Marine Accessories: Trim Tabs and How They Can Improve the Performance of Your Boat
If you’ve owned a boat for any length of time, you’re always going to find something you’d like to improve, whether it’s an updated tech system, a shiny new prop or a fresh coat of paint. Aside from appearance upgrades and necessary maintenance, the one thing most boaters are interested in is improving the ride of their boat.
Photo: Bennett Marine (via Facebook)
Whether it’s due to rough water, choppy waves or windy conditions, it’s not much fun to spend the day on a rough riding boat. Trim tabs can be the helpful addition you’re searching for to get a smooth ride. Today, we’re going to go over a few of the ways your boating experience could benefit from these handy metal plates.
What are Trim Tabs?
Photo: Bennett Marine (via Facebook)
Trim tabs are adjustable stainless-steel panels that are mounted on the boat’s transom, one on each side. They move up and down and are controlled at the helm of the boat. Their biggest job is to control the running angle of the boat (greatly improving performance and enjoyment). They make the boat level if one side is listing to the left or right (port or starboard, in boating terms) by giving “lift” to compensate for water conditions, weight distribution and changes in speed. Trim tabs work together with the power trim and can be independently controlled (since they’re mounted on either side) by either electric or electro-hydraulic power.
How to Use Trim Tabs
Photo: Bennett Marine (via Facebook)
When the bow is excessively high in the water, turn the tabs all the way down. This allows the angle of takeoff to be flatter (also improving visibility by lowering the bow). Once the boat is on a plane, you can slowly trim back up to adjust and level the boat. When they’re turned downward (a.k.a. trimmed down), the force of the water creates upward pressure, which raises the stern and reduces hull resistance. When the trim tabs are all the way down, they help the boat stay flatter on a plane. They allow the boat to plane at lower speeds, which can improve the quality of the ride. The starboard tab raises the stern on the starboard side and depresses the bow on the port side (this is known as an opposite reaction principle).
Benefits of Trim Tabs
Photo: Bennett Marine (via Facebook)
Trim tabs affect the way your boat performs in rough water or when there’s unequal weight distribution. While good for medium-size boats, trim tabs can benefit smaller vessels like watersports boats as the trim tabs provide lift without needing additional horsepower when pulling water-skiers or tubes. On a smaller boat, you could essentially use the engine in the same way as trim tabs. Just trim the engine up or down to raise or lower the bow.
- Help with balance, listing, unequal weight distribution and porpoising (rising and falling of the bow)
- Get the boat up on a plane quickly
- Help reduce fuel consumption and engine laboring
- Improve boat performance, speed and safety
- Improve visibility and handling
- Reduces wake size and stress on the hull
Trim Tab Types
From high-performance, stainless-steel and black powder-coated versions to varieties designed for small transoms and mega-yachts, there’s a boatload of trim tab types available. The next time you’re hanging out on deck at your private boat slip rental near you, spend a few minutes perusing some of your choices.
Trim Tab Accessories
There are a couple of accessories you can install to aid in the use and effectiveness of trim tabs.
Automatic tab retractors work by automatically retracting the tabs when the engine is turned off. This ensures that you don’t accidentally leave them in the down position when raising onto a private boat lift or taking the boat out of the water on a trailer (as both of these actions can cause damage).
Trim Indicators tell you where the trim tabs are (either in the up or down position). This is a good thing to be aware of whether you’re cruising, fishing or pulling into a private boat dock rental. They’re fairly easy to install and not too expensive.
Hopefully you’ve gathered some ideas on how to use trim tabs to your best advantage. You’ll be trimming like a pro (and sailing in style) in no time. Happy boating!
