Trim Tabs make a difference                             by Mitch Bernardo

I thought I would share with you my thoughts on trim tabs for inflatable boats. Most of us who have owned inflatables and have put a motor on them and have used the hydrofoil or "fin" on the cavitation plate of the outboard to help to get the boat on plane faster. The benefits of the "fin" are faster planing and reduced bouncing while getting on plane. The "fin" however has some limitations. On the larger motors it can cause "bow steer" which makes the dinghy lean over to one side under acceleration. This can be scary... The "fin" also doesn' t provide much help getting the bow down at slow speeds such as when you are towing your dinghy or when you are cruising the harbor. This is where using trim tabs on your dinghy can provide added benefts. The trim tabs actually help with getting the bow down at slow speeds. This means cruising the harbor is more comfortable when the nose of the dinghy isn't  high up in the air. Also if you like to tow your boat slow or fast, trim tabs will keep the bow down, help the boat plane quicker if you are towing at high speed and help with side to side stability.

Trim tabs come in several different types depending on the boat you want to install them on..for inflatable boats we like to use the automatic type which has "shocks" attached to each tab that allows them to rebound under acceleration. As the boat comes on plane the trim tabs move upward, ultimately they are out of the water for the most part once the boat is planning. The tabs can be manually adjusted to get the best position but once they are set in position you don't have to do anything additional. This make difference sizes of tabs. We use smaller tabs, either made from aluminum or ABS plastic. They are screwed to the transom of the boat with SS woodscrews and we use caulking to seal up the screws.

The performance difference with trim tabs compared to "fins" . The trim tabs provide a smoother transition to plane and don't have the side effects of bow steer that you can get from a "fin" or hydrofoil.

We recommend trim tabs for any boat that needs help coming on plane expecially larger boats 11" and longer with heavier outboards and steering systems. The console style boats tend to have one to two passengers sitting very close to the back of the dinghy which creates a lot of weight in the stern. The trim tabs really help to balance out the performance to weight ratio so your boat handles better and smoother.

I hope you now have a better understanding of the benefits of trim tabs.

Mitch Bernardo
Sunset Inflatables and Marine
www.sunsetinflatables.com