Trim Tabs

Lenco and Bennett both make electric trim tabs. I have had the Lenco on 2 boats and they seem as robust as the hydraulic. The electric are a little easier to install. I personally like the displays with LED which show amount of trim. It is easier to set at the same p"lace if you wish. I believe that 9 X 12" are the usual tabs on the 22, and 12" x 12 on the 25.
 
The last two boats I've had Lenco tabs. The control box needed replacement once on our last boat, which was a fairly expensive piece but it was an easy plug and play fix. On our current 22, the controls on the dash seem to have intermittent problems with the LED lights. Probably a control box issue again but more of an aggravation than anything.

We had Benetts on our first 22. I personally prefer those for a couple of reasons. For one... Lencos automatically retract every time I turn off the engine ignition. I don't always want them retracted and to have to go through the whole process to adjust when I start back up, but more importantly if I'm trying to fish.... The droning noise of the tabs retracting every time I turn off the key is scaring every fish in a half mile radius. I also believe Benetts when setup are more trouble free day in and day out. That is purely my own opinion and personal experience, I have no actual evidence for that.
 
PaulNBriannaLynn":39wqoc4w said:
... We had Benetts on our first 22. I personally prefer those for a couple of reasons. For one... Lencos automatically retract every time I turn off the engine ignition. I don't always want them retracted and to have to go through the whole process to adjust when I start back up, but more importantly if I'm trying to fish.... The droning noise of the tabs retracting every time I turn off the key is scaring every fish in a half mile radius. I also believe Benetts when setup are more trouble free day in and day out. That is purely my own opinion and personal experience, I have no actual evidence for that.
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There is a wire you can disconnect that stops the auto retract feature. I did it to mine because the auto retract thing is annoying. However, depending on how you boat sits on the trailer, you might cause problems. If the bunks are going to hit the tabs if they are left in the down position when you retrieve the boat you need to be sure the tabs are retracted when loading the boat. My boat on my trailer clears the tabs so it is not a problem if I forget to retract them (it does happen).
 
Paul,
One of the main reasons for auto raising the trim tabs, was to aid in keeping them from breaking, when the boat is lifted at a Boatel/dry stack marina, by the stern, with a fork lift.
There were numerous complints in the beginngin years, that the company decided, that there were so many dry stacked boats and failures because of this, it made since to have auto retract.
 
Bennett makes electric tabs also: "Bold Electric Trim Tab System". They seem to be as reliable as the Lenco.

One has to pay extra for the hydraulic trim tabs to auto retract. (An add on kit) I have always liked this feature--although I have never failed to retract the tabs as we backed to the beach.

My son had a cracked reservoir on his Bennett tabs, I have some hydraulic tubing go bad--any system can have a problem.

I just find the electric (either brand) easier to install, with no pump and reservoir simple electric wiring. But one cannot argue with the dependability of hydraulic systems.
 
Okay, for those listening, I must express why I HATE hydraulic trim tabs...

I have worked on hundreds of small boats including many C-Dory's. I personally owned hydraulic trim tabs until Lenco came out with the electric ones.

As we all know, everything is a compromise and our boats and everything in them is as well. With that statement said, the compromise to most hydraulic trim tab systems, is that they are typically mounted near the stern and somewhere under the splash well, or in a locked near or at the stern. Most of these locations are wet/moist and attract mold. The hydraulic power packs in these cases are usually subject to corrosion on their exteriors and when a leak eventually begins, you are working in a terrible location to troubleshoot and make repairs. I have worked on many 25 C-Dory's that this specific case has existed.

As a side note, when Lenco came out with the electric tabs, Bennett had a lot of negative things to say about them. As stated by others, Bennett now makes electric tabs to compete with other electric tab manufactures.

My 2 cent from past busted knuckles and mold covered arms and hands.
 
Journey On is a 25 C-Dory. I don't know the trim tab make, but I suspect they're Barnett. Worked well for lo these 15 years. No trouble in getting to the hydraulic unit, it's right below the starboard hatch in the cockpit. Nicked a line once when I put a spare propeller in the port locker; fixed it easily.

Boris
 
My 22 had the Lenco electric, and now my 25 has the Bennett hydraulic. Both work as advertised, but I liked the electric better. They seemed to respond quicker and one less reservoir on the boat. I don't believe I ever needed customer service at Lenco, but I did with Bennett, and they were great helping me out with some questions and pointing me in the right direction to upgrade the controller and indicator. Colby
 
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