Help with trim tabs

[pondfish]

Hi all i'm new to your forum but i'm looking for some advice,
I have a Beneteau Antares 620 and i'm thinking about fitting trim tabs to lift the stern,
So if anybody has the same type of boat; Beneteau, Merry Fisher, Arvor, and has fitted trim tabs to lower the front and lift the back up i would be intrested with any help or info

 

[rafiki_]

Sorry, can't help you personally, but others might if we bump this back up.

Good luck.

 

[Scillyboy]

I fitted Bennett M120 sport tabs during the winter to my Hardy Pilot (not the same hull as the OP's, but a 20ft semi-displacement). I wanted to improve the ride and stability, and to reduce the porpoising I was getting at speed. Due to the appalling weather, I've only recently been able to test them properly. The boat came with hydrofoil fins on the outboard, and I left them on initially, to see what happened. Bad idea - interference (I reckon) made the boat more unstable at speed, so I removed the fins while on the pontoon (losing one fin, several washers and my 10mm socket into the briny!). The boat is now transformed. Everything is better - ride, directional stability, fuel consumption, top speed all improved. She always rode bow-high, even at displacement speeds, and this is now mostly sorted, even with little or no tab deflection. She gets up on the plane almost instantly, and feels very steady. I haven't tried in all sea conditions, but overall I'm very impressed. I reckon the old fins were draggy, as when trimmed, the prop was at the wrong angle, and with the lift being concentrated on the centreline, there was a tendency to roll left or right. The tabs were quite straightforward to fit, too - a couple of minor issues with the fixing screws only.
Amazing what a couple of metal plates can do....

 

[NoviceRod]

There is another thread on here (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315739) discussing performance of the MF705 (inboard shaft), in which there might be some evidence of trim tabs causing a significant loss of speed.

As a relative novice, I may be completely wrong, but I though it was worthwhile drawing this to your attention.

 

[Scillyboy]

Difficult to be sure without a controlled with/without comparison. However, if the tabs are controllable (rather than the pre-set sprung jobs (Smart tabs?), then set to zero deflection, they ought to have no effect at all, good or bad. Increases can be dialled in gradually to see what happens. Trouble is that you have to spend the money up front. Some suggest that even at zero angle, they increase the effective waterline length of the boat, thus increasing the maximum displacement speed. Others here will undoubtedly know more about this....

 

[pondfish]

Hi all i'm new to your forum but i'm looking for some advice,
I have a Beneteau Antares 620 and i'm thinking about fitting trim tabs to lift the stern,
So if anybody has the same type of boat; Beneteau, Merry Fisher, Arvor, and has fitted trim tabs to lower the front and lift the back up i would be intrested with any help or info

Thanks Guy's for your feedback what i forgot to mention was my boat has an inboard with a shaft drive,
i'm thinking about going the cheap way first as with smart tabs £100 so i would be very greatful if any body has fitted these to a shaft driven boat of any of the above makes,
before i have to pay out £650/£700 for bennet tabs,
thanks again all

 

[Piers]

Try here,

http://www.thehulltruth.com/tabmans-trim-tab-discussion-15/

 

[baldyash]

We have these(QL Tabs) on our Beneteau Antares 30-----Seem to work well
http://www.volvopenta.com/SiteColle...rts brochures/QL - Boat Trim System (Eng).pdf

Worth a look

 

[pondfish]

I fitted Bennett M120 sport tabs during the winter to my Hardy Pilot (not the same hull as the OP's, but a 20ft semi-displacement). I wanted to improve the ride and stability, and to reduce the porpoising I was getting at speed. Due to the appalling weather, I've only recently been able to test them properly. The boat came with hydrofoil fins on the outboard, and I left them on initially, to see what happened. Bad idea - interference (I reckon) made the boat more unstable at speed, so I removed the fins while on the pontoon (losing one fin, several washers and my 10mm socket into the briny!). The boat is now transformed. Everything is better - ride, directional stability, fuel consumption, top speed all improved. She always rode bow-high, even at displacement speeds, and this is now mostly sorted, even with little or no tab deflection. She gets up on the plane almost instantly, and feels very steady. I haven't tried in all sea conditions, but overall I'm very impressed. I reckon the old fins were draggy, as when trimmed, the prop was at the wrong angle, and with the lift being concentrated on the centreline, there was a tendency to roll left or right. The tabs were quite straightforward to fit, too - a couple of minor issues with the fixing screws only.
Amazing what a couple of metal plates can do....

Thanks for your input your hull type and lenth are not miles away from mine so it's nice to hear your type worked for you,

Difficult to be sure without a controlled with/without comparison. However, if the tabs are controllable (rather than the pre-set sprung jobs (Smart tabs?), then set to zero deflection, they ought to have no effect at all, good or bad. Increases can be dialled in gradually to see what happens. Trouble is that you have to spend the money up front. Some suggest that even at zero angle, they increase the effective waterline length of the boat, thus increasing the maximum displacement speed. Others here will undoubtedly know more about this....

Thanks i can see what you mean about having control and try bit by bit untill it's right for me,
It seems every body go's that way because i have had no feed back from anybody useing smart tabs,

We have these(QL Tabs) on our Beneteau Antares 30-----Seem to work well
http://www.volvopenta.com/SiteColle...rts brochures/QL - Boat Trim System (Eng).pdf

Worth a look

Hi seems a good system but have you heared any negitive feedback about electric verses salt water,

If anybody else has any thoughts please post all info is helpfull,

 

[pondfish]

Well i know it's been a while since my last post on here but i did fit the smart tabs,
Well what a diffrence it made it done what it said on the pack,
1. it lowerd the bow,
2. it lifted her bum,
3. and it improved the speed,

not sure about the fuel claim because i did not test it before fitting them was told by last owner that it does 3/5 gal's ph depends on speed and conditions,

so if anybody is thinking about fitting them go for it they cost me £125.00 and fitted them myself,
for bennets they wanted £650/£700 and i still would have to fit them my self