www.iFourWinns.com

I'm new and don't want to mess with the Trim setting too much. What setting would work best for regular boating. Just want to ejoy it before trying all these new things Thanks.

Start with the trim all the way down for the best hole shot on takeoff. After you're up on plane, then you can trim up slightly to get the most efficient ride. You'll have to play with this a bit to find it. The best way I've found to find optimum trim is to run the boat at the stated "cruising RPM" per the FW Specs on flat water. When your boat settles on plane and you first trim up, you'll notice the rpm's (& speedo, but I don't put a lot of stock in any boat speedo unless it's gps) will increase without adding throttle. Some say to keep raising it until RPM's start to drop again, but I say that's debatable. Depending on the boat and the load, if you trim up to far you can generally feel the boat start to "porpoise" where the bow will gently rock up and down on smooth water. Also keep in mind it's safer to run the boat trimmed all the way down than to run it too far up. Too far up will put excessive stress on your u-joints and/or can cause performance issues. All in all, that's a really long way of saying play with it little by little and eventually you will "feel" where the boat likes to be trimmed at.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

Great advice. Always start with it all the way down and play with it from there. You will know more by "feel" than anything else. Rember to trim yourself down when crossing another boats wake to smooth out the ride. You will learn more and more each time you press the button. Remember, boating is more of a feel than a specific number or setting. Conditions are ALWAYS changing.

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2001 Horizon 260 - 7.4 Volvo GSI DP

Fairly new boater here too. As other said its not an exact science but after some toying you will find what works best for your boat and for the water conditions. I generally trim up to the lower mark on the trim gauge, but that may vary depending on the water conditions and my speed. I really can't think of many times I've ever trimmed up past that lower mark.

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2007 Four Winns 190 Horizon Merc 4.3 MPI

Our boat on Crescent Lake in Oregon

By "lower mark on the trim guage", I am assuming you are talking about the one in the 5 o'clock position. I would recommend not running your boat above that mark. Running too high can cause excessive stress on your drive train, specifically the u-joints. Keep in mind the trim guage is not always 100% accurate (trim sensors out of adjustment, bad guage, etc). As Dave said above, you'll eventually "feel" where the boat is comfortable given the conditions you're in as you get more experience at the helm.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP