www.iFourWinns.com

Greetings. Is anyone running Smart Tabs on a Horizon 170? I have a set for my 2000 (4.3L) but have not installed them yet. Any tips to pass along?
Thanks
Ken

IMHO, they are near useless. If you want tabs put on real tabs. The main function tabs are used for is a port and starboard list. Smart Tabs can not be used for that function, therefore a waste.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

A friend of mine just put them on his 20' Stingray and he said they act the same as a "whales tail" or "shark fin" or whatever the newest company calls it. They will help with getting on plane and minimze porpiosing

Yes, that's exactly what they are designed to do, & what I want to accomplish.

Anyone have them on a 170? Buehler, anyone?

On a larger boat, I would agree. On my sub-17 footer, I'm after holeshot management & porpoise control at cruise. I don't really care about list control. Also, I would prefer to set 'em & forget 'em.

Of the research that I've done of direct feedback from those who have installed them and properly tuned them, almost all who used them on a small trailer boat were pleased with the results.

I already have the Smart Tabs (1290-60's), but haven't mounted them yet. I haven't found anyone who has used them on a 170 yet, & ideally I would like that feedback before I drill the holes in mine.

Have you installed them & taken them off your bowrider?

Nope...I'm a control freak! I want to be in control of the tabs so I can trim the boat to the best based on the water conditions and load. I have no problem with getting my 170 on plane with the 3.0l engine with or without a tube being pulled.

If you are experiencing porposing you are over trimming you outdrive. Porposing occurs because the drive is trimmed up to much and some of the force is pushing the stern down trying to lift the bow. The outdrive should be trimmed only to the point where the thrust is parallel to the water's surface. Is some conditions you may not want to trim so much such as in a head sea. You want the bow down (less trim) to avoid pounding.

Real controlable tabs give you that kind of control. IMHO, even more imporatant in a smaller boat that is more affected by chop, etc.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

I appreciate that you are trying to be helpful. I'm not new to boating. While what you said is of course true, please keep in mind that short, stern-heavy bowriders (such as my 4.3), are hyper-sensitive at mid-speed to trim, and are prone to porpoising with little provocation - perhaps your 3.0 isn't, but my 4.3 is. Mine pops on plane quite quickly with a 21P, but there's a brief period of bow rise to deal with.

I'm don't want to debate whether hydraulic tabs are "better" (a given), what I'm asking is for someone who has BTDT if the Smart Tabs are "good enough" for my specific application, given what I want to accomplish.

If I understand correctly, you have no direct experience with Smart Tabs on your 17 footer. If that is so, that's OK, however I would also like to hear from someone who does.
Thanks
Ken

I have a buddy with a 19' Stingray and he swears by them.

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2005 Funship 214 5.0GXi/DP | 2006 Yamaha FJR1300

Did you install them, I am thinking of adding some sort of tabs to mine. Would like to hear pros and cons.

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2006 FW 203 FS
2005 Dodge Laramie 1500
2003 CRF 247F SuperMoto racer
2001 CBR1100XX

I have the parts but haven't had the time. One concern I had is that the starboard side tab might interfere with the use of the stern mounted boarding ladder & perhaps pose a laceration hazard. Nauticus makes a special upper mount (just got it) that allows the tab to go full down (vertically), which should address that issue. I hope to have the tabs on within the next week or two. More to follow.
Ken

I finally got the tabs mounted. The starboard side needed a special "retractor" mount to lower the starboard tab to enable use of the bi-fold transom mounted ladder.

The test conditions weren't great (blowing wind & whitcaps), however the tabs did everything they were supposed to do. My 2000 170 with 4.3 carb runs a Hill 22P stainless 4 blade prop. With the smart tabs installed there was no bow rise, porpoising was gone at mid cruise, the boat handled chop much more smoothly, & the top end picked up a few MPH. The drive could handle much more agressive trim. I will probably make a few adjustments to get optimal performance, but as-is there's a remarkable improvement.

The Smart Tabs are the single most cost effective performance enhancement I've made on this boat to date. Anyone interested in more info can check this thread on TB:

http://boards.trailerboats.com/cgi-bin/trailerboats/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000940

Ken,
Can you descibe this "retractor", please. They didn't have those when I installed my SmartTabs and I was forced to mount them between the ladder and the drive. Obviously they don't perform as well as they could in that position. I would love to be able to move them out where they belong.

It's a fixed mount with a pivot point. The upper ball mount is attached to an arm with a small handle (& arm). When the handle is in the down position the ball mount arcs down & out & the tab therefore lowers so you can get ladder clearance. In the up position, the tab works conventionally. With the retractor mount the tab angle is a fixed position when in the run (up) setting, unlike the standard mount which offers an adjustable tab angle. You are welcome to send me a PM with your email info & I'll send you some photos.[/img]