Lectrotabs

[Aurelia]

These look like an interesting alternative to hydraulic. Simplification of systems is always appealing to me although the Bennetts are still kicking for now.

http://lectrotab.com/

http://www.navagear.com/2011/04/21/lectrotab-eletromechanical-replacement-kits-for-hydraulic-trim-tabs/

[Will-C]

I'm thinking hydraulic versus some sort of electric screw drive? In our business hydraulic has less moving parts and are pretty easy to repair. I wonder what happens to these new units after getting whacked with a decent sized piece of flotsam. I know it's been said before about distributing weight to level the boat as trim tabs don't help level the boat much when you are tied up somewhere or hanging on the hook. As for getting the bow down, Permatrims seem to work for us and have no moving parts and offer some low speed steering advantage. For me, some the these new ideas are interesting but the tried and true manfacturers are still there with good reason.
D.D.

[starcrafttom]

I have had lenco tabs on my 22. les installed them and they worked great. they are quicker then the hydraulics. For 5 years of hard use they never failed and are still working for the new owners. and I ran over two logs the first year with them with not trouble. I am currently waiting for a new set to arrive for the 27. I do not like oil leaks and all hydraulics will leak. sooner or later they leak. the lencos are far easier to use and install. no hydraulic lines to run thru the hull. no pump to find a place for. with the lencos I can run the electric wires up to the splash well and thru the hull with the motor control cables. no thru hull at the tab.

I have heard about some of the lencos failing on boats that are moored in the water, but I could never track down anyone it happened to. Just friends of a friend stories. Not once did I find a post of someone it happened too. makes me wonder if it happened at all.

now bennett has a rep for good customer service and
tom the tabman has even posted here on this site and helped people out with items, but its not enough to have a leak on my boat. I am sure Bennett are good tabs but i will stick to the lencos.

as far as side to side control, trim tabs work great for this. the tilt on the motor is more then enough to get the nose down. You need side to side control for a better ride.

[Matt Gurnsey]

Bennett is the giant in the industry, and everybody else has to prove they are "as-good-as", or "better-than".

In all the boats I've owned, I've never had a Bennett system fail, and I can't recall of one ever leaking. Their customer support is the best- bar none.

[TyBoo]

I had a Lenco actuator fail due to water intrusion. I believe Robbi did also. $187.50. I had a spare control module the Lenco vendor sent by mistake and didn't want back that I was able to send to a fellow C-Brat whose unit failed. So the Lencos can have problems the same as anything manufactured.

If someone prefers to route the lines over the transom instead of through, Bennett will swap the actuators with some having top connections for no charge.

All major brands are good and have their positives. None of them are necessarily bad. But I believe that anyone who thinks there is a particular trim tab better suited for the CD22 than the Bennett M120 has never had the M120s on their CD22. But that is opinion and it's Ok if someone else has a different one. I learned my lesson when I got the simple electric tabs on my second CD. I saved an hour or two on the installation and probably took a year or two off my life cussin' the things.

[Jazzmanic]

[Grumpy]

I agree with everybody. (How's that for "being nice")

Had Bennets on the CD 22, functionally great. One hydraulic leak in the line through the transom and discovered that fluid "eats" 4200 sealant.

Have Lenco's on the RF because of the installation simplicity. They work fine and if they have any advantage at all it's in their speed of response and the auto return to zero on shutdown.

3 years on each system with no significant problems.

M

[Will-C]

I guess I'll get rid of my hydraulic steering and go the cable route. Because the oil might leak
D.D.

[Grumpy]

DD

Maybe you should go for "steer by wire"

You can also get electric throttle controls (actually many of the new ones end up that way anyway since they are connected to a 'puter)

Hell, while we are at it let's have Nuclear reactors on the stern then we could declare an evacuation zone and have the fishing/mooring grounds all to ourselves.

M

[thataway]

I have used both Bennett, Lenco, and Insta trim boat leveler (which were also standard on some C Dories. I have never had any of the systems leak or fail. I would prefer the hyraulic over the electric accentuator type.

The Permatrim is a bit difference--with it you can put the bow down considerably more than with any trim tabs. This works best in chop. A C Dory does best with a combination of the trim tabs and Permatrim.

[Will-C]

Grumpy,
I'm liking your suggestions. The steer by wire would ease my oil troubles, and reduce the size of my steering wheel allowing me to eat more. The nuclear power option is something I think the factory might want to consider with gas prices being what they are. I'm trying to figure out the cooling tower/s thing. The spent fuel rods could be dropped off at the pumpout stations with a few modifications I guess. No worse than two stroke exhaust for the environment some say. No running out of hot water in the showers with this option. Talk about reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Not to mention less folks on the highways and the marinas. Rickover would be so proud.
Nuclear powered C-Dory I never thought I'd see the day. Now the the age old question a single or twins???

D.D.

[starcrafttom]

I might change out my hydraulic steering because both that I have had have leaks or weep-ed at one time or another and i HATE hydraulic fluid. until you have walked by a back hoe just as a hydraulic line burst and covers you it.. and .. and you have to keep driving a mixer truck for another 5 hours until you can go home and clean up you will not understand my disguise of hydraulics.

Tyboo. sorry to hear that you had yours fail. but now I know some one that it happened too.

I too dont think any thing is wrong with the bennetts I just dont see a good reason or improvement over what I have. I do see the lencos as being easier to install and less room taken up with a tank and pump.

Mine should be here soon and after install I might have to make a alteration to the tabs. Not to do with the design but to do with the space I have to mount them. I would have to alter any tab I put on the boat because of the space issue. I have ordered 12x12 edge mounts but would like larger tabs. If the tabs get the job done Great, but if not I will expand the tabs with extensions and a down turned edge of 1/2inch on each side to create more lift. Idea stolen from another c-brat.

All tabs of the same size and shape are going to provide the same lift on the same hull. The only difference is in how the tabs are moved and how fast. speed is nice but I will admit not really that important in this use.

[Aurelia]

Did you all notice they have a lifetime replacement warranty and you could mount them right onto your existing tabs? Hard not to like if you are in the position (like Tom) of installing some or replacing some anyway.

Traditional lead acid batteries have worked great for lots of folks for a long time and are a proven product but I would not go so far as to say it's not worth looking at AGMs at replacement time. I sure don't miss checking fluid levels or worrying about gassing. Less maintenance is the reason I am here on this forum with the boat we own.

[rogerbum]

I've heard that the hydraulic "accentuator" types not only don't leak, they have excellent diction.

[Grumpy]

Ah, but Roger, those require Nuculear power

M