  What really caught my eye is the engine jackplate.  Did you install it yourself or was it on the boat when you bought it?  Did you end up using it a lot?.  I have sometimes tought about putting my engine on a bracket or plate to be able to close the transom or at least set it a bit higher......... What concerns me is the possibility of worsening the stern heavy condition of my boat.  With a heavy 115HP set further back, my transom waterline will diminish.  Dont know if I´d be helping or not....  Then again, maybe I´d need the trim tabs to correct that......Hmmmmm.....

[frank1861]

Lenco also makes an edge mount tab that requires less transom space that you might want to look at.

[url]http://www.lencomarine.com/Trim%20Tabs%20Pages/Resources/tt12x12kit.jpeg

I had Bob's Machine shop install the jack plate for me, and it was very nice for getting into shallow waters. It allowed me to jump onto a plain from about 18" of water. The plate only weighs about 45 lbs. so it really didn't effect the waterline much.

Wether you go with Lenco or Bennett I think you would be very happy with the benfits of tabs, personally I would never own another boat with out them. The first accessory I installed on my new boat was a set of Lenco troll n' tabs.

[RickK]

Tabs will make it a different boat once you learn to use them.  I'll never own another without them.

Lenco's = slightly easier to install, fair warranty service

Bennets = Outstanding customer service, only take a couple of hours to install if you read the manual first, they often replace out of warranty items for free.

mine

JJ - what size tabs are on your boat? 8' beam, looks like about a third - 12x18?