Smart tabs (Nautilus ) help needed please

[Orwell boy]

Just wondering if anybody has tried these tabs and can offer good or bad reports ?
considering fitting to a ribcraft 5.3 ,however thoughts so far are where abouts is the best on vee , there could be some interference with elephants trunks , and are they really worth the the amount of holes needed in the transom to fit ?
seem very reasonable price ,but are they anygood ? i was considering the 60lb model which i think is offering around 200mm of length ,hoping to try and smooth the ride upfront (console very forward )
any help or words of wisdom really appreciated ,thanks

[lakelandterrier]

What problem are you trying to fix?

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

What problem are you trying to fix?

Thanks for the offer of help ! ,i will tell it as it is ,knowing me i have invented a problem i dont really know exists ,however cabin fever seems to lead to spending money
late last year i swapped my yam 60 (4s 114kg ) for a 2014 honda 100 (166kg ) to max allowable on the R/C 5.3 , I have only been out for 2 hours since (bear in mind ) prop was miles out and went to rev limiter so dont know WOT at present ,must say holeshot was unbelievable ,that was a 15 pitch honda ally prop ,engine had been used 30 hrs on a heavy fishing boat so need to re calc , have in the meantime took a flyer and bought a cheapish genuine honda ally 4 blade off ebay 19 pitch ,but never been on water since . The 5.3 only has a 2 seat cetre console so should fly with 100 ,
what i was aiming to achieve is a well equipped,thrilling one or two person fun expierience (as i have a bigger boat for family outings ) ,with the wrong prop i found the balance point with two on board was at the second seat (two 17 stoners on board ) ,from the helm it seemed like a diferent day in the east coast chop in the mouth of the orwell ,infact front seat was a little hairy ,but second seat was like the sunday school outing
I expect my norm will be alone and i am just thinking my knees have been shot since last outing (60 yrs old) ,so just trying to smooth the ride really ,but still be able to enjoy the thrills .thanks

[lakelandterrier]

I think before considering trim tabs I'd check engine / prop and play with trim levels on the engine.

A further option would be to put some ballast - old lead flashing or bag of sand in the anchor locker to put weight further forward when needed.

I'd also consider fitting Doelfins to the outboard before trim tabs.

My 5.3 with Suzi 100 tended to be stern heavy in a sea when 4 up, but that was with double console and 2x2 single jockey so weight 4 up would move CoG aft.

I'd think with single console set up though you should be fine even 2 up.

Go and play more when you can and see if any of the above helps

[Last Tango]

Don't hold with the idea of ballasting a planing hull, seems a bit "self defeating" and I'd try everything else first.

As LT say's, Doelfins before "tabs". Much cheaper and easier to undo if it doesn't work but prop, trim and maybe engine height before digging out the drill......

[jeffstevens763@g]

I had auto trim tabs on on a quick silver 500 pilot house to correct a list which it did it also made less slam I thought in the chop but the hull was a deep vee onto a planing pad so a different hull to yours. If your stern heavy I would go with water ballest in a container forward and play with it maybe move kit to suit to get rid of the ballast.IMO

[Orwell boy]

Thanks so far ,as i said i dont really know whether i have a need or not ,just the cabin fever ,and the lack of sea time and the love of the rib making me think too much and what if,s ,that doesnt stop me being curios about the tabs ,these are the style for about £130 ,nothing too elaborate ,was also out with 30 litres of fuel in the tank ,which i have another 45kg of opportunity upfront there ,thought one or two may have had a go as however maybe these are fairly new to the market ? ,watching the intro you tube did seem to smooth things out a little ,and the thought of effectively adding hull length seemed a sensible possibility ,
however i am listening and there is alot of knowledge here and i will try to exhaust that first ,thankyou .nb nobody,s suggested i just get a suspension seat yet and just go for it .

[Nasher]

That old saying about treating the symptom not the cause springs to mind.
I don't think you need them.

You've added power, weight, and not got the prop right yet, so the whole thing needs fine tuning. Think of the turning force the prop applies to the boat as it's resisted by the water, and the difference trim angle makes to those forces.
You are now up at the recommended limits of the hull, so you should expect it to be harder to set up than with less power.

A Ribcraft 5.3 is a good well proven hull that lots on here have run very successfully with lots of different engines, if it had an inherent issue that needed tat added on it would be well documented.

I think you need to borrow some props, do a bit of fine tuning, and experiment with trim and engine height.

Nasher

[jeffstevens763@g]

pics for info as said other stuff to sort before trim tabs

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

.... it also made less slam I thought in the chop ...

It may have made less slam because you had fixed the list which would have then presented the deep vee to the water rather than the flat of one half of the hull - a deep L so to speak.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by GuyC

It may have made less slam because you had fixed the list which would have then presented the deep vee to the water rather than the flat of one half of the hull - a deep L so to speak.

very possible Guy a very twitchy hull design the large planing pad seemed to make it heel a lot but the trim tabs sorted that bit like having stabilisers on a cycle. the off set cabin didnt help either.