Smart Tabs ? - Maxum Boat Owners Club

bka56 · 10-15-2010, 01:10 PM

I was looking at trim tabs for my 2300 sc. and I ran across a add for Smart Tabs has anyone heard of them and or used them?

dronthelake · 10-15-2010, 01:17 PM

I tried them on a '93 Regal 6.8 Ventura (22') and it was a waste of money. The little gas struts didn't last a year. I would buy a set of Bennett Sport tabs. A little more money but reliable and adjustable tabs.

shrew · 10-15-2010, 01:21 PM

In the top of all the pages on the site where the tabs (Home; forum; captains Logs; What's New?; Galery; Donate), there is a search bar to the far right. type in "Smart Tabs" and take a look. There have been a number of posts discussing them. I'm not trying to give you a dismissive "Go Look it up" response. But rather there are a number of good threads on the subject and simply too many to list here. I have Bennett's and prefer them because I feel there is more control than smart tabs. However there are a number of people on this and other sites who swear by them. Many praise the 'hands-off' approach to tab management that smart tabs offer. Electric or hydraulic tabs will require that you work the right and left tab up and down buttons. I also find that the smart tabs tend to be on smaller boats. I beleive they make a tab for your sized boat, though personally, I would go with a bennett tab on anything larger. Just my opinion.

Argonaut · 10-18-2010, 11:29 PM

I wrote a piece on SMART TABS about 2 yrs ago .. might be worth a read :
http://www.maxumownersclub.com/forum...ighlight=smart

I would not own a Maxum without them ..... they do exactly what they say .... no set up, they just work - perfectly and for less than price of tank of fuel.
My Maxum had awful bow rise & a long planing time, even with a High 5 prop fitted .... esp. when pulling a mono skier form a deep water start .... forward view was so bad for so long it was downright dangerous.

Best investment you can make for your Maxum

ss3964spd · 10-19-2010, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bka56

I was looking at trim tabs for my 2300 sc. and I ran across a add for Smart Tabs has anyone heard of them and or used them?

From what I've read and seen, on that size boat I don't think they will be sufficient - but I also have no practical experience with them so "a grain of salt" applies.

However, I do know they are not adjustable. Basically - they are always deployed. You cannot use them to balance the boat side to side, you cannot raise them out of the water to account for a following sea or for when those beautiful flat water days allows you to run at at 40 comfortably with no tab in the water (no tab in the water = more speed and/or less fuel consumption).

There's a thread in "Projects" of my tab install.

Dan

Argonaut · 10-19-2010, 04:28 PM

>However, I do know they are not adjustable.

Absolutely wrong.
They are adjustable, they have a number of holes to allow you to tune them to the hull .... should you want to have more force on one side than other you can set them that way.

>you cannot raise them out of the water
Again absolutely wrong
I have mine installed with retractors, that way I can flip them up out of the way if I want to beach boat, or I also flip them out of way if I want maximum wake for wake-boarding.
In a following sea you would do nothing no need to adjust them.

The Tabs are also in different sizes depending on hull length and HP of engine ..............

As to raising them to do high speed .... simply no need, once you are planing they are parallel to hull, and do not impact top end speed in anyway.

If you have any specific questions feel free to drop me a PM ... I use these and they do work.
I also have pictures of them fitted if you want to see what they look like on a Maxum hull.
Easy to fit, cheap and they make a MASSIVE improvement with NO negative points at all.

shrew · 10-19-2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argonaut

Quote:

Originally Posted by ss3964spd

However, I do know they are not adjustable.

Absolutely wrong.
They are adjustable, they have a number of holes to allow you to tune them to the hull .... should you want to have more force on one side than other you can set them that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ss3964spd

>you cannot raise them out of the water

Again absolutely wrong
I have mine installed with retractors, that way I can flip them up out of the way if I want to beach boat, or I also flip them out of way if I want maximum wake for wake-boarding.
In a following sea you would do nothing no need to adjust them.

The Tabs are also in different sizes depending on hull length and HP of engine ..............

As to raising them to do high speed .... simply no need, once you are planing they are parallel to hull, and do not impact top end speed in anyway.

If you have any specific questions feel free to drop me a PM ... I use these and they do work.
I also have pictures of them fitted if you want to see what they look like on a Maxum hull.
Easy to fit, cheap and they make a MASSIVE improvement with NO negative points at all.

I think that what ss3964spd meant is that they cannot be adjusted from the helm while underway. There are pre-set holes for increased/reduced resistance and the their spring loaded (to my knowledge) to self adjust for various force, speed, angle, etc), however you can't hit a button and adjust them up or down while underway. Also in a following sea, you would normally want the tabs all the way up. It sounds like you have to stop and walk back and ;flip' them out of the way manually.

I'm not clear how you would tweak the tabs for lateral levelling of the boat, such as when the boat is listing port or starboard. I don't see a way to automatically adjust them up or down for varying sea, wind weight distribution conditions and don't see an easy way to get them all ht eway up in a following sea. I think they are a great idea and have read many glowing reviews about them. however most glowing reviews are on lake boats or sub 20-21ft. boats. I've heard of them installed on larger boats, but very rarely.

I'm in no way saying they're not great. I think they are and I think they have a good place in the marine industry. I'm just trying to make sure we're all being fair here and providing ALL of the info. If I'm giving misinformation, I would request someone clarify and correct me. That is what makes a god forum. What makes a great forum is if it can be done without any hurt feelings in the process

Argonaut · 10-20-2010, 12:23 PM

OK ... I agree you can't alter them when underway ... the point is you don't need to ... the dampers are self adjusting in use, set them once and forget them.

The action in a beam sea is amazing, no heaving over to one side boat runs true.
Also removes need of adjustment to Drive trim for head or following sea, or when popping skiers out of the water, only time I now touch trim is during launch & recovery.

The retractors allow you to 'retract' and thus disable them (when in water) as mentioned useful for beaching or when you need a monster wake.

I have a colleague who fitted electro adjustable tabs, and they packed in after one season, he switched to SMART Tabs ... was highly sceptical .... but now agrees they do d a better job than the previous (expensive units)

I am in UK .. and imported mine from US, and would simply not own a boat without them again, planes much faster, handles far better, it's safer ...

I have personally used these for 2 years on my Maxum and they do exactly what they say they will do - if you get negative comments check if they are from people who have actually used them, there seems a lot of hearsay & rumors form thos that have no actual experience with the product.
I asked lots of Q's ... and peopl on iBoats forum have lots of experinece with these TABS.

I have no knowledge of them on 30' boats, but in range up to 24' know that they work extremely well.

The company does do different size Tabs and appropriate dampers ........ I have the resin rather than metal as I prefer that in salt water boating.

seapuppy · 10-20-2010, 02:08 PM

I think the main concern is with what size boat your going to run them on.....they are effective on smaller boats but not that effective on larger ones......

SP

dronthelake · 10-20-2010, 02:22 PM

I tried the large set on the Regal 6.8 Ventura (5000 lbs loaded) and they didn't work very well. They have no affect on listing due to weight shift or winds. IMO I'd spend a little more and get tabs that you can control from the helm. It makes all the difference in the world.

ss3964spd · 10-20-2010, 02:58 PM

Arg, in my never ending quest to bolster my knowledge base, please help me understand:

A) As you mentioned, once on plane the smart tabs are parallel to the hull bottom - which suggests they are no longer influencing the running attitude of the hull. How then does one use these tabs to correct for porpoising which can occur in certain water conditions and at certain speeds?
B) Also, once on plane; since the tabs are now parallel to the hull bottom and are presumably having no effect, how do they eliminate the need to trim the drive?
C) Is there any way to use these tabs in an effective manner to compensate for shifting loads - port to starboard?

As previously admitted I have zero first hand experience with Smart Tabs so I am in no way making disparaging remarks about them. I do feel, however, that it is important to ensure all the pros and cons of any particular product be closely examined to ensure the product is fit for purpose.

Regards,

Dan