13 replies to this topic

[Doooer]

I finally finished! With a lot of help from Bennett via email, I now have trim tabs installed in my Speedster. Purchased them on Ebay for $400...a lot cheaper than PD. I also turned the Merc trim plate up a half turn. Completed the first sea trial yesterday. Results...WOW!!

[Kevin Leclair]

Cool so I guess there is a big difference with them on? What do you notice that has changed? How hard were they to install, how much drilling did it require? How highly would you recommend them and would you say it is worth it for my 2000 Speedster? Can you point me to the kit that you installed on eBay, I want to make sure I looking at the right size tabs and everything? So you got the Bennett Sport Tabs instead of the Lenco Trim Tabs, what the difference? Thanks!

I am guessing this is the one I should go with:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...&category=31283

P.S. - Sorry for so many questions but I have been thinking about getting these for a while and I really want the up and up before I make the purchase.

[secord]

Yes, I would be interested to know the difference.

[Doooer]

Cool so I guess there is a big difference with them on?  What do you notice that has changed?  How hard were they to install, how much drilling did it require?  How highly would you recommend them and would you say it is worth it for my 2000 Speedster?  Can you point me to the kit that you installed on eBay, I want to make sure I looking at the right size tabs and everything?  So you got the Bennett Sport Tabs instead of the Lenco Trim Tabs, what the difference?  Thanks!

I am guessing this is the one I should go with:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...&category=31283

P.S. - Sorry for so many questions but I have been thinking about getting these for a while and I really want the up and up before I make the purchase.

Kevin,

First of all, your hull is the same as mine. I think the only difference between the 2000 to 2004 models is the graphics and trim colours. So, if it's good for me...it's good for you.

Why a Trim System
I boat on a relatively large lake that can be severely churned up with wind. Even on a windless weekend day, boat chop from the thousands of yachts on the lake can get pretty hairy. It got to the point where my wife would only boat during the week on a windless day when the lake was like a mill pond. So...I researched the various trim systems available. First look was a Place. Everyone that had one, liked it, but it ran an easy $200 USD more than Lenco or Bennett...that's approx. $275 CDN. Also, it seemed that you could only buy from Place which added another element, which I'll address later. I researched the Bennett and the Lenco, and again, everyone that had one, liked it. There was only one negative on the Lenco mentioned on the big board.

The Purchase
So I went on Ebay to see what was available and by far, the majority was the Bennett M80s. There were other brands available for the same money, but I guess I wanted to stay with a known brand. The M80s I bought were auctioned at $350 but I went for the "buy it now" price of $399. (So you should do better than $419, Kevinper). The guy I bought them from was kind enough to mark them "Boat Parts" and "gift" which ended up saving me an additional $80 CDN in taxes. (Which I couldn't have saved from buying from Place).

The Install
The biggest challenge was on the Starboard side. You have the Scupper, the HIN plate and the speedo transducer...and you only have a little space left to mount the Trim tab and the actuator. I had to grind, cut, eat a notch out of the backing plate and hinge plate in order to fit it around the Scupper. I tried to remove the HIN plate by drilling out the rivets...it wouldn't budge. I ended up notching the HIN plate with a dremel. Took out about 4 numbers in the middle of it...legal???...I think not. In the end, you have to drill a total of 16 holes in your transom.

The Exchange
When I drilled and temporarily installed the port tab to their specs, it appeared that the down fin of the tab would be touching the water all the time. My contact at Bennett said that was normal. I asked him if he was familiar with the way jetboats are driven (360's) and he suggested that we exchange the M80 tab for a set that has an up fin.

The HPU (Hydraulic Pump Unit)
This unit has to be mounted somewhere that it won't be immersed in water and it comes with a plastic mounting bracket. The problem with the speedster, is that there is nowhere (that I could find) that is vertical enough to mount it. The inside of the engine compartment seems to be nothing but curves. He sent me a stainless steel mounting bracket that allowed me to mount it on the floor of the engine compartment.

The Switch
My package came with two switches...a rocker switch and a "racing type control". Since we're talking Speedsters, I obviously installed the "racing type control". Once installed, I found that you had to really press on the buttons in order to engage them...wifey wouldn't like that...so I took it out and installed the rocker switch. It's much better. I installed it just forward of the FNR and throttle controls.

Sea Trials
I had it out for about an hour yesterday putting her through her paces. As I mentioned, I also turned Merc's trim plate up 1/2 turn. I didn't have the GPS with me, but at wot on flat water, the speedo got up to a steady 60 in no time (full tank and wifey aboard). I'm going to experiment more with the trim plate.

As soon as we hit chop or started to porpoise, just a touch on the rocker switch brought an end to any bouncing. Fully extending the tabs at wot gave us a really cool twin rooster tail


Well Kevinper, I hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if I left anything out.

[Kevin Leclair]

Thanks for the very thorough post Doooer, I will take all this is consideration when I decide to make my purchase. Do your remember who you bought your tabs from on eBay?

