Why You Need Aftermarket Trim Tabs

Once found exclusively on performance boats and luxury yachts, today trim tabs come in a wide range of sizes and styles to suit any boat. And that’s good news, since these simple devices can do so much to improve the performance of almost any boat.

Mounted on the boat’s transom and functioning much like the wings on an aircraft, trim tabs allow boaters to adjust their boat’s running attitude, or the angle at which it moves through the water. That allows drivers to trim the bow up or down for a smoother ride, while improving both top-end speed and overall fuel economy. Unlike the trim switch on your engine, trim tabs are fitted to both sides of the boat and operate independently, making it easy to compensate for uneven loads. They’re also perfect for countering strong crosswinds, especially on boats with large tops.

Boat builders used to avoid offering trim tabs as either standard or optional equipment, believing that doing so was admitting that the boat didn’t run properly. Today, we know better and they’re widely available on the aftermarket. Trim tabs are easy to install for anyone comfortable with using basic tools, and are generally sold as kits with everything needed in one package.

Automatic Trim Tabs

Self-leveling or automatic tabs are the easiest style to use, and react to changes in water pressure instantaneously.

Automatic trim tabs are the easiest to install, since they don’t require any through-transom connections – they simply bolt straight on to the outer transom, typically flush to the bottom and toward the outside ends of the transom. Sometimes called self-leveling tabs, automatic trim tabs use either mechanical springs of gas-filled cylinders to adjust the boat’s running characteristic. These are generally preset when you install the tabs, so they’re the easiest type to use. With the boat stopped in the water, the tab is fully extended, where it functions like a fin to help get the boat up on plane. As the hull gains speed, the force of the water flowing past overcomes the pressure of the gas cylinder and pushes the tab up out of the way. If the boat slows, the tab automatically returns to its lowered position.

The biggest benefit to automatic trim tabs – apart from their ease of use – is their speed. When running the boat in choppy seas, the tab can respond to variances in water pressure almost instantaneously, and definitely much faster than even the best driver can. They’re hands-down the best way to smooth out a lumpy ride in rough weather.

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Electric Trim Tabs

Electric trim tabs cost more, but allow greater control than self-leveling varieties.

Where automatic tabs offer the utmost convenience, electric trim tabs offer the utmost control, and that’s a big reason why they’re the most popular style in use today.

Installation is almost as easy as bolting on automatic tabs – the only extra consideration is drilling a small hole through which the electrical connection will pass. This wire leads to a small control panel on the boat’s dash, where two levers or rocker switches make it easy to lift or drop the tabs with fingertip control. Being electric, they respond instantaneously to driver inputs. Most switches include a series of LED lights so drivers can see at a glance where the tabs are currently positioned.

The big advantage over automatic tabs is that you can make adjustments on the fly to correct for changing sea conditions. Electric tabs also allow you to keep one tab lower than the other at all times, in order to better compensate for uneven loads or crosswinds.

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Hydraulic Trim Tabs

Hydraulic trim tabs are most often used on larger boats. Although sold in kit form, most boaters have these installed by a qualified marine technician.

Hydraulic trim tabs function exactly the same was that electric ones do and provide the same advantages. But rather than using an electric motor to raise and lower the tab, these use a hydraulic cylinder. The disadvantage to hydraulic trim tabs is that they’re more difficult to install than electric systems (leave this job for the pros) and they require more space inside the boat to accommodate the hydraulic components. The advantage to hydraulic systems is that they’re generally seen as being more durable, making them better suited to large, heavy offshore boats that will be used in severe environments.

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Regardless of what style you select, trim tabs will enhance your boating experience by providing greater control of your boat, a smoother ride, higher top-end speeds and improved fuel economy. And, they’ll add to the boat’s eventual resale value too.

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