trim tab question

When I bought our Fish Machine 20 the previous owner had put non-adjustable trim tabs (ParaTrim) on the boat. After our boat was restored I elected not to put the trim tabs back on. As a result, it "porpoises" and takes a fair amount of throttle to get it to pop up on plane and even out. This was the case even with the non-adjustable trim tabs, and it is more dramatic now.

My questions are:
Would adjustable trim tabs help me much at low speeds?

Has anyone installed trim tabs on a 20' and if so are you able to run the hydraulics/wiring below deck?

Thanks in advance,

Brian

On my 23' I have hydrolic tabs and can't remember the last time I adjusted them. I found my sweet spot years ago and left them there. I suppose fixed tab would have worked great in my case.

I always thought tabs with indicators would be the sweet setup if I was adjusting them very often.

I put the biggest adjustable ones on my 23 that would fit and have been very happy with them. I adjust them all the time depending on sea state and where people are sitting and speed.

I ran my electrical from the console under the gunwale The pump and all of the hydraulic is all in the engine box with two piercings through the transom, one for each cylinder.

If you are porpoising you may get some relief by adjusting your trim pin on the outdrive to a more inside position. It sounds like too much trim out.

Thank you guys for the advice and observations.

I will check my service manual for trim pin settings. If my situation can be fixed by outdrive adjustment that would be great!
If not, then I will probably go for adjustable trim tabs instead of the permanently set tabs that were on the boat when we bought her. I like the ability/option to move the tab if need be to find that "sweet spot".

Thank you again,
Brian

I adjust my bennets a lot while running and find that putting them all the way down at low speeds to help with low speed wander.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by grey goose

I adjust my bennets a lot while running and find that putting them all the way down at low speeds to help with low speed wander.

---

I still have not done anything to address my high bow at low speeds. hopefully before summer I will have adjustable trim tabs on the boat. In not, I'll be trolling around bow high again LOL.

Thanks,
Brian

If you bite the bullet and put em in you will be very happy that you did. My boat has the opposite attitude at trolling speed, the bow comes down low and if it is sloppy then I will start taking splash from the front.

I'm guessing that you didn't find a trim pin position on your outdrive that helped enough. If not - get the tabs! You'll love em.

Old Blue