Would Smart Tabs Help?

[mcdougy]

I have a 25 h.p-2 stroke tiller with no electric trim on a 14 ft starcraft with a factory floor. With 2 guys and too much gear... it works awesome IMO. Gets up on plane in a hurry,n zips along at 30-32 m.p.h. Although put 4 of us in it and gear it will not come up on plane. I've tried the engine in all the positions, and it doesn't seem to make a difference. At put away this fall I turned it into a 30h.p. by die grinding the restriction to the carbureatur, which was a well documented mod, in hopes to help this no plane situation with a full boat. I was wondering if this mod doesn't help, would Smart Tabs make a difference? or are they not going to help? I'm maxed out on horsepower for the boats rating so I don't have any room to go bigger h.p. wise. I'm sure others have had this same problem and was looking for your experiences.

 

Cheers M.M.

[solopaddler]

In my experience, yes, smart tabs would make an enormous difference.

[DRIFTER_016]

Yes, they should help quite a bit.

[mike rousseau]

I'd be very surprised to hear that tabs allowed you to plane out a 14 footer with 4 people in it... That's a lot if weight for a small boat and 25hp.... I'd imagine that's over your weight limit on that boat as well.....

 

 

...

Edited January 27, 2014 by Mike Rousseau

[LesCulpJr]

I agree with the above. your getting the best out of your boat and you're over the weight rating. Tabs will not work.

[Joeytier]

4 guys + gear in a 14 ft tinny...yikes.

 

You're overloaded, cap'n

[mcdougy]

max capacity= 4people or 1100lbs.....usually the 4 people are my wife and 2 younger sons (11,5) definetly not overloaded.. Do any of the so far naysayers have experience with smart tabs? A little bit of common sense tells me that if and when I may be overloaded that I am not too worried if I am up on plane or not. That would be just plain stupid. The boat is a StarCraft sf dlx for those who are interested.

Cheers again M.M.

Edited January 27, 2014 by mcdougy

[Terry]

they should help

[scugpg]

I would check to see where your cavitation plate is to in relation to the bottom of your hull. should be level or no more than 1 inch below the hull else it will cause drag. also consider an se sport 200 hydrofoil if your motor is compatible. I had similar issues on a small boat and raising the motor to right height off the transom and adding the hydrofoil fixed the issue. only lost about 1-2 mph off the top end by adding the foil but planes at lower speed now. smart tabs could be another option but not sure how they would fit or look on such a small narrow boat. sounds like they work well though.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Spooled

[Muskieman]

I had a set , they worked great to help get to plane , they worked even better to stop porpoising when I was alone .

[scugpg]

also is your transom exactly 20in high? check your motors manual I think you had a sea pro 25? the european version is 22.1in long for transom height. the us version may be that length too so it could be dragging a bit below the boat. if the motor is bolted on maybe you can raise it up a hole or two. if its clamped you would need to safely/securely find a way to raise the transom height. its a bit of a trial and error to find opitimum height. too high and the prop can cavitate especially on turns.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Spooled

[mcdougy]

Thanks for the info. The motor is actually a ss and clamped on for reasons needed. Im sure your experience is accurate spooled since it is something you have experimented with. I think I will take a good look and see if there is room for the smart tabs, your opinion of minimal room is accurate.

[wallyboss]

Before adding anything you have to make sure that the motor is at the right height on the transom. It made all the difference in the world on my setup.

 

Do you have to fight with the tiller to keep your boat straight? That was another problem I had with mine that got fixed by raising the motor to the right height.

[scugpg]

so the boat is a short shaft transom height then? the ss sea pro looks to be around 17.1in so still dealing with possible drag below the boat.

[Sinker]

If the motor is too low, a 1" high piece of hardwood on the transom will make a world of difference. I have to do that with mine, and it improves handling and performance a lot. I have a longshaft transom with a 40 tiller on a 16 ft widebody starcraft.

 

S.

[Bernie]

I am surprised no one has mentioned that the engine may be overpropped for a load in the boat.

[Garnet]

Weight distribution is always issue.

[aplumma]

Smart tabs are calibrated for a normal load they are not like a manual or pump hydraulic systems that you can adjust the angle of attack for a load condition. I run hydraulic tabs with a computer system to adjust for various loads of people moving from side to side or front to back on a 28ft boat. It works well but is not economical for smaller boats. If you are with in the limits of the tabs they will help plane quicker but if you are over weight the deflection angle will not be enough to cure your issue.

 

 

 

Art

[mcdougy]

Wooo-hee .........Ive had lady friends tell me to add an inch before and I couldn't, but never heard I've got an inch too much

I understand what you fellas are trying to tell me. Is this a case where too much shaft is really exaggerated while under heavy load, and the unability to achieve plane while approaching maximum capacity? Cause as earlier stated, under light loads the boat pops up on plane in a jiffy and have never had issues with handling IMO?

 

Again, I appreciate all the helpful information that I receive from this forum.

Cheers M.M.

 

p.s. next post will have a much cleaner tone....sorry to some.

[moxie]

I have a 25 h.p-2 stroke tiller with no electric trim on a 14 ft starcraft with a factory floor. With 2 guys and too much gear... it works awesome IMO. Gets up on plane in a hurry,n zips along at 30-32 m.p.h. Although put 4 of us in it and gear it will not come up on plane. I've tried the engine in all the positions, and it doesn't seem to make a difference. At put away this fall I turned it into a 30h.p. by die grinding the restriction to the carbureatur, which was a well documented mod, in hopes to help this no plane situation with a full boat. I was wondering if this mod doesn't help, would Smart Tabs make a difference? or are they not going to help? I'm maxed out on horsepower for the boats rating so I don't have any room to go bigger h.p. wise. I'm sure others have had this same problem and was looking for your experiences.

 

Cheers M.M.

Prop hub drilling(Free if you do it right) and a doel-fin($50?). A lot less money and just as effective in your case.

Edited January 27, 2014 by moxie

[scugpg]

In your case just having the motor at correct height may fix it. Otherwise a hydrofoil or smart tabs should get you the stern lift to plane it out under heavy load. You will likely gain some top end by having the motor at right height as well.

 

edit: You could also play with different props but you would need a tach and would only make sense after the motor is setup correctly on the transom.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Spooled

[mcdougy]

I found a fairly detailed and interesting read on this conversation. Im sorry I couldn't copy and paste it here. I googled "correct height to mount engine on transom" and a pdf was there. It had a bit of conflicting answers to what I am trying to solve.

[BillM]

I don't think smart tabs are going to help plane a 14ft tiller when it's loaded up with 4 guys + gear. You're simply running out of omph.

Edited January 28, 2014 by BillM

[DRIFTER_016]

May not help it get on step Bill, but it will help lift the stern and most likely be able to get more speed out of it.

[Bernie]

Put a smaller pitch propeller on it.
It's overpropped for a load.

Too large propeller is like trying to start out your car in high gear.
Trim tabs may help in some cases if the bow is going too high when starting out, but you mentioned no such issues.