Tabs or drives to level boat
 

Could someone explain in simple terms the advantage of using tabs instead of drives to set the attitude of the boat in rough choppy water? I usually run my tabs at neutral or just slighly down during the rough stuff. Then I use my drives to adjust the nose of the boat but I noticed Im either flying or plowing the nose. Would more tab and neutral drive be better? Anthony

I always find I am more In control with my tabs neutral I very rarely even touch them unless the boat is leaning to one side or the other. In rough stuff you do need some tabs occasionally but tabs will cause a little more plowing effect since it's taking your vertical angle ofthe boat out.

I used the drives 95% of the time, but my last boat was very responsive to trim. I used the tabs to level out the ride in cross winds, once in a while when getting on plane, and if it was super snotty out.

I find that the Fountain responds to tabs more than any other boat I've driven. I have lots of friends say that they never touch the tabs, but I have to use mine and use them often. In the rough stuff, a little bit of tab goes a lot further than some drive...for me anyway. With a step bottom, I prefer to keep the drive closer to nutral and hang the tabs just a bit to keep her running level. I'm no expert by any means, this is just what works for me and my boat.

Their not called trim tabs for nothing !!!!!!!:eek:

so if I understand correctly in rough sea's
try to keep the drives close to neutral and use a little more tab to control the bow of the boat to crash through the waves and not skyrocket?:evilb:

It really depends on what kind of water I'm running in and how hard I'm running. Generally I don't mess with the tabs much and run them +/- 1 number from neutral. Maybe just some small tweaking here and there. It is much easier to use the trim switch on the throttle and my boa responds very well to trim.

Does anyone else use tabs to get on plane? I run a 35' Sonic which is known to need some tab to stop porpoising at low speeds on plane.... I have become acustomed to dropping the tabs right before I hit the throttles. Boat comes right up on plane without much bow rise at all..... I always thought this was common practice to take strain off the drive..... Am I wrong or am I correct in my thinking. Sorry to hi-jack the thread but at least I am sticking with the subject.....

I use a combination of drives and tab to control the boat, not one or the other or one more than the other. It depends on the conditions...

For instance, if you use too much negative drive trim in choppy water you'll bark the drives pretty hard so a little less negative trim and some extra tab go a long way. In a head on sea you may need a little more negative drive trim and negative tab to keep the boat in check and flying level. On the other hand, same size seas in a following sea I'll use slighly more positive trim on the drives and then use the tab to keep the bow from popping up... Too much negative trim in a following see and you'll be sorry and probably wet from nosing in all the time.

In the end I go by feel, it all makes the ride smoother and in turn faster/more consistent...

I do, I run them almost all the way down. Helps get this heavy beast up on plane quicker! :coolcowboy:

what he said, with my tiger I run them down too to get up on plane, other wise bow shoots to the moon :)

+1

I am similar to frank as well. (go figure, you'd think it was the same boat)..

I actually have found that my boat handles better with a little positive trim of the drive and then using tab input to settle it down if need be.

Tab makes a big difference when getting on plain in a heavy resin bucket..

Exactly!!! Glad to here you guys do the same.......the difference in putting them down and not putting them down is tremendous............

Trim tabs are just as stated, to adjust trim. Getting up on plane drives in tabs down, start bringing up the tabs as speed increases and use the horizon as your gauge for adjustments as well as sea conditions, if adjusted correctly the bow of your boat will be used to punch thru the oncoming waves as intended, there is a fine balance of trim and drive setting to get it to run correctly and not beat up the boat or passengers, If you have the opportunity to take a performance driving course then I would highly recommend it. I personally have taken the Tre Martin course and would suggest it to anybody with a high performance boat as you will truly learn how trim works and its effects to properly adjust to sea conditions. Take a look at this video of Tre and watch how the boat fly's straight and uses the bow as intended. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWzBxT8GpVY

YES !!!
There is also a nice Video from Reggie on this matter, even tho a lot don't like him,, he know show its done and for newbys its actually nice to see and hear how its done !

I use both my trim tabs and drives in all different types of situations depending on conditions. If I have a lot of weight on the boat (+4 people/full tank gas, etc.), I'll put the tabs down to get on plane quicker then slowly bring the tabs up, then adjust the tabs to balance the weight if needed.
In a crosswind and/or cross seas I will also use the tabs to run the boat flat throught the seas; makes for a better ride in that situation.
My suggestion is to play around with your set-up so you feel comfortable using the tabs and so you know when you can use them.
good luck

:drink::drink::grinser010:
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...028Large29.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...028Large29.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...028Large29.jpg

Josh, before I raised the X Dimension my boat liked a little positive drive trim. With the higher X Dimension the boat likes a neutral drive trim and it rides a little better in the chop. Some pretty cool effects it had! :coolcowboy:

tagged

Here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Qzsf6aZpk

:evilb:

thank you every one for all the great info and great video's. :drink: panther I beleive we have similar boats that info hopefully will help me stop breaking drives. :eek: I will try out all this info when I get my drives fixed again.:evilb: