Trim tabs

[Dan The Man]

Needing to get a pair for my boat 18' welded alum any suggestions on brands?

 

[seavr]

I put Smart Tabs on my 18 foot harbercraft. Cheap, simple and they made a significant improvement. I bought them on-line.

 

[profisher]

I've had Insta-Trims for 18 years on my Seasport, no issues. Seasport uses them at the factory.

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

I wouldnt go any more than 12".

Fill the dam tub!

 

[Dan The Man]

Thanks for the feedback, Seavr which model and size did you use??

 

[salmon9]

I installed Bennett M80's on my 18 foot Double Eagle and made a big difference. I wanted M120's but not enough room on the transom with the kicker. I found money spent on adjustable tabs was worth it.

 

[ratherbefishing]

I am in exactly the same situation as salmon9. Installed M80's due to a lack of room and love them! Boat is an 18' Malibu cuddy. Having gone from an 18' welded to a much heavier 18' glass boat, the M80s will suit you fine.

I've also gone through the "smart" tabs...can't say they did anything for me of great benefit. My suggestion is to save up for anything that you can adjust on the fly.

good luck
rbf

 

[seavr]

I put on the SX tabs (plastic ones). They've been on for 2 summers, work great no problems. Just use their on-line application chart to figure out the ones you need for your boat.
A couple of points:
-I had to shim out my kicker to make room for the tabs..not much about an inch or so.
-these tabs put the bow down quite a bit and I lost a little top end speed, more boat in the water.
-the amount of pressure on the tabs is adjustable and I spent about 4 hours finding the position I liked best. This is a trial and error procedure where you set a position run the boat, reset and try again. Once set, I never adjusted again.

 

[spring time]

i used Bennett's no problem installed in a couple of hours go adjustable they are worth the money to level out the bout when needed or in wind