Couple of Eltrim trim tab maintenance questions

[Firefly625]

Just spent the day at Hamble Point working on Seabird, now finished rubbing down hull, removing old anodes and giving Seabird's bikini beard (rope fendering) a trim... blooming hard days work.

Couple of questions, I have always changed my Eltrim Trim Tab bellows every year since I got the boat, is this really necessary? £26+vat not expensive for peace of mind... but just wondering what everyone else does? The ones on there seem very pliable and in good condition..

I have always bought from; http://www.trickettmarineproducts.co.uk/trimtabs.html Anyone know anyone cheaper?

My trim tabs suffered a bit last year, always seemed to be covered with weed. I rubbed them down last year, didn't get all the old antifoul off & as some bare stainless steel showing I put on a coat of Primacon then a couple fo coats on antifoul (International interspeed ultra). When boat was lifted and jetted off this time a lot of the antifould was missing from the trim tabs so this year I have taken them back to shiny stainless steel and was planning to get some Etching Primer to apply before antifouling. However I am not sure what to buy. After chatting to the peeps in Force 4 they have just said to apply one thinned coat of Primcon then upto 5 further coats before applying antifoul, perhaps where I went wrong last year. Anyone have any other recommendations which would be suitable with International Interspeed ultra.


BTW, anyone down at Hamble today get the max windspeed? some of the gusts were a bit wild!

 

[[2068]]

I do my trim tab gaiters at the same time as the outdrive gaiters, which is every second season.

 

[halcyon]

Couple of questions, I have always changed my Eltrim Trim Tab bellows every year since I got the boat, is this really necessary? £26+vat not expensive for peace of mind... but just wondering what everyone else does? The ones on there seem very pliable and in good condition..

They were always a change every two year job, have you checked Phil's www.britboatparts.com does all the Sealine parts.

Brian

 

[Firefly625]

thanks both, judging by their condition I thought they will do another season.

could not locate the bellows on the www.britboatparts.com website. Thanks for the link, never seen it before. Must say their antifoul v.expensive... interspeed ultra 2.5lt £122. F4 charge £99 and I got mine from marinescene for £59 in Dec, now £94.

 

[STEVEDUNSTABLE]

thanks both, judging by their condition I thought they will do another season.

could not locate the bellows on the www.britboatparts.com website. Thanks for the link, never seen it before. Must say their antifoul v.expensive... interspeed ultra 2.5lt £122. F4 charge £99 and I got mine from marinescene for £59 in Dec, now £94.

hi james....just had to wipe "sprayed tea n biscuits" off the screen!!!!!....had no idea antifoul was the methord of paying off the national debt !!!!!!!......thank heavens i dont have to indulge in that particular "scam"!!! see you at easter (if not before).....regards from u no hoo.

 

[Firefly625]

hi james....just had to wipe "sprayed tea n biscuits" off the screen!!!!!....had no idea antifoul was the methord of paying off the national debt !!!!!!!......thank heavens i dont have to indulge in that particular "scam"!!! see you at easter (if not before).....regards from u no hoo.

Hi Steve, You are not kidding! the term "it pays to shop around" certainly applies to buying antifoul! I bought 2x2.5ltrs of interspeed ultra last year for £110 delivered...

anyway, very much looking forward to getting the boat in the water in March! Can't wait for the new season.

 

[stuartwineberg]

2-3 years

Just spent the day at Hamble Point working on Seabird, now finished rubbing down hull, removing old anodes and giving Seabird's bikini beard (rope fendering) a trim... blooming hard days work.

Couple of questions, I have always changed my Eltrim Trim Tab bellows every year since I got the boat, is this really necessary? £26+vat not expensive for peace of mind... but just wondering what everyone else does? The ones on there seem very pliable and in good condition..

I have always bought from; http://www.trickettmarineproducts.co.uk/trimtabs.html Anyone know anyone cheaper?

