k planes on 292?
 

has anyone made the switch to k planes from the stock bennets and was it worth it ?????

Have an 2006 292 did the 280kplanes last year and love them. well worth the money

Can i ask what it cost to add k planes?

On my 292 to have the Bennett tabs removed and Mercury K-Planes professionally installed was around $4800 material and labor back in 2007. Not cheap, but an upgrade I would do again if given the choice.

thx for the info guys I hope to get my hands on a used pair cheap

You will also need to do some touch up glass and gel coat work. The new tabs do not cover the holes from the Bennett rams and screw holes. Jeff Wurl

A technical question regarding your installation 4mulafastech.

What is the distance between the underside of the tabs and the underside of the hull once parallell to eachother.

I'm trying to figure out the mounting height of your installation.

Unfortunately I do not have that measurement and my boat is at the marina. I can try and remember to get an exact measurement this weekend. It something around 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Below is a close-up picture and a link to a more detailed post on K-Plane installation. I forgot to follow-up and post that dimension. You definitely want them mounted higher than flush to the bottom since the water rolls up off the transom and you want these completely out of the water when up.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...info-pics.html

Im thinking they are thru bolted correct??? guy at shop telling me he has to remove engines to install. Does that sound right?

Yes, thru bolted. My installers just had to remove the outer exhaust manifolds to get enough access.

In the Feb 2003 issue of Powerboat magazine they have a step by step install of 280 tabs on a fastech 271. All the information should be about the same for a 292. I installed mine on my 271 with the engine out. The cheapest place to buy a Brand new Mercury kit is on Ebay. Everything needed to install all in one kit for right around 2k. Jeff Wurl

i had mine installed last year on a 292, my installer just took the engines out. it was alot easier that way

After reading up on all the positive feedback after K-plane installation on 292 Fastech, I purchased my own today.

That, and removing ST-box will be this winter's project! :)

Donzi answer
 

Just reading about the other brands on offshoreonly - did this swap on my Donzi 22ZX after talking to Chris C. the chief engineer at Donzi who designed the ZX hulls.

Basically he said the K plane was the desired tab - others were a cost cutting option. K plane has the power to hold the trim in severe load also are faster acting - they effectively lengthen the hull - my 22ZX is in effect a 23 foot hull with the 150s K plane.

Trim advantages are they really calm the hull at 80 GPS when it starts chine walking. Just drop them to neutral. Also Chris said they were mounted 3/4 to 1 inch above the hull to elimate drag caused by the tab. The Merc instructions had this with the kit.

Dr. d