if you read the thread title, it's about trim tabs,..but if you read post 10 it is a thred de-rail, concurred by post 11, once the kiss of blessing by the pope... it became total derailed.... of coarse it will all my fault by 2am.....lol....trim tabs...
It is yoooou're tabs. They are causing too much drag.
Wonder what tabs they used, possibly the small Bennetts, they know how to drive the boat a lot better than I, need to call Jerry.
Bad Ass pic! No tab interference
Was this taken just before the crash
My boat is kinda of a hybrid, not stock but not a race set up. I'm thinking I need more than the stock 10" tabs but how much more, shit I dunno. Just showed my wife that pic
My boat is kinda of a hybrid, not stock but not a race set up. I'm thinking I need more than the stock 10" tabs but how much more, shit I dunno. Just showed my wife that pic
Have you got the boat together and logged some time with the new engine? Standard lower or -2”? I went through the same deal On the tabs, Bob recemended the 900 and I ended changing the plates to 1000 after running the boat for 20 or so hours. Didn’t help the speed but does react quicker to tab settings. If you mount them horizontal your going to need the longer tabs. Parrellel there is a lot more surface of the tap in contact with the water. If your just looking for more stability at higher speeds I’d go horizontal. If you want better ride control throughout your speed range I’d go parrelellMy boat is kinda of a hybrid, not stock but not a race set up. I'm thinking I need more than the stock 10" tabs but how much more, shit I dunno. Just showed my wife that pic
Tomorrow is another day though! I say we keep it going, and I look forward to everyone's thoughts. I look forward to the "rocker plate" conversation as well. 
I have my 280 Merc tabs installed 1/2 above the bottom instead of flushed. This way, when tabs are above neutral, it won't drag. I set the tabs at neutral with drive up slightly when the boat start to chine walk past 70.
the dimensions vary because of bottom angle, but what I do is put one that has the most surface...able to reach side to side... the plate goes up to the bottom of the out drive... the results are progressive...as in every time you hit a wind wave or boat rollor, it lifts the transom, slightly, and keep the boat on keel, that and at full throttle tame the bow rise on the 210 Hallett, one of the boats I really saw a great improvement was the Nordic rage, I've onwned quite a few of those , and they all did the same thing..the bow would rise past were it was effective in busting through the waves and bang the crap out of you and the boat,,, with the plate, it would keep the boat more on keel and after every hit it would cause more transom lift,,,,in turn keeping the boat on keel..un believable for sure , but, for those of you that have owned and rigged Jet boats you know the difference the little ride plate makes....
I think this has been, and hopefully continue to be a very interesting thread,..sure there are the response's from the out of work stand up comedians, but, I really love the fact that what I said about the 210 over 10 yrs ago here is finally coming out to be truth....10 yrs ago, no body would come on here and agree...response's like... my Hallett is perfect stable at 90 mph with no tabs and such would make my eyes roll,, self proclaimed wizards and such that never have owned a 210 Hallett, but one of their friends did.. I've owned probley a dozen or so... small block to 500 plus hp big blocks...pretty much every 72 mph Hallett was gps'd more like 67.... or less ...and the weird stuff really starts at 65 mph... but, seat time pushes the speed up a little further,... and experienced driver could say 70 mph if there is enough power.... knowing how to peddle a boat comes in to play, you can get the needed transom lift with just the throttle...so statements from one driver to the next vary...Other than the stabs at Steve from those that have nothing to add to the conversation.. (Which is why I deleted the comments.. and if they continue I'll just delete the members)
I'm truly enjoying a thought provoking thread on RDP about boat setup.
I'll be happy to lay down the thought processes behind mine (including that ride plate response), but I have a few things I have to do tonight.
