Sea Trial: Smart Tab Shakedown 2010
 

I installed the SX9510-80 on my 200 Shabah, set them on the #2 position, installed them on the furthest outboard position on the bottom of the "swim deck" part the way you aren't supposed to do it, but had enough swing to prevent them from binding & snapping the clevis and they survived the weekend.
All I can say is "wow", what a difference these things make on how the boat steers, handles & pops up on plane, I can't believe they don't make them standard equipment. I put it through it's paces, it corners and slaloms and bow rise is a thing of the past. I'm not sure how or if it affected top end, but it sure seems to help on acceleration out of the hole.


The bad news is the crack in the hull that I repaired with Formula 27 was leaking by the end of the weekend, apparently there's enough flex in the hull there , just below the waterline on the bow with the boat at rest, that I'll need something a little more substantial to repair it. I ordered the 3M Marine High Strength Repair Filler and a quart of gelcoat from Bottom Paint Store and will break out the sander and start over. I had sort of thrown caution to the wind to hit wakes at speed and run at WOT through some pretty good chop just to see how it would hold up, the Smart Tabs came through, hull repair not so much. I just keep telling myself that I wasn't happy with the gelcoat match-up anyway....

Re: Sea Trial: Smart Tab Shakedown 2010
 

another satisfied customer! :wink_thumbup:

Re: Sea Trial: Smart Tab Shakedown 2010
 

The Smart Tab install was an adventure, one of the mounting holes wasn't drilled on one of the tabs, but I managed to get it straight enough by hand, I bought them on eBay from the "girlsauction", maybe that was the cosmetic blem?
But the exciting part was when I drilled the hull, it seemed that I hit sort of a void or pocket with a couple of screws, not enough "meat" for them to tighten, I pushed some Formula 27 into the holes, waited 20 minutes & drilled with a 3/16" bit & they seemed to snug right up.

I'll try to get some photos of them, I wanted to try to do it as I went, but as usual, the camera's battery was weak when I started, I plugged it in & forgot it until I was finished.

Re: Sea Trial: Smart Tab Shakedown 2010
 

Interesting, when I drilled the holes on my Talari 180, it was solid all the way.

Re: Sea Trial: Smart Tab Shakedown 2010
 

I really think mine helped a lot on hole shot and top end was up by about 3 knots. Couldnt really check the data as I added about 35 gallons of fuel and left the dran plug out and was taking on a little water. But once on a plane, wow!