What breaks on bennet tabs?
 

Hi everyone, i have a 24 v hull and i want to get trim tabs, the boat runs about 70 and i run it in lakes only, maybe couple times a year in the ocean, i hear that the bennet tabs break but is this when use offshore on 6' chops or they are just not good period? I read some of the post before but people didnt specified what they were doing when they broke one, i cant see on spending 5 times the money for something that is not gonna make any difference. Dont get me wrong, im not cheap and i would spend the extra money if i really truly need it, but im gonna use the tabs monstly for when i go with the family in a choppy day. Thanks

I also am considering adding trim tabs to a 20 ft dare I say it here "bowrider". What is everyone's opinion of the bennet vs. lenco? I kinda like the no plumbing of the lenco if they are durable.

From all that i have seen....Bennet has incredible customer service ! They have done some amazing things to help customers out with problems.

I would think on the 24....Go with the dual piston and have no worries

Well, I'll say it, I run bennett single rams on my 30' scarab. I am hard on stuff and break everything as a general rule since childhood. So far, I have slightly bent one plate and other than that, nothing. I will probably buy k-planes next year but it will be for speed of tab movement more than strength. Bennetts are azz slow.

BT :cool:

I havnt broke my Bennets on a haevy 26' Liberator and Ive tried pretty hard.

im glad you guys have them in big boats, i was planning to ge the dual ram system and for what i hear from you guys it should be ok, with the money i can save versus a kplane i can use it to buy a supercharge. Where do you guys use the boat? ocean or lake?

Their service is on par with Livorsi. I had dual rams on my 28 Nordic and I run in Long Island Sound which can get very snotty, I never had any issues with them. I did have a minor gauge problem and they offered to replace the whole unit for free even though it was out of warrantee!! Go for it and enjoy!!

look on the board for the martini plate replacements using the bennett rams. I have k-planes but these look great from what I can see.

I use mine in a bay, but the bay can get very rough and that is when I tend to really push it. I also spend a lot of time flying large cruiser wakes. I always worry a little about the tabs, but never have a prob.

BT :cool:

The customer service is a+++++++ I was going to the milwaukee, wi races last year and had a bad trim pump so no trim tabs I called bennett and spoke to a guy there who sent me one overnight delivery no charge just shipping and handling and I had to send the core back to him. First class service and the guy helped me out no charge!!! The no charge thing is hard to come buy in the boating world. Try a set of the victory tabs I think I'm going that way this summer!!

I also am hard on my boat when using it in the salt water and my Bennets have held up well the single piston has faster reaction but the 2 piston is stronger so pick you poison. I also think the Martini replace ments is a wise choice if you can get a good deal on a partial or used Bennet system. Rag's

Bennetts are pretty good. My father has a 24ft Apollo w/ 502 Bravo3 and has only bent one so far. So I made a couple of stainless angle iron supports to renforce them. Have not bent since.

Bennett customer service is great, but when I had my Formula, I had a cylinder that went ,o-rings that needed to be replaced on leaking cylinders, and had to replaced cracked/leaking resevoir. Their electronic trim indicators are great for cruisers, but junk on an offshore boat. !eplaced multiple cylinder indicators, and CPU units, before their customer service indicated it was really never designed for speeds over 60MPH! They're great for sending parts at no cost, but very limited design when speed and use come into play. I went K-planes on the Hustler, and never looked back.... simply no comparisom.

Bennett customer service.... TOP NOTCH. I have posted multiple threads about this in the past.

I upgraded mine to the ST-16s from ST-12s, and all I had to do was drill a few new holes. The only problem I have had with mine was a leaky pump, and I blew out a ferrel one time on the hoses inside the bilge, on a hard landing. It made a mess, but I put it back together on the water, and it still worked just fine. Make sure when you install them, to get the feeder hose lengths from the pump to the tabs equal lengths, or one will be faster than the other. Also, definately get offshore indicators; not the electronic ones.

Contact M.J. Thomas at Bennett. He will take care of ANYTHING you need. PERFECTION in customer care.

I use the dual ram Bennetts on my 27' and have never had any issues. As was said before..they are very slow though.

Have to agree guys, Bennett customer service is top notch! These rams can also take a beating! That's definitely one of the reasons I felt confident providing the boating community with an aftermarket upgrade using Bennett rams.

The Lenco rams are also something I've been investigating, they too are very beefy. Of course, I will be providing an aftermarket trim tab upgrade for all tabs, Insta-Trim, Trim Master and including the infamous K-plane. I've been working on that version with a fellow OSO member for awhile now. Coming soon...in a beautiful stainless finish, very trick! (actually, there are three versions I've been working on for the K-planes, variety is the spice of life!)

Brian Kamrath
Martiniboat Marine Design Inc.

Thank you guys for the help, i know that if i had the boat in the ocean i would probably go with the k-plane but i just dont see the extra 2 thousand when im gonna be on the lake 90% of the time , the extra money can go towards a supercharge maybe.

Martini, what kind of update are you making for the kPlane?

Sydwayz, why did you upgrade to the st 16? and when you did, what was the difference from the st 12 when boating?

I had dual ram bennets on my 302 Formula (heavy boat) They worked just fine. Good tab for the money

My original 12s had a cosmetic blemish. I decided I wanted it fixed, and went to the 16s instead. They definately work more dramatically, as when they are down they have more tab in the water, and to me, are about the size of the 280 K-Planes. When I blew out the ferrel, it was with the ST-12s. NEVER a problem with the 16s.

The 12s and the 16s have the cylinder mounting plate in the exact same position, so an upgrade from 12-16 is very easy. (No moving the rams). The only thing I had to change was the tab mounting plate, as the 12s have one row of screws, and the 16s have a plate with two rows, however, the bottom row of screws line up with the original screw holes for the 12's plate. I think I had to drill 4 holes on each side. Laid them on their with 5200, and away I went the next weekend.

I think the 4 inch longer tabs were probably one of the best upgrades I did to the boat. I can plane easier now, and keep on plane at a slower speed. Keeps the drive up maybe an extra inch or two when you drop them down at idle speeds in shallow areas too. Since the cylinder mounting plate is in the same postition, I did not lose any travel either.... Top Notch.

I think the price difference is $100 or less.

No doubt ! These are NOT K-planes...No comparison
But....For what you are doing they should be fine.
The indicators are junk !! Save your money !!

I had a 24 Lib with twinns for years,It rode on the tabs all the time, Bent a couple ,broke 1 pump {cheap} broke one Cyl. Not bad for what i put them through !

been there:p :rolleyes: ;)

I'm building a polished Victory stainless steel version to replace the K's. It's very trick!

Brian

I'll throw in a plug for Lenco's customer service too. I have a Lenco engine hatch actuater. The plastic mounting piece broke (my fault). I sent it to them and they refurbished the whole unit for a little more than the cost of shipping. Quick turn around time too.

Martini, i read about your upgrade tabs for the bennet but i havent heard of anyone that has them in their boat yet, i think i might want them but need some feedback from someone.
Thanks

migara422- Sorry for the late response on this thread, I think my spam blocker 'tackled' the OSO notification, not sure.

Just go to my latest e-bay auction for Victory tabs(search for same), I've included some customer testimonials. If you want to actually speak with someone who owns them, no problem at all, just give me a call and I can set you up with several satisfied customers. I guarantee your 100% satisfaction with my products or your money back! I'm dedicated to producing cool and unique marine pieces at reasonable prices.

Sincerely,
Brian Kamrath
Martiniboat Marine Design Inc.
519-887-8282
519-887-8828