Trim Tabs or not??

[bobthebuilder]

I dont ever remember seein trim tabs on a ranger bass boat before but I been thinkin about it on mine. I know my boat is actually over powered but hey I want it to go when I want to go....... It has a chine walk at 70mph and above. I am runnig a 2.4 200 on an older ranger bass hull.... I actually saw 76 on gps but it was super loose and chine walk was bad. I trimmed it down more but it didnt stop it... I have an incomplete 200 with all the mods done which is a copy if the cherry lil motor... I am reluctant to run i ton there with boat chine walkin so bad. SO any input on trim tabs on a bass boat????

[oldskier]

Don't think the tabs would be in the water much at 70....

[D.B.S]

Check your motor mounts,If you do not have solid mounts you need them.

[transomstand]

Uh oh:eek:

[gmacrae]

Check your motor mounts,If you do not have solid mounts you need them.

Hey, can you elaborate for the newbie? (me)

My boat aparently has "solid mounts" but when i look at the transom and how everything is bolted up, i cant figure how there could be such a thing as "not-solid mounts" ?

[plasterer tim]

hey, can you elaborate for the newbie? (me)

my boat aparently has "solid mounts" but when i look at the transom and how everything is bolted up, i cant figure how there could be such a thing as "not-solid mounts" ?

under the cover, not on the transom, type solid mounts into the thread space you'll see what they are, on a fast boat the rubber mounts cause the power head to wobbble, all about cog on go fast stuff. Tim

[gmacrae]

Ahh right'o. Thanks again Tim

[bobthebuilder]

Might be the problem, I put a Bob's machine Y brace or some folks call it a steering stabilizer on it. It holds the powerhead to the steerin arm tight. But bottom moght still be wobbling..... Anyway I am fixin to finish up on the cherry lil 2.4 motor and it is goin together with the solid mounts to begin with..... Might fix it huh?

[wideglide55]

Any slack or play in the steering at all can cause your problem,bottom mounts are probably worn out,should make it alot easier to drive once you change them.

[GTO GEORGE]

Trim tabs, I'm assuming you mean hydraulic or electrically adjustable ones, are mainly to make the boat run level. If the loaded boat is heavier on one side, it's going to list to that side, when on plane. If the boat is over-powered , as you suggest, you might want to raise the motor, relative to the transom. The motor is pushing too much of the hull out of the water and it's flopping from side to side. Does your hull have a pad?

[bobthebuilder]

Yep it's a ranger bass boat 18ft. Running a 6 inch set back jack plate but rangers are already under cut 6 or 7 inches so motor is set back 12 to 13 inches behind the pad and center of prop is about 2 or less inches below pad... Steering has no play in it or if any it is near nothing... Bottom mounts sounds about right. Anyway I am fixin to install another motor which will have more power and solid mounts I might also still use the Y brace from Bob's machine. It seems like a good safety device! Trim tabs is a last resort...

[jody504]

Not tring to upset you but most that try trim tab and other thing that are not normal find out later that they need to learn how to drive and hold a boat on the pad.My Boat can do some crazy things with the change of the prop.But then it can run at 100 with little efert at all.Solid mounts would be the first then maybe jack it up a little being that far back you may be way low.Ask someone that has a fast boat to try and drive it and see what they say they may help you out with whats going on

[bobthebuilder]

Well I have some seat time in a 21ft bass boat that runs in the upper 90's. (21ft Storm w/ merc 300).. But it is a 21ft boat and handled like a dream. Awsome boat... It was scary at first but I got used to it quickly. I used to race cars and adapted to fast boats quickly... I have had this Ranger for years with a 150 on it and then a 175 and it was fine but 65mph WOT. But now with more power it is very loose. I will have to do some adjusting this spring. Meanwhile I will shoot for the next motor and soild mounts. I rememeber before the Y brace it was way too loose...The brace got it so I could at least handle it. I went on to 76mph about a week ago trying to see if it would level out but stayed about the same didnt get worse but no better either.. The next motor with solids and maybe a lil higher mioght get it.

[jody504]

I had one that the guy couldn't drive. He always drove it befor,after looking at the motor We found that one stud was broke on the top motor mount.So do solid mount work its the first think I put on a boat with handling problems. s

[jponfrank]

Put a trophy four blade prop on,problem solved.

[bobthebuilder]

Oh yes solid mounts going on the new motor I am building right from the beginning... Might try a trophy on i ttoo. I think my friend at Competition Marine has one he will oloan me to try on it no problem....

