Horizontal Trim Tab Mounting
 

I have searched and searched and there are many threads describing the pros and cons. But I can't find any info on determining the height to mount the tabs as compared to parallel mounting. Some boats are mounted close to the same level as the outer chine, while others are much lower. Here are two pics, you can see the Warlock has them mounted much lower than the Fountain.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...zontaltabs.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...zontaltabs.jpg

I think you’re going to find that the final location has a lot to do with how much of the bottom (at the transom) is actually in contact with the water at speed. The two boats you show have very different bottoms. One is a classic (non-stepped) deep-v with a pad while the other has steps. The older hull was designed to ride up on the pad to reduce drag and thus the outside chines sometimes aren’t anywhere near the water while at speed. Mounting the tabs out there wouldn’t do much good.

A stepped hull on the other hand tends to run lower in the water because the bottom is “lubricated” by the steps. There’s no need to “get it up on a pad” to reduce drag. In this case, you can mount the tabs right out at the chines because they’re going to have a more immediate effect.

Makes sense, I figured the hull designs would come into play(pads, steps, notched transoms etc) but that sure seems like a BIG difference in mounting height! Plus, the Warlock is an older hull but it does have a single step.

ttt