Speedster 200 Trim options - porposing

[Mustoke1]

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Trim Tab install on Speedster 200 w Pics- I found this post from 2013.

I am going to install the Lenco trim tabs over the winter per this old post to correct the porpoising. These are adjustible electric trim tabs with a controller you put up front.

According to the post:
Lenco 15001-101- trim tab and tab drive
Lenco 15170-001 - controller
50015-002D - wedges to make the angle.

The guy in the post used the older 15070-001 version controller. Looks like about $650 for materials ( Anchor Express is where I got pricing ) and about 7 hours of labor. Look up trim tabs in the search if you are interested.

 

[cbkeg45]

Hi everyone,

I created a cheap solution to my Seadoo 200 porpoising issue. These extended plates are made of 1/8" Stainless Steel (304). 4 countersunk bolts (Also Stainless) are used to hold the plates on each side.

I feel like this completely fixed the porpoising issue on my boat. Originally I had made the extended ride plates to be as wide as possible without contacting the anodes. This was overkill and needed to be changed. It took the full porpoise motion and seemed to turn it into a slight side to side roll motion. I also lost a noticeable amount of steering with full width plates. (You can see in one of the photos where a previous bolt hole exists). Cutting the plates and positioning as close to the center of the boat as possible fixed that issue, and the boat is still quick to plane and exhibits no porpoising.

I can't give a total cost because I had some generous people supply me with the materials. But if you bought all the material at full price, it would still come in much less than any factory or aftermarket trim tabs.

The only issue I have is that a very small amount of steering is affected, the boat will tend to travel more in a straight line. These aren't adjustable, but I haven't noticed significant decreases in gas mileage.

Anyways, I wanted to share this in case someone is looking for an alternative solution. Let me know your thoughts, Cheers,

 

[gacekj]

Thanks for the post and pix cbkeg45 -- very helpful! I just got my 200 late last summer, and reading all the posts around the boat's porpoising tendencies, I'm noticing more myself the more i ride. Can you advise what are length and width measurements of those plates? Thanks Again!

 

[cbkeg45]

Thanks for the post and pix cbkeg45 -- very helpful! I just got my 200 late last summer, and reading all the posts around the boat's porpoising tendencies, I'm noticing more myself the more i ride. Can you advise what are length and width measurements of those plates? Thanks Again!

The plates are 6" long, running bow to stern. The bend in the plate is at 2", so there is 4" that overhangs. The angle of the plate where it overhangs is very small, maybe 5-10 degrees downward.

The width (port-starbord) has a taper. It is 7.25" at the widest, where it attaches to the boat. It tapers down to 6.25" at the end of the tabs. The taper is on the outside edge. The inside edge (closer to center of boat) is straight.

If your only noticing the porpoising slightly, I would go with smaller dimensions. I had larger dimensions before and had to trim the tabs (pardon the pun) to what they are now. I feel like I could remove some more material and still have success. I would keep the same length at 6" (keeps a 4" overhang), but try a width of 5.5 to 6" if I were to try again.

Hope this helps.

 

[gacekj]

Very helpful, cbkeg45 -- thanks much!

 

[rkkoeb]

I made a set of these trim tabs and now my boat pulls hard to the left. What do I need to do to correct this issue

 

[10forty2]

I made a set of these trim tabs and now my boat pulls hard to the left. What do I need to do to correct this issue

Same problem here. My guess is the port side tab deflection angle needs to be decreased for less drag. My last time out, I was able to counteract the pull to port by running the port side engine rpms higher than the starboard engine to use torque steering. It helos, but not what I want to do all the time. I think straightening the port tab will correct it.