[ridgerunner]

BTB- I say no to the tabs. Higher speeds and poor handling go hand in hand. That hull was made to go slower and drive great at 60 to 65. The pad was probably engineered for those speeds. Setup, mounts and prop is where I think you will gain the most. The tabs would have to be fully extended down to catch much if any water running fast, then they tend to steer the boat and can be very unpredictable. Most if not all small speed boats with a pad should not require them. If they have tabs it is because they are trying to compensate for other problems like porposing at slower speeds or an unlevel ride at slower speeds or simply increasing the running surface aft to help keep the bow down and get on plane faster. What prop are you turning?
Hull design, I always thought Ranger Boats were heavy and had some hook built into the hull although that part of the hull aint getting wet running fast. It might pay you to check for hook or rocker on the pad as it will cause handling issues. I don't know much but that is my .02.:thumbsup:
BTW-Thanks for your help on my 2.4 a while back. Vic

[Wizard]

Trim tabs are not always a fix for poor handling. They have many other functions in other applications. You won't find an offshore boat without them.

I ran hydraulic Bennets on a Triton TR21 bassboat for years. I put them on because I fished very shallow water and hated idling for miles to get out. With the bennets all the way down and my Bob's jackplate all the way up I could get out of the hole in 18" of water and never ding my prop.

They also made the boat excell in rough water. Most boats need to trim the engine down to force the nose down to cut the waves. Any kind of neutral or positive trim would cause boat to jump when hitting bigger waves. With the Bennets in slight down trim you could run much faster in heavy chop and rollers with confidence. The hull remained flat and did not jump. I kicked every other bassboats azz on Lake St. Clair in rough water on that rig. I suprised quite a few big powerboats too! I never regretted putting them on and the guy that bought that boat still uses them and swears by them.

Having said that you must look at the transom of the Ranger to see if they will fit. You need a relatively flat spot to attach them. Also like Bernie said, when retracted they are out of the water. You need to put them down to be effective. I liked the toggle switch over the rockers. Very easy to use with my index finger while trimming with blinker style pro-trim on the wheel. :cheers:

[HydraSport179V]

I built a set of trim tabs out of carbon fiber for my Gambler. At low speeds, they are fantastic! The boat can plane at 17 mph now instead of 30. The bow can be kept down when getting up on plane instead of pointing at the sky. I can plow along in rough water nice and slow. Take the family for a ride at speeds that don't scare them. Porposing can be eliminated with a blip of the switch. I love them. But high speed? NO GOOD! When they start to contact the water, the bow goes down fast and the boat gets real squirrelly. Push the tabs down further and the bow starts to hunt side to side, like a high frequency chine walk. And this is only doing mid 60s. Scary!

[HydraSport179V]

192346

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[bobthebuilder]

I really like the idea of stayin on a plane at very low speeds. I fish tournaments and like to scope out structures inder the water on prefish day... Then I way point stuff I want to come back and fish later. Also I run a lot in very rough water where the boat could use trim tabs to steady it up headin into a rough situation... I might consider tabs for that purpose. I am thinkin the mounts and might do some set up changes this spring. I am running a Tempest Plus 25p prop. I tried a 27p Balistic 4 blade and it ran high speeds about the same but a lot less mid range power. Now the Cherry lil 2.4 I am buildin is a copy from byouboyz... T-Rex... That motor might require a different prop for sure. Maybe even another hull ... LOL Well I really like my 18ft Ranger and it is a custom modified boat and extremely nice for it's age... Folks with the newer boats just are amazed with it and what I have done with it. But after fishin eith a friend who has a Storm 21 ft with a merc 300 my lil boat seems sort of left behind... That storm will actually run 100 mph... I saw 96 pn the gps with 2 of us in it and all our gear and ice and 50 gallons of live well water not to mention 4 deep cycle batteries... Bit 1-1# thrust trollin motor and tools and tackle... Plus that boat is big and heavy by itself... I was amazed how it ran and handled like driving a car.. unreal.

[hsbob]

your going to find that the tempest is causing most of your chime walk. i switched to a trophy and eliminated 90% of my chime walk. wizard summed up the pro and cons of trim tabs. i have had them on all my boat since 1977. they do not eliminate chime walk.

ps the lowering of the tabs and powering out in shallow water throws a very large wake.

[bobthebuilder]

I am gonna try a different prop probably a Trophy but I am gonna run a more powerful motor so I will wait until then to do the trial and error thing as it will be warmer then too. But the trim tabs might make the boat do better in rough water and slow speed on the plane which are both very beneficial to me considering the way I use that boat..