[Rick of Austin]

Last weekend I installed ST1290-60 smart tabs and bought an Anchor shade sunbrella for my 93 Diablo and tried it out on Lake Austin. While floating in the cove there was another fine looking boat that turned out to be a 91 Diablo in pristine shape! Between the beautiful boats and beautiful guests on our boats we were having the time of our lives.
The smart tabs transformed the boat! It gets on a plane immediately, goes 42 mph at 4300 rpm and handles the chop better than ever! And the best part is I have less than $5,000 in the whole package.: wink_thumbup:
The anchor shade is also a great addition, no less than 5 other boats came close to gawk at the sun shade and ask where we got it.... although they were typically not asking me... go figure, look at the pics at the link below to see why

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38883018@N07/

[abillmann]

I see your Mariah comes with the much-sought-after option, "Hot Blonde." I went with the "Hot Brunette" for my '91 1900Z.

I've thought about trim tabs also, and have yet to hear anything negative. Did you install them yourself?

[Rick of Austin]

Originally Posted by abillmann

I see your Mariah comes with the much-sought-after option, "Hot Blonde." I went with the "Hot Brunette" for my '91 1900Z.

I've thought about trim tabs also, and have yet to hear anything negative. Did you install them yourself?

Oh I forgot to add the ubiquitous hot blond cost to the package, its about $500 per month and getting more all the time!

I did install the tabs and found it very easy but you must be very careful to use the proper size pilot holes based on the transom material at each location. My 2 inboard mounting screws were in solid fiberglass and required pilot holes 2 drill sizes bigger from the ones in the wood/glass area. And I still had to really push on a high quality screwdriver with a crescent wrench on the shank in order to seat the screw without ruining the screw head. Another tip is to throw away the sealant tape that comes with them and use a marine adhesive as a sealer. I think I used 3M 5200 from the local store.

Really I cant say enough good about the smart tabs.
Rick

[abillmann]

So the mounting screws go all the way through the transom? Or do they just mount on the surface?

[mikeyt]

The screws might go all the way thru but when i installed mine i coated the threads with the 3m 5200 as well as using it under the mounting bracket to ensure there was no potential water leakage. The Smart tabs seem to work very well on boats under 21' and marginally well on boats in the 21-23' range. I think the extra weight of the larger boats offsets the improvements made.

[Mike & Jayme]

Hello Rick !!!! all i can say is lucky uuuuu want a friend ? nice boats.... i mean boat ...oh hell you know what i mean take care....Mike