NEW trim tabs- 'necessity' is the mother of invention.
 

To my Offshore Only brethren:

I'd like to start by saying how great it is to have websites like this in which to share our thoughts and experiences for something we truly love...the sport of offshore powerboating.

Several years ago I had purchased a 25' Martini with the Bennett dual ram trim tab system. (12"x 12" plate) It was functional but slow and not very aestetically pleasing. I then looked into upgrading to a K-plane. I was floored by the price and just couldn't justify it on a boat my size.

This led me to the drawing board. After two seasons of testing and many hours of research and development I've come up with a simple and beautiful solution to those who have the single or dual ram Bennett trim tab system. I call them the 'Victory' line of trim tabs.

The Victory trim tabs are designed to bolt in place of your existing Bennett trim plates using your original ram and transom mounting holes. They are ruggedly conctructed of stainless steel. Each one is bead blasted ensuring excellent paint adhesion. These are the steps involved:

1) epoxy primer
2) 2K high-build primer
3) basecoat (either black or a custom colour)
4) UV resistant clearcoat

Between the basecoat and clearcoat stage the tops of each gusset are polished revealing the shiny stainless steel below. It gives a very cool effect similar to some valve covers we've all seen before.

The Victory line of trim tabs are longer than the Bennett units and have a slightly larger surface area. The dual-ram version measures 19" overall and the single-ram version measures 15" overall. Both taper down to 8" at the tip. They react quicker than the originals using the same ram mount. (it's a physics thing) Tests have shown that increased stability and better planing times are the norm.

In conjunction with my own 'exhaustive' testing I've employed the services of a few others so I wouldn't be riding solely on my own opinion. :D All have come back with overwhelmingly positive results.( references gladly given upon request) At around 26lb. shipping weight per pair you can see that these are no wussy lightweights!

In closing I would like to say that I wasn't out to reinvent the wheel. My goal is to provide an excellent marine product at a more reasonable price than we're all used to paying. ( the same principal employed by the people involved in the "hyd. steering for under $500" thread, which I have enjoyed immensely I might add!) The Victory trim tabs closely mimic the style and function of a K-plane style while utilizing your existing Bennett rams and pump all for a VERY reasonable price. Thank-you.


Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath
Designer/builder of Victory trim tabs
[email protected]

Close-up, dual ram in Merc. HP electric blue.

close-up Victory single ram version.

blue and white

Great idea!
Do you have a website or cost info?
Any pics of an installed set?
Where do the rams mount?...the transverse rib in the middle.

Thanks. :)

You will have my order!

i have bennets on my scorpion and would be interested in some pricing and ordering info. cant seem to justify the cost of K planes for this boat but would like a larger tab. they look pretty cool too. good luck with your venture, looks promising. :cool: :cool:

Baja Daze, here's a few quick pics of an install or should I say, a temporary install for photo purposes. PM me or e-mail me for pricing. I will say that they are less expensive than a set of Bennett ST16 Sport Tabs.


I'm reluctant to post pricing as I have not purchased advertising on the website yet. I wouldn't want to p@ss off the board gods.:mad:

P.S. A website is in the works displaying not only the tabs but alot of other past marine projects as well. Thanks,

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath
[email protected]

another

Nice job. I see we think alike. I did the same thing on mine but I used a set of 280 tabs I found cheap and made my own brackets and used the dual bennett setup. It would have been a lot easier to buy yours if you had them then. Im still monkeying around finding the right "up" height.

Count me in!! Good winter project.

Hello Formula31, that's an interesting retrofit. A forum member who has just purchased a set of the Victory single tabs told me about your project. Do you have pics on OSO somewhere?

Brian Kamrath

Sounds & looks like a great idea - good luck - what size & type of boats have you tested them on aside from your own boat?? - I emailed you also for price , thanks

Thanks for the reply, Brian. :)

No problem BajaDaze.

I almost forgot to post a close-up picture of a Victory tab in red. One of my favourites.

...another angle.

to 'dpolgar'

Sorry, my PM box was full, please try again, thanks.

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

Glassdave,

What size of Scorpion do you have?

Brian

No problem, I'll keep the forum updated.

I've had a lot of enquiries regarding Insta trim tab retrofits as well. I'll be making retrofit/ upgrades for any system as well as another original design I currently have on the back burner.

Is your Sutphen project just a hull at this point? I'm currently at that stage with a 30' Corsa. It has to be gutted. Talk to you later.

Brian

Fred, was your Sutphen ever raced? Does it have history?Cool looking boat, I haven't seen too many up here.

Brian

its a 26 with a pair of stock 260's. thanks for the info you sent me the other day. i am going through the motors this winter and a few other things. i will probably upgrade to a set of your tabs also, those are a very nice alternative to the "other" ones . right now i have a set of single ram bennets. any idea what i would need to do to convert to the double ram set up. do those use the same pump? :D :cool: :cool:

I was looking at a 26' Scorpion before I chose the Martini. Both were project boats, the scorpion had twin small blocks and it appeared as though it had a fire in the bilge at one time so I walked away from that one. Solid offshore though.

