Will Bennett Trim Tabs help to shape the wake on a 19' SeaRay I.O.?? Or is hull shape the limiting factor? <BR>We now have to trim up the drive about 1/4 just to get a little bit of clean wake.

On boat hulls made for a small wake I would guess that there is little rocker and a lot of straight and flat. <BR>Hulls made to make a wake I am guessing have rocker. <BR>I know Tige advertises hulls that have rocker. <BR>Anyone ever put a straight edge to the running portion to any of these hulls? <BR>I will have to take a closer look at the SeaRay, my guess is that it has lots of straight and flat at the center of the V.

Have you tried a Hydrofoil? <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/254985/0/0/hydrofoil/All_2/mode+matchallpartial/0/0" target="_blank">http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/254985/0/0/hydrofoil/All_2/mode+matchallpartial/0/0</a> <BR> <BR>Sting Ray makes one for less. Same principal as a trim tab. Used to plane quicker but heard they may help shape the wake. You may want to try this first as it will save you a lot of money (over Trim Tabs).

"Have you tried a Hydrofoil?" I'll 2nd that. Also, trimming the drive up is not a bad thing. It will sink the back end. Also try a four blade prop. You'll have a much easier time maintaining WB speed.

yeah, the trim tabs arent going to do anything for you that trimming the outdrive won't as far as wake shape goes. <BR> <BR>they may allow you to plane faster, stay on plane at lower speeds, of if you adjust each one independently you may be able to take out 'lean' from one side. <BR> <BR>but the best thing you can do is add an hydrofoil and trim the outdrive to shape your wake! also the cheapest! upgrading your prop to 4 or 5 blade wouldnt hurt either!

There have been some posts about I.O.'s with Sting Ray foils and I am a little afraid of the load that might be on the unit! <BR>We have a 17p hi-5 prop and 5.0l and run with 400 to 800lbs. ballast in ski-locker and bow walkway, after take-off we trim up about 1/4. This is where I think the load would come into play. As we trim up the foil would be angled down and would be pulling the stern deeper. <BR>Anyone ever have problems with a foil?

I had over 1200lbs ballast plus crew(anywhere from 3 8) in my 18ft bayliner with 190hp merc/alpha one oudrive with a hydrofoil for over two years. I never had a problem!

Scott, I've had the Stingray foil on for several years with no leg problems on my I/O. The foil gives lift so when you trim up it angles down to create less lift. The biggest difference is the ability to hold what ever speed you want.

The problem I had on my old boat with a hydrofoil "IS" the "LIFT" it created. You DONT want lift on the rear of a boat your wakeboarding behind as this will create less/smaller wake. Try shifting weight/people. Coolers, batteries, etc make alot of difference when moved around. Add fat sacs if you have the horsepower.

Oops wrong thread but here's my 2 cents anyways as an I/O owner. A hydrofoil or trims tabs will make the overall size of your wake smaller for the aforementioned "LIFT" reasoning. That being said, what good is a larger wake if you're porpoising all the time? Now I have heard that the hydrofoil will put a lot of strain on your outdrive but I still see them on I/Os all the time. The only thing that makes me leery of the hydrofoil on an I/O is that none of the outdrive manufacturers have them available as a stock option. I'll probably still go with the Stringray foil this summer if I don't find an awesome deal on trim tabs in the meantime. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by hal2814 on March 15, 2007) <BR> <BR>(Message edited by hal2814 on March 15, 2007)

So does anyone think that Trim Tabs will help stop porposing?? <BR>This is one more reason the I.O is a pain! <BR>Take-off I.O down, waaaait to get to proper speed then trim I.O up 1/4, then if we hit any boat chop etc. porpose! to stop it, trim down then waaaait then trim-up. there is alot going on driving an I.O in less than perfect conditions to give the crew a decent pull!

Trim tabs can definitely stop porpoising but you can usually do that on an I/O by adjusting the trim down. Or just add more weight up front.

Trimming down is not really an option if you want to keep a decent wake. Adding more weight up front is probably the best solution but trim tabs most certainly will stop porpoising if used correctly and sized properly to your boat.

Way too much work for a marginal payoff, period.

you are right there is alot going on... so much so the driver doesnt see much of the action. You have to anticipate the next boats chop and trim down before you hit and start back up as you roll past it. <BR>Do your riders actually use the wake when goin over other boats rollers?

Scott it seems like you dont have enough weight in the front if your having that much trouble with porpoising and you can only run the trim at 1/4. I constantly run 1/2 and only have porpoise problems when going over larger cruisers wakes and have to slow way down. Tell some people to ride up front when boarding, when not it doesnt matter what the wake shape is.

Bob <BR>Last year we ran with a Tube sac In the Isle way or the ski locker, the ski locker is a little further aft, then we had a fatsac block 150lbs. under the drivers feet to help even the wake. <BR>This year I want to add a v-drive sac in the isle way because it is shorter. <BR>So I hope this will help. <BR>That is if we keep the SeaRay, I really would like to get the Centurian Avalanche C-4! Maybe the old lady will get it for me this summer.

Scott, I used to have a 20.5 foot, 4.3L Rinker with a foil on the out drive. We tried the boat with and without the foil. The wakeboard wake was better without the foil, but it took longer to get on plane. I drove the trim from a modest nose down position to a hard nose down position. Too much nose down didn't help the wake and was probably hard on the outdrive. BTW, nose down will also help you get on plane faster. <BR> <BR>I don’t recall having a problem with proposing but I did have huge speed control problems. Maintaining wakeboard speed was very difficult, the boat was always on the verge of coming on or off plane. I actually wore out the throttle control at the wakeboard speed spot. <BR> <BR>I think trim tabs will help you get on plane faster. Once you’re on plane I think that you’ll want tabs up. Since trim tabs will help you get on plane faster, they should let you put more weight in the boat. As long as you can get on plane I think that weight in the bow should help with speed control. <BR> <BR>I’m running over 2,000 pounds of ballast for wakesurfing. I was worried about the load that I was putting on the motor and transmission. As I mentioned before (email) I sent one of my props to ACME so they could change the pitch from 12 to 10.5. Sounds like you’ve got a good prop. <BR> <BR>Hey I just got a Fresh Air Exhaust system in the mail today. As soon as I get the boat back from the shop I’m going to put it on. Now I only need to get my dry suit and we can hit the water, I still owe you a ride<IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>