rtaylor

My understanding is that if you want to trim your boat to an optimum level for speed in relatively flat conditions, do the following:

-If necessary, tabs down and drive down.
-Once coming on plane, raise tabs to a neutral position so that they are not holding the boat down.
-Raise the engine until you observe the tachometer rise without speed increase.
-Then lower drive just a touch until tach comes back down.

Is this correct?

badluck

I assume you have outboards with jack plate?
Rise and trim out the drive until you find the sweet spot (no speed increase) Also rise the tabs fully if handling permits or they might scrub off some speed...
Trim in the drive would help getting up on plane, but it depends on your setup.

PARADOX

FYI.. There is no written rule. Experiment. Experiment. Experiment. Each boat, set up and driver is different, conditions are different. In my .02 forget the tach and numbers, Feel what's right, then you will know.

Edward R. Cozzi

Every boat IS different.

Funny Story:

When I worked for Everglades Marina, (Cigarette dealer), I usually picked-up the boats from Cigarette in what is now Aventura and drove them by water up to Ft. Lauderdale. One gorgeous day TWO new Top Guns were ready, so I was able to drive both boats over the same water within hours of one another.

Because the boats were very similarly equipped, I expected them to be almost carbon copies of each other.

Well, they felt different...not BAD different, but definitely different. The next time I spoke to Craig Barrie, I told him this story and what boats I had picked-up that day. Of course I asked him why.

He said..."I have a question for you. I have two sisters from the same parents. One has big boobs and the other is flat-chested...why?". After that I was always careful what questions I asked him!

rtaylor

Interestng story... realze every boat s dfferent, but there must be a basic way to get to the optmal trim. Granted, tweaks and levels ght be dfferent because each boat may be balanced dfferently, but there must be a smlar approach, no?

Edward R. Cozzi

Start off with the engines fully down. This should get your hull to its planing speed the quickest.

After the bow comes down start trimming the engines out. You should feel the hull freeing-up, the speed increasing and the RPMs gaining. Look over the side. The wake should be breaking from the windshield to the helm.
Your boat will let you know if you trim too much, as it will start porpoising and/or over-revving. In that case just trim back in a little until it stops.

Depending on way too many variables to list here, get used to what feels right using this procedure before you start using any tab.

Use as little tab as possible to not lose any speed unnecessarily. The ideal angle of attack is about 4 degrees, but again remember every boat has its own little personality. I've driven boats that were a dream to drive and figure out. On the other hand, I've driven boats that were downright rude and obnoxious.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

rtaylor

Thanks for the advice. I'll play around with it tomorrow and let you know. Right now I have the boat propped for top speed so it's tough to ge tout of the hole without cavitating, but I'm getting really good at feathering the throttles back ad forth to prevent that while getting up on plane. I need tabs and drives down all the way to get on plane though. I guess that's really why Im asking this. So it makes sense to bring the tabs up first, then to trim the drives for optimum trim.

Edward R. Cozzi

By all means YES...get rid of the tab first as you feel the boat start to get serious about planing. You may find that after trimming the engines out that bringing back a small amount of tab is beneficial.

rtaylor

Thanks. Worked well yesterday. Get up on plane, raise the tabs to just above neutral position, then let the drives up and look, listen and feel for speed and a sweet sound that lets you know you're just right. Bost sits nicely too.