Trailering Clips

bhurbt · **Posted:** Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:26 pm

Hello all,

New user/boater here. My wife and I bought a 2002 180 Horizon with the 4.3l 190 HP Merc about a month ago. Been out 3 times thus far on the Illinois River and have had a great time. Growing up in a friends boat they always had trailering clips with the trim up but this boat doesn't have any. Would you guys suggest getting a pair? If so, are there any special ones I should keep an eye out for?

Thanks

Surface Interval · **Posted:** Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:07 pm

I have only used them for winter storage some years. Never felt they were needed during the season. Congrats on the boat.

rpengr · **Posted:** Wed Jul 13, 2016 10:14 am

The trim cylinders on these outdrives are so rock solid that I never saw any need for them.
(VP, OMC & Merc)

rchamberlin · **Posted:** Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:11 am

Where about on the Illinois river?

Jdpber · **Posted:** Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:36 am

I have a $15 set of these, simply for peace of mind but as stated above these cylinders are solid.

bigblockcutlass123 · **Joined:** Fri Jul 22, 2016 7:13 pm **Posts:** 9

You still could still have a problem. All it takes is a hose to blow and down it goes. One thing I have got used to doing is after I trim it all the way up for trailing, I drop it down just enough to reduce the pressure off the hoses. This would reduce the pressure in the system after trimming it up all the way and dead heading the system raising the system pressure up to max.

blue dragon · **Joined:** Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:01 pm **Posts:** 788

Do you find the fin on the outdrive makes a big difference?

Jdpber · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2016 7:53 am

blue dragon wrote:

Do you find the fin on the outdrive makes a big difference?

honestly i have not decided. Next weekend i am going to take it off and do some same day comparisons because i feel for some reason that it may be hindering performance.

rpengr · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2016 8:55 am

blue dragon wrote:

Do you find the fin on the outdrive makes a big difference?

There have been some people that reported handling problems when using a fin on the Four Winns Hull design, such as bow diving down into a turn.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:06 am

i have noticed that if i trim up much past full down that the bow wants to bounce. Not porpus but bounce. i am talking like 3-4 bumps up of the trim. This weekend it will just be myself the wife and son and dog. So i plan to leave them on the beach and do a few test passes with and without the fin with both props for my true speed numbers for the 2 props. Simply because this is easier solo than with passengers. I am interested to see the differences in handling with the fin.

captkevin · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2016 10:10 am

Some people report better results with smart tabs as compared to whale tails.

Surface Interval · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2016 8:19 pm

I tried a fin on my '95 190 Horizon for a little while. My experience with fins on that boat and others was that you must adjust the outdrive trim more often. It does help to get on plane at a slightly slower speed. It reduces bow rise just before getting on plane. But with full down trim above about 25 mph the boat has a tendency to lean to the left when going straight. This is because the fin lifts the center of the stern and the prop's rotational torque causes the boat to lean left. Trim it up some and it will level out. Trim it up a bit more and it will porpoise. When turning at cruise or turning back for a downed skier with the drive trimmed down, the boat will lean into the turn much more than without the fin. This can be minimized by trimming up some, but my '95 190 would almost put the gunnel in the water with full down trim at 25-30 mph. It was un-nerving to turn very quickly. It also caused larger radius turns. The point is that the you can get the boat to handle more calmly with the fin if you were always adjusting the trim. Not all drivers will understand what they need to do to make the boat handle acceptably. Because of this I removed the fin and quit using it. My 190 was always heavy in the back with the larger engine and the way we loaded it, and did not tolerate much outdrive trim below 35-40 mph. At 45+ mph I could trim up as much as I wanted without porpoising. With the 5.0 EFI the top end trimmed out was 52-54 mph. Hope this helps.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:27 am

yea i have played with fins for over 15 years and they all no mater the boat need trimming for the condition. i simply need to see which way i like better on THIS boat.

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:09 am

I've been thinking about this for my boat as well, after all is said and done I think there is no substitute for hydraulic trim tabs. The deep V design F/W used (21*deadrise) used on the style I have is great for rough water but also prone to listing at certain speeds or trim angles. Adjustable trim tabs are the only way to correct that and improve performance overall.
Thinking of a set of Bennet Hydraulic tabs because they hold up well in our salt water world....

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:19 pm

LouC wrote:

I've been thinking about this for my boat as well, after all is said and done I think there is no substitute for hydraulic trim tabs. The deep V design F/W used (21*deadrise) used on the style I have is great for rough water but also prone to listing at certain speeds or trim angles. Adjustable trim tabs are the only way to correct that and improve performance overall.
Thinking of a set of Bennet Hydraulic tabs because they hold up well in our salt water world....

i am a fan of the Lenco electric tabs purely because of the simplicity and lack of a hydraulic pump and messy reservoir. you should price them.. Lenco is the rout i will be going if i do a set of tabs. the "Smart tabs" i feel are junk and useless if i cannot adjust them.

www.iFourWinns.com

Trailering Clips

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