Smart Tabs
 

I am going to take the plunge tomorrow and order Smart Tabs for my 93. I have finally gotten over the fear of drilling holes in my boat. My good friend is going to do it.


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Re: Smart Tabs
 

Just follow the instructions & take your time. Use some good sealant on the holes and dont drill too deep. Mark your drill bit at the desired depth so you know when to stop. I'd also suggest taping the mounts to the transom first so that you ensure they are correctly positioned before doing any drilling.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Thanks Mikey


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Re: Smart Tabs
 

He must be a helluva good friend.:yes_grin::rolling_laugh:

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Yes he is. Check him out at LakeMartineventpics.com. He takes some beautiful pictures of our little lake.


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Re: Smart Tabs
 

That is a cool idea!
Nice pics too.:wink_thumbup:

Re: Smart Tabs
 

He loves photography. Just wishes he could do it for a living. His wife is a nurse. Nice having her on the water just in case.


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Re: Smart Tabs
 

I'm showing my ignorance here as I don't now how thick the transom really IS. The mounting screws are 1", not sure how thick the bracket is but that seems like a deep hole..

I'm thinking this might be a nice afternoon project for some time later this summer.

Anyone put these on a 21' Shabah V-8 before? The product selector suggests the 10.5"x12", but looking at the other boats it recommends that size for I think the 9.5"x10" ones make more sense.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

I think that Nauticus' product selector is a little heavy in their recommendations most of the time. I would go with the smaller ones. Dont worry about the screw length, just follow the drilling instruction and mark your drill bit so that you dont drill past their recommended depth and then be generous with some good sealant (3M 4200 works) in the drill holes.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Not on a 21' but on a 25'. I was skeptical to say the least. Now that they are on I should have put them on sooner. All of the advertised claims were true and I did not notice any loss on top end.
Tab selector said to use #80 actuators an I'm running #60. The #60 might be a little light for a boat full of people but it is spot on the majority of the time.
I used the steel tabs. They were hard to mount by myself. Instructions want you to put some piece of paper under them for the angle when they should just give you a measurement to mount the actuators "X" amount of inches above the tab. Anyways, great product!

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Re: Smart Tabs
 

Thanks peeps, good info.

Yeah the product selector suggested 10.5" and 80# actuators...the same thing it suggested for 6000+ lb boats. I think my little 3300lb will be just fine with 9.5" and 60#

Lol the sad thing is I haven't even had her in the water yet! Don't take possession until Monday!

Re: Smart Tabs
 

I have a 1999 Shabah 202. I ran the composites with #60. I have them on the lightest setting and they work awesome. Extremely easy to mount. No guessing with where to mount the actuators on these. Just make sure there is enough room above them to mount the other end of the actuator as they describe. I used 3m 5200 to put mine on. The transom is a lot thicker than you think it is. I noticed a tremendous improvement once I put them on and even unhooked them once to remind myself of the difference. Let me say I will never unhook them again. Even when trying to get a better wake for wakeboarding. The boat drives much better, is so much easier to hold a constant speed while pulling a skier or wake boarder and I actually picked up one to two miles an hour on top. I love the fact that I can hammer it out of the hole and never lose sight of the horizon and get on plane almost instantly. It turns so much better too.

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Re: Smart Tabs
 

Awesome. I'll probably take it out without them just because I've DYING to play with her, but will yank her back out and do this shortly thereafter.

Buddy of mine just purchased an '03 Maxum 2100SR, I'm encouraging him to look at them as well. The bowrise out of the hole his boat is TERRIBLE, feels borderline unsafe!

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Drilling these into my boat was the most nerve wrecking project ever but once I did the first one, the rest was easy. I even mustered up the nerve to drill in my underwater LED lights... Go for it...

http://www.mariahownersclub.com/gallery/file.php?n=5172

By the way... Go with what the selector guide recommends. These are easily adjustable to your liking. It took me two adjustments to get the performance I wanted.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Never seen Smart Tabs mounted that way and work properly:confused:
Nauticus doesn't recommend mounting the actuator in that position.
Does it do ok? Do you have rooster tails off of the tabs?
Just seems weird to me.

