mspdoc

i am a pilot and i have a donzi 26 zx. wnen a plane turns the wing that goes up has the aileron go down, and the wing that goes down has the aileron go up, and you keep the turn trimmed with the rudder.
do i want to do the same with the trim tabs
and what about the drive,
keep it up thru the turn or trim it down?

Randy Nielsen

iTrader: (4)

Trim tabs are not turning devices, IMO they should only be used to A. help get on plane. B. help to level out the boat if heavy on one side. C. help smooth out the ride in rough water. They will bury the bow & lift the stern which can be dangerous in a stepped hull. Same with lowering the drive. I would test drive from a slower speed & find what the boat likes. This is my opinion from my experience & I have not had any major problems except partially spinning out 1 time with a new to me boat hence step bottom. It only took once to learn that lesson. Randy

mcollinstn

Here's the skinny.
Your boat will lean automatically when it turns.

You can do all sorts of weird stuff with tabs if you are into party tricks, but you need to get some experience playing around with them first.

As has been stated, if your hull has ventilation steps, you can spin your boat out unexpectedly and it's not a joyride when it happens. People have died from it.

With a non-stepped vee hull, you trim the nose up for speed, you trim the nose down for carving a corner. Rough water, boat load, and a zillion other factors affect that, but you get the drift.

With a step hull, overtrimming can cause you to slow down, while undertrimming can bury the nose in a corner and the ventilated stern can skate around in a circle like it's on ball bearings.

Don't know the best way to tell you how to figure all of this out, other than to tell you to put your life vest on, make sure your kill tether is attached to you, be sure the water isn't cold enough to hypothermia you to death, wait until it is smooth and there's no traffic, and go experiment. Having a buddy in another boat is also a good idea.

It's great to know your boat's limits, but when you ask a question such as the aileron question, it's clear that you need an "old hand" to take you out and spend a little time with you before you try going fast with passengers on your boat.

MC

fireboatpilot

Please listen to the advice given above. You do not want to go into a turn with your tabs down and have one dig in. Best case is you spin out, worse is it grabs and flips you. Same goes for the drive depth which should be near neutral trim give or take a few degrees for normal running. The more seat time the better. Your obviously new to this sport so start out slow and learn your boats limitations. It's different everytime out like flying, winds, currents, tides, aves, chop, weights, loads, distribution etc. Be careful and take yoour time, there are powerboat driving courses available that are really great! Someday I hope to be able to afford taking one, just kidding.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

The ONLY time your tabs should NOT be set identical is when you are on a long (straight) cruise and are compensating for a breeze or quartering sea (on a single engine boat). You turn with the steering wheel.

Some differences for twin or more engine boat; much longer conversation.

http://www.performanceboatschool.com/

TahoeRick

Take the Tres Martin HP boating course. He will also go out in your boat with you to teach you some safety tips. Course is invaluable. Number one cause of severe accidents is improperly trimmed tabs (Per Tres).

Rick