RD
try this.... get one of your short free board boats going 75mph,.. and stick your hand in the water out the side...tell me how much pressure it takes to put your hand flat under water...the way the plate works, it does nothing on smooth water, it keeps the transom from burring and the bow from launching off rollers and wind wavesDave, The 'Whamo' plate in 2FF's picture definitely seem short to be very effective. Having an extension box would put the drive further back allowing a longer rideplate to be somewhat effective. A whaletail on the drive itself would be effective, albeit ugly and should be installed on fishing boats only.
Would definitely like to see GoPro footage with Steve's setup, running 3/4 to full throttle to see action at the plate.
In my picture, it shows the boat's chine is literally out of the water at the stern, so tabs must be set level to stop rocking the boat from side to side. I'd love to use 380 tabs, then I could raise the tabs higher. But, the 380 tabs would interfere with my drives while turning so it's not gonna happen.
if you look at the bottom one at the V... pretty much looks the same as my plate idea..but, it's for ever... you would have to do a lot of work to get rid of it if it didn't work..I've been putting these plates on for over 10yrs with all good result
just my thought here....but I think you would benefit more with wider tabs closer to the drive...but they don't rig boats that way for a reason... that being you could get in some big trouble not knowing how to drive the boat...meaning... a guy that knows nothingMy boat is kinda of a hybrid, not stock but not a race set up. I'm thinking I need more than the stock 10" tabs but how much more, shit I dunno. Just showed my wife that pic
it's this simple of a test,one 5/8'' wrench... run the boat in the water conditions…. go to the beach, two bolts and the plate comes off and run again...then not only do you benefit from change, if any in the quality and control of the ride..., but you also will have video of before and after video to see the difference of the water spray coming off the transom to the drive
I really like your response , I would say go run the boat and see what if anything it needs... and also as far as rigging, have some one that knows the boat and what they are doing set it up...
it mounts to the transom... what I use is a step and trim trim tab.. diversified used to make them ...kinda hard to find.. but they are out there used..and if you get lucky, n o s
Yes, boat is together, have about 8 hours on new motor, running stock drive with Bravo 24. Initial break in was on Sac river, no elevation, smooth water, boat took a set ran great at 60 to 65 mph, still easily climbing didn't leg it out. Took the boat up to Almanor, elevation 4500', same prop, lost some RPMS, choppy water rollers, 60 to 65 mph was getting bounced around pretty good, (didn't adjust tabs down) had both hands on the wheel, wife was holding her boobs a lot.
Damn, one minute you had that boat, I was following your pics & posts, then it disappeared like a fart in the wind.
But I found this picture of a smaller Donzi running a smaller (Not as wide) set.
View attachment 682593
That Donzi looks like belongs to Geoo. 100+ mph.He worked on it for quite some time to get it dialed in to 118 mph or so.
That's just nuts, since my 2nd boat back in the late 60's was a 17' Formula Jr. and very similar to the smaller Donzi's, I've always dug those things. My buddy and I used to tail-walk that Jr to Avalon and back quite often --- awesome fun going over, kinda wet and wild on the return leg, LOL
Yes, the degree of influence would depend on how high the top of the notch is from the keel and or bottom (If it's full beam notch).
But at least as I see it (And is visible in Steve's Pachanga video) the water exiting behind the transom is being displaced (Or relieved) upwards with pressure (Created by the boats displacing the water), the resistance offered by the plate against that pressure during the pivot, not only slightly diminishes the pivot force, but slightly lifts the keel, resulting in a subtle correction of attitude.
I think I'm making sense, lol
I couldn't tell you first hand, but Steve sure thinks so or I doubt he would have done it on so many different boats --- and my neighbor sure thought so as well, when he mounted the same type of plate in the same spot as Steve. When I saw it on my neighbors Eliminator I questioned him about its purpose and his story was the same as Steve's. That was the first time I'd ever seen it, the picture Steve posted was the same as my neighbors. The only difference is, once my neighbor established the proper angle, he manufactured a very clean version out of welded stainless plate.I'm in agreement.. The only question is if that is even enough to do a damn thing at all that someone would or could notice.