Muggi , don't put 80 lb actuators on your 212 , if you'll do a search , members with the 212 are running the 60s after trying the 80s to their dismay.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Thanks ColoradoDiablo, since I posted that I've read through the whole 25ish page thread related to Smart Tabs...for sure, looks like I should go 9.5"/60# and see how it goes.

Very interested to see the difference!

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Nothing wrong with the mounting the way it is. It is the alternate mounting requirement per the instructions. Works great...

http://www.nauticusinc.com/images/ex..._contoured.jpg

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Uhh ,
Just noticed , you are running the ST tabs.
I wonder why they say don't mount the SX tabs that way , but fine to mount the ST tabs that way?:confused:

I bet you do get a better "flat turn" with them there anyway.:wink_thumbup:
No wake zones should be way easier too.
Interesting.
Think I'll call them and get the lowdown. :)

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Here is what Greg from Nauticus sent me:

"The STs can because the way the actuators mount. The SX are molded and the fitting on the actuator will bind if it is at too sever of an angle. This is because it uses a fork style end fitting an the ST tabs use a swivel one."

Just in case anyone was wondering besides me.:yes_grin:

Re: Smart Tabs
 

If I knew that I would have got the Sts so I could have mounted them all the way .to the outside. But I must say mine works pretty good in the standard Mariah position

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Re: Smart Tabs
 

I was hunting through search finding a good thread to post this on, and sorry if I chose the wrong one let me know and I'll move this post!

I ordered the Nauticus sx80 trim tabs and wanted to report on them, with my 2000 Mariah z202. Prior to purchasing the tabs, the boat had a nice ride and the reason I decided to purchase was because I enjoy poker runs, but don't enjoy the 2-3 ft waves. Prior to the tabs, the only frustrations were having to wait till 17mph to get on plane, a little bit of porposing issues on chop and trim high, and top end related to such.

I can tell you first, my summary is the tabs are worth every penny. The boat in general has a smoother more 'caddilacish' ride in all conditions. The boat now planes at 14mph, handles chop and keeps the bow down during heavy chop which creates a situation where I can get more top end in 'conditions'. I did not gain top end under glassy conditions. However realizing that I was handling the chop as good as some of the 30' boats and running abreast with these boats was worth the trim tabs weight in gold. In the poker run this weekend, is one of the largest in the country with 200+ 30' plus boats and it almost feels like offshore racing, lol.

the condition and difference of 60 to 80 lb. I had two separate conversations with Nauticus about what weight I should have. They kept reassuring me the 80 was what I need. I ran the whole run in the #2 position and I'd say it's possible that under normal conditions, This is where I might keep them except for one issue.... So I guess the million dollar question is what would make a person try the 60 lb? Is it when you have moved to the #1 position and the bow still feels like it wont lift to your liking? I will say it's odd, that when I am 'all the way trimmed' up my gauge shows only 50% trim and I definitely could be trimmed higher than that, it feels.

Hope this helps a future buyer.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

You must have been running on lake Lanier...

Re: Smart Tabs
 

We've had literally hundreds of buyers of Smart Tabs from this site over the years so our members are fairly well versed in their benefits. For the majority of Mariah applications its been our experience that Nauticus 'over recommends' on the required arm strength. When they originally came out & i installed a pair on my 180, Nauticus said i needed 80# arms. Even at their lowest setting i couldn't get the bow of my boat to rise at all and it was almost scary trying to corner at speed because it always felt like the bow wanted to bury itself in the water. Many others here with boats up to about 22' found the same issues so that was why i recommended dropping back to the 60# arms. Nauticus will do that exchange for you and i think you will find it will give you a wider range of choice on settings that will work best for your boat.

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I agree the 60 pound actuators on my 202 are set at the lightest setting I tried them in the middle first, but it felt like it was always digging the bow into the water and would.never "get light".

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Thanks for that input, maybe I'll have them send me the 60s just to compare if nothing else to swap.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

Can anyone tell me how much they help with wake when on plane?


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Re: Smart Tabs
 

They do tend to flatten out the wake somewhat.

Re: Smart Tabs
 

What wake? :rolling_laugh: