Hi all I just ordered my hydraulic trim tabs from UK and I would recommend this seller as his response was quick and very friendly.I was lucky as I managed to get them on a special offer and I saved a lot of money. I am posting this as its a headache sometimes to know if the seller is of good faith or not.
http://www.magicmarine.co.uk/index.html
Hi All! This winter I'm thinking about installing a set of trim tabs but am very hesitant what to choose between Bennet M80 hydraulic or whether to go for electric! I would greatly appreciate your views on this topic as the more research I'm doing, the more confusing it's getting!
Also a couple of questions for those with sport boats who have installed trim tabs:
Are they worth the expense?
Did they make a huge difference?
Do they really reduce pounding in swelly/rough sea?
It's been my understanding that Hydraulic tabs are the way forward, rather than electric. Bennet have been around for years and I think these are some of the best tab kits out there.
Boats with shafts have no trim functionality and therefore they need to have trim tabs, whereas outboards, Z-Drives etc allow you to trim in the engine to get the nose down. If you have no problem getting the nose down when trimming your outboard, then the only main advantage I can see is having more stern lift. So you'll get on the plane quicker even when you have a heavy load, probably be able to plane at a lower speed, and in general have more stern lift. If your enigne was mounted a tad low so the main anti cav plate sits slightly below the water when cruising, then the tabs will help there as well.
One of their main advantages is being able to adjust the list of the boat, either due to wind or weight distribution on the boat, thereby increasing efficiency. I believe as a general rule of thumb, the bigger and heavier the boat the more of a difference they make.
The reduce pounding is a swell.......if you can already get your bow down then they I don't think they will make much more of a difference
Thanks for your input Nick! Bennett are the market leaders for hydraulic but then Lenco Marine (lencomarine.com) who seem to be the leaders in electric are being chosen by Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Chriscraft, Trophy, Edgewater and quite a few "muscle boats". This is what's confusing me most as I don't think these brands can go wrong!
Hydraulic:
The motor for the whole trim tab system, the Hydraulic Power Unit, is installed inside the boat in a dry environment.
Hydraulic actuators do not rely on a seal where the shaft enters the cylinder body. Instead the seal is made on the piston face inside the cylinder where no marine growth can occur. Even if a barnacle grows on the shaft, it will not cause a leak.
If a seal on a hydraulic actuator should break, its replacement cost is about $1.00 compared to the cost of replacing an entire electric actuator.
Electric:
By placing the electric motor underwater inside the actuators, the electromechanical system is prone to failure. Electromechanical actuators rely on shaft O-rings to maintain the watertight integrity of the system.
Sand, grit or marine growth on the actuator will cut the O-ring seal letting water into the system. When the shaft of the electromechanical actuator is extended out of the cylinder body, it creates a vacuum inside the actuator. When a vacuum is pulled underwater the result is inevitably water being sucked in to fill the void. Once water enters the actuator, the boat will need to be taken out of the water and the actuator replaced.
Hydraulic:
A failure in a hydraulic system does not result in locked up trim tabs. The trim tab stays safely in place if there is a power failure. Then simply removing pressure from the system will result in the trim tabs retracting to the full up position automatically. With the trim tabs in the full up position, the boat may safely run at high speeds and in following seas. Pressure may be removed from the system by simply loosening the hydraulic tubing connections at the face of the pump.
Electric:
When an electromechanical system fails, the actuator will lock the trim tab in place. If the trim tab is in the deflected position when a failure occurs, the only way to retract it is to haul the boat out of the water and replace the actuator. This can result in a potentially dangerous situation. With one or both trim tabs locked in a deflected position, the boat cannot be run safely in a following sea or at higher speeds. This can spell disaster if a boat is 20 miles offshore and has to run home in a following sea or through an inlet.
Thanks Tony :)
But on the other hand.... http://www.lencomarine.com/compareelectricv.html (http://www.lencomarine.com/compareelectricv.html)
??? ??? ???
Both vendors are trying to promote their products.
How about you flip it around this way........who is the agent for Lenco in Malta and what is their after sales and spare parts support like?
Bennet is Camilleri Marine, not sure about Lenco
for a good price on trim tabs visit leonard bugeja rabat
tohrog birhas u tihu garanzija leonard bugeja
@ Joe/Yogi
Where can I find leonard bugeja please? Does he sell electrical or hydraulic tabs?
leonard qiad kwazi fej nigret rabat tel 99499082
I think Leonard has the electrical ones. give me a call and i will explain where he is. But for now as soon as u go past roman villa u start going down take a left turn and then a right turn (actually u are following the main road. Then there is an exit on the left (the right side is all fields and they are about 50 ft down so dont try that), this leads to the town centre, dont take this one, keep following the road then there is another on the left keep going and the next on the left is where Leonard is. go up this road as soon as u come to an tuening on the left stop and leaonard is on the right hand side. A big Yellow garage door. No signs. might have some stickers on the garage door.
@ Benri I think that leonard has the hydrolic ones. when you want send me a sms and we go. he is there after 16:00 .
Hi do you have some personal reviews regarding Smart tabs?
Not sure if the smart tabs work good on small boats. I have the Lenco electric with position indicator and found them very good.