My trim tabs suffered a bit last year, always seemed to be covered with weed. I rubbed them down last year, didn't get all the old antifoul off & as some bare stainless steel showing I put on a coat of Primacon then a couple fo coats on antifoul (International interspeed ultra). When boat was lifted and jetted off this time a lot of the antifould was missing from the trim tabs so this year I have taken them back to shiny stainless steel and was planning to get some Etching Primer to apply before antifouling. However I am not sure what to buy. After chatting to the peeps in Force 4 they have just said to apply one thinned coat of Primcon then upto 5 further coats before applying antifoul, perhaps where I went wrong last year. Anyone have any other recommendations which would be suitable with International Interspeed ultra.


BTW, anyone down at Hamble today get the max windspeed? some of the gusts were a bit wild!

I have the same tabs. I give the gaiters a squeeze every year - if they are soft - OK, any sign of stiffening swap them - about 2-3 years. As for the tabs. I havent found anything that sticks. I just scrape them off, couple of coats of the same as as the rest of the boat (Jotun Seaqueen). I think the problem is that the extreme pressure of the water going past the tabs literally jets the paint off. I always have a bit of a garden on the tabs and it is always gone after a good blast. Dont really see the point of expensive etches and paints just for that.

 

[Scubadoo]

I replace mine every other year, but check the condition each year. Sometimes when they are not due to be replaced I will undo the bellows just to see if any water drips out. By the way I also check the cable entry at the top as well, I did find one year the plastic nut had disintegrated (holds cable in place), but no damage done and basically resealed with epoxy and a coating of sealant on top.

Antifouling trim tabs has been one thing that for me is still ongoing, I've tried primcon and upteen layers of ultra antifouling in the past but end up with it flaking off and looking a right sorry state at the end of the season. However I have found epoxy (several coats) and a antifoul top coat works well, but not perfect. For several years it lasted but last year found a patch flaked off.

And lastly I found Premier Antifouling works very well for the hull and costs about £45 2.5litres. Stopped using Ultra because of the cost and ended up with a build up, compared to Premier which is an eroding (35knots rated).

 

[Peanuts]

Hi
You do not etch stainless like aluminium you can only prime, then paint.

Out of interest I did not antifoul my tabs last year, ok bit of growth on them but just cleaned off, won't bother antifoulling them this year either, just a clean up and check the bellows and the clips - very important!

 

[Firefly625]

Hi
You do not etch stainless like aluminium you can only prime, then paint.

Oh, I think you are right. Hadn't thought of that! So probably just abrade before painting...

Out of interest I did not antifoul my tabs last year, ok bit of growth on them but just cleaned off, won't bother antifoulling them this year either, just a clean up and check the bellows and the clips - very important!

thanks all for advice... I was just chatting to my dad this morning and he said to just leave them bare or apply some propeller/sterngear protective coating, so just seen this;

http://www.force4.co.uk/9073/Force-4-TK-Line-Antifouling-Spray-Clear.html

... I think this might be worth a try!

 

[DAKA]

Cruiser uno.

paint it on top of anything and it will rebond old rubbish.

will come off quickly above 25 knots (thats what we want isnt it)

if it all comes off before the end of the season just repaint it.

dont put too much on your brush as it will float away and leave a watermark.

modest amount on brush and it sets underwater in a couple of hours .

 

[davedpc]

Can,t see the advantage of spending too much time on the transom or tabs,it is hardly going to slow you down other than the bottom surface of the trim tabs. When moving foward the transom is mostly out of the water,and on the plane it is completly exposed. Better spending time and money on your outdrives.

 

[Firefly625]

Can,t see the advantage of spending too much time on the transom or tabs,it is hardly going to slow you down other than the bottom surface of the trim tabs. When moving foward the transom is mostly out of the water,and on the plane it is completly exposed. Better spending time and money on your outdrives.

fortunately I don't have outdrives so I need to find something to spend my money on!