I have twins with TRS drives - tucked all the way down creates a harmonic vibration that you can feel in the boat so I try to make sure the drives aren't tucked too deeply. My point in saying is that a lot of times the boat will tell you what it likes and dislikes. If you notice strange vibrations or noises, then something isn't right and a different action should be taken.

I've blown up a few drives in my lifetime so I'm one those guys that puts the boat on plane gently. I don't let it plow but I'm also not hamfisting the throttles unless there's a serious reason to do so (safety in jeopardy for instance).

It is a lot easier to blow up joints trimmed up to high. Tucked in is barely different than neutral. They just don't go that far in

I’ll agree with that but my point really was to listen to what the boat is telling the pilot.

Tom,

I would guess that harmonic you were hearing was due to the drive being against hard stops when all the way down, and all vibration of any kind, even just gear mesh, being transmitted mechanically into the hull though the transom assembly. It's annoying, and likely unnerving, but pretty much harmless. We found this, in a buddy's Formula 233 with a B3, and just the slightest bit of up trim, just enough to get the drive off the hard stop contact, made it go away. His wife was convinced that something was wrong.

Thanks. Brad.

Totally agree. I started setting the tabs to where I think I'll need them once I'm on plane. Seems to work well and it's 1 less thing to do during a busy time in the cockpit.

ZZ,

I do this, too.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...81ba85a8a.jpeg

This is essentially where my tabs reside 99% of the time. Since the injector issue that made the effort to help get on a plane described above necessary resolved itself, the only time I’ve had my tabs lower than this pic was when we were trying to see if I could keep it on a plane running side-by-side with my buddy in his underpowered pontoon. Other than that, the only time I mess with my tabs is when I have an uneven passenger load or when I run them all the way up for a WOT run.

Thanks. Brad.