Obie wrote:
Trim tabs are a much better choice because they can be quickly adjusted on the fly. Are you going to add weight to get on plane and then drain them when underway? You want to lose your cuddy storage space so that you can carry lake water in your boat? When you sell your boat will you tell the prospective buyer that you selected a mechanical solution to common boat handling issue that 99.9999 percent of boaters have rejected. If I was considering buying you boat I would be thinking about the other unconventional methods you used on your boat and walk away.
Seriously reconsider trim tabs. They are wonderful.
Easy killer, I was just throwing it out there as an idea. If you read the whole thread, you will see that others have convinced me to go the tab way. In all actuality, I still think it is a doable idea. I am only looking at about 150lbs of water weight, less than an 1 adult. From playing around with weight distribution while underway, I found that having one of my passengers sit down in the cuddy helped immensily in getting on plane.
And as far as drainage, I was toying with the idea of running a line to my built in cooler, which has a built in drain. Oh, and the compartments in my SD are extremely small, I don't use them for anything anyways. Your 2006 might be bigger.
I realize that boating season is done for the majority of us, and we are all sad and grumpy, so here is a tip. After you write your post, read it aloud, if it sounds harsh, it will read even worse.