I have been a boater for better than 30 years, in 04 I purchased my first new boat.. At the time I asked the dealer about Trim Tabs and was told this boat doesn't need them.. Never having then before and only owning smaller boats I was not in a position to question them... Now after many hours behind the wheel of this boat I started looking into them.. I checked around and found that the Lenco 18x12 Trim Tabs were the best fit... I must say that drilling through my gelcoat was not something I was looking foward to but the install was straight foward and instructions were laid out in laymans terms... I had questions and called the manufacture and they were quick and very helpfull in getting the answers I needed..
From the very first time I lowered the tabs I could tell the boat was tracking better at no wake speeds,, jumped up to plane and kept the noise down when it normally was high and we stay on plane at lower speeds with less throttle.. coming down from cruiseing sppeds and lowering tabs fully we can maintain plane at 12 MPH around 2100 RPM.. With 5 adults 2 kids on board.. to prove a point I then raised the tabs and the rear of the boat sank, the noise went up and we lost a little RPM and MPH went to 8..
They work great and are the best upgrade I have performed this year,, at least as far as performance and handling are concerned...
A 2005 Rinker 232 Captiva Cuddy, 5.7 MPI 300HP Bravo III I ordered the boat in 04 and the dealer was able to get the 05 60-th anniverise package, Solid red with white deck 6 disc sony unit x-plod head unit with single disk player behind face plate, 4 sony speakers, wireless remote and wired remote control on the swim platform.. We also have the extended swim platform and complete camper enclosure.. I added a sony 500 watt amp a 10" bass woofer and replaced the sony speakers with JBL's.. I added a second battery, isolator and a Perko switch..
The tabs retracts as soon as engine is shut down,, During docking the boat tracks straight,, Only issue I have had was backing into a slip when water only 3 foot... So while Backing under those conditions I try to keep them up...
Lenco makes some good tabs. Its good to see some people drilling through the glass but can be scary at times. Now that you have done it once it should be no big deal from here on out. Just wait until you have to cut some 3-4" holes for silent choice exhaust. Thats an experience! Its also sounds like it improved your ride quite a bit which is great. Keep up the DIY's and if you ever have any questions feel free to pm me.
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