To be honest, on a 26' boat you really should be using the dual ram setup. To convert all you need is an extra set of Bennett rams. You would then tee them into the existing line. I manufacture a simple vanity/adapter plate that will bolt behind the upper dual ram mounts. This covers your previous single ram holes and cleans things up nicely.

The Victory trim tab system utilizes the existing Bennett pump.

Thanks for now.

Brian Kamrath

martini- i bought my scorp from the original owner with 400 hours on it. i like the boat alot. great cabin space for a 26 and solid rough water boat. could be a little faster but that will come next year :D :cool:

so you are saying the dual ram and single ram use the same pump. i guess i thought they would have used a larger volome pump for the dual set up. i am asuming the reaction of the tab will be slower with two rams.(than again its not like i hafta do alot of tab trimming anyway, usually just set em an go) either way i know i can benifit from the larger tab surface of yours. wonder if i could retro a merc pump in there. hmmm :cool:

You're right, a trim pump would definately wake that system up!

However, if you decide to go with the dual ram setup the Victory tabs will react quicker than the stock Bennetts simply because you're swinging more tab (surface area) beyond the tab to ram mount. (physics-third class lever)

Talk to you later!

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

yep . . thank god i'm an engineer and physicist. although my physics studies deal mostly with time dialation in general relativity with a variation on the Lorentz transform. (macrophysics) :D also play around with unified field theories but hey . . dosent everyone :D :D

. . in plain ol' english, your third class lever is a first class tab :D :D. .

LOL!:D :cool:

Brian

Please welcome Victory Trim Tabs as Offshoreonly's newest advertiser.

Great idea, glad to see you did the research to make sure it worked.

And they look great.

'carp', never heard that one before! LOL
 

Catmando- long ago, during the prototype phase I tried welding one solid. Not only was it overkill, it looked like a banana when it was finished. Stainless has a tendency to warp no matter what welding technique is used. I had considered running a bead of urethane between the welds before the paint stage but it still wouldn't look 'perfect'. Thanks for the critique.:cool:

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

Note: No offense has been taken in response to this post.:D

Well ,
I just received my new "Victory" trim tabs. They are sweet ! I'm very impressed with them. The workmanship and welds are very nice, almost overkill. They definitly blow the Bennets away. If your in the market for upgraded tabs and don't want to spend the big bucks for K planes this is the way to go.
The only thing is I had to take the rams apart and cut an inch out of the stop to get them completly out of the water. This could be due to the way my transom and ram installation is. I'm sure not all boats would require this.
Thanks Brian !

Glad you like them Chuck!

The install concerns me however. When I designed the Victory tab I purposely moved the ram to tab mount back about 3/4" to make sure the extended length would fully retract. I've never experienced an installation with less than 1 1/2" total clearance measured from a straight edge along the bottom of the hull to the tip of the Victories'.

Let's see where the discrepancy is:

Take a measurement from the lower bolt centerline on the Bennett upper ram mount to the centerline of the Victory upper row of mounting holes. (hope that makes sense:) ) That measurement, if the Bennett template was used for the installation of your originals, should be approx. 8 1/4".(center to center on the boltheads) Also, take a measurement from the bottom of your boat hull to the bottom of the Victory tab measured right at the transom. That should be around 1/4"- 3/8".

We'll be in touch, thanks for now and enjoy!

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

I've currently been colour coating my tabs but I was wondering how many people would be interested in a polished pair of stainless tabs? Maybe something in a brushed stainless look or pewter?

Something else I was considering are the various electroplating processes out there.

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

Anyone?

BRIAN,
WILL IT BOLT TO THE SAME HOLES ON THE TRANSOM AS THE BENNETT TABS?
ERIC

Yes, the Victory bolt pattern is an exact match to your existing Bennett pattern. I have all known Bennett bolt patterns at my disposal. 12-bolt (my own, actually just doubling up on the popular Bennett 6-bolt) 10-bolt, used with the Bennett ST16, and, the not-so-popular 9-bolt.

All Victory tabs come with new larger ss mounting hardware for additional strength and peace of mind. Gain new found hull performance at a fraction of the cost of K-planes.

Search in PARTS and ACCESSORIES under 'trim tabs' for more details or give me a call at the shop. I'm always available to talk boats and/or 'custom' projects you require.

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

You bet Fred!

What length are you looking for? What style was on that Sutphen, can't remember now.

Brian Kamrath

Brian Them are sweet! dont know how I missed this when you posted it. 15 inches would be sweet my stockers are only 8 1/2 long:( Rag's :D

SINGLE RAM VERSION SHOWN
 

Rag's, anyone who has installed a pair of 'Victorys' has realized a huge improvement in stability at higher speeds, reduced planing times (holeshot) and the ability to remain on plane at a lower speed...and...oh yeah, they look cool :cool:

Best bang for the buck, period.

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath

The welds
 

Actualy a stitched weld "like you have used" is stronger than a continuous bead .. Nice looking tabs , I might need a set to stop a poirposing problem ..

Pantera1- What kind of tabs are you running now?

Brian Kamrath