Also I wonder if Bennett will let me exchange the actuators if I buy the tabs off of eBay, this will prevent from having to dig in hull id plate.

Note: The location hull identification plate on this Sea Doo lies where the M80's starboard actuator would mount.  To avoid having to remove the plate, a slightly longer actuator was used.  The actuators can be exchanged free of charge by contacting Bennett Marine.

See on their site here they state this. I wonder if there is a stipulation on this depending on where you buy them from?

[Doooer]

Thanks for the very thorough post Doooer, I will take all this is consideration when I decide to make my purchase.  Do your remember who you bought your tabs from on eBay?

Also I wonder if Bennett will let me exchange the actuators if I buy the tabs off of eBay, this will prevent from having to dig in hull id plate.

Note: The location hull identification plate on this Sea Doo lies where the M80's starboard actuator would mount.  To avoid having to remove the plate, a slightly longer actuator was used.  The actuators can be exchanged free of charge by contacting Bennett Marine.

See on their site here they state this. I wonder if there is a stipulation on this depending on where you buy them from?

Kevin,

Yea, I saw that too. The thing is, on our boat, a longer one would be worse. When I exchanged the tabs, he thought that I would be able to miss the HIN because the actuator is mounted on the new tab an inch further away than on the M80. It was better, but I still had to hit the plate. If you look at where the HIN is located, there isn't a lot of room above it. Notching the HIN was really easy and once you get the actuator over it with the sealant, you can't really tell that it's not there...it just looks covered up.

Bennett never asked where I got them. Everything was sent free of charge including shipping. I can't speak highly enough of Bennett. They (M.J. Thomas) were terrific! I couldn't have done it without his help and guidance. It's my impression that they will exchange anything if it will help.

I bought from "blesseddeals" on ebay. They are currently selling a Bennett switch and HPU, but no tabs.

[Doooer]

Kevin,

Here's a better price for you...reasonable shipping as well!

http://cgi.ebay.com/...&category=31283

[Kevin Leclair]

Thanks!

[motorbrain]

Cool so I guess there is a big difference with them on?  What do you notice that has changed?  How hard were they to install, how much drilling did it require?  How highly would you recommend them and would you say it is worth it for my 2000 Speedster?  Can you point me to the kit that you installed on eBay, I want to make sure I looking at the right size tabs and everything?  So you got the Bennett Sport Tabs instead of the Lenco Trim Tabs, what the difference?  Thanks!

I am guessing this is the one I should go with:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...&category=31283

P.S. - Sorry for so many questions but I have been thinking about getting these for a while and I really want the up and up before I make the purchase.

Kevin,

First of all, your hull is the same as mine. I think the only difference between the 2000 to 2004 models is the graphics and trim colours. So, if it's good for me...it's good for you.

Why a Trim System
I boat on a relatively large lake that can be severely churned up with wind. Even on a windless weekend day, boat chop from the thousands of yachts on the lake can get pretty hairy. It got to the point where my wife would only boat during the week on a windless day when the lake was like a mill pond. So...I researched the various trim systems available. First look was a Place. Everyone that had one, liked it, but it ran an easy $200 USD more than Lenco or Bennett...that's approx. $275 CDN. Also, it seemed that you could only buy from Place which added another element, which I'll address later. I researched the Bennett and the Lenco, and again, everyone that had one, liked it. There was only one negative on the Lenco mentioned on the big board.

The Purchase
So I went on Ebay to see what was available and by far, the majority was the Bennett M80s. There were other brands available for the same money, but I guess I wanted to stay with a known brand. The M80s I bought were auctioned at $350 but I went for the "buy it now" price of $399. (So you should do better than $419, Kevinper). The guy I bought them from was kind enough to mark them "Boat Parts" and "gift" which ended up saving me an additional $80 CDN in taxes. (Which I couldn't have saved from buying from Place).

The Install
The biggest challenge was on the Starboard side. You have the Scupper, the HIN plate and the speedo transducer...and you only have a little space left to mount the Trim tab and the actuator. I had to grind, cut, eat a notch out of the backing plate and hinge plate in order to fit it around the Scupper. I tried to remove the HIN plate by drilling out the rivets...it wouldn't budge. I ended up notching the HIN plate with a dremel. Took out about 4 numbers in the middle of it...legal???...I think not. In the end, you have to drill a total of 16 holes in your transom.

The Exchange
When I drilled and temporarily installed the port tab to their specs, it appeared that the down fin of the tab would be touching the water all the time. My contact at Bennett said that was normal. I asked him if he was familiar with the way jetboats are driven (360's) and he suggested that we exchange the M80 tab for a set that has an up fin.

The HPU (Hydraulic Pump Unit)
This unit has to be mounted somewhere that it won't be immersed in water and it comes with a plastic mounting bracket. The problem with the speedster, is that there is nowhere (that I could find) that is vertical enough to mount it. The inside of the engine compartment seems to be nothing but curves. He sent me a stainless steel mounting bracket that allowed me to mount it on the floor of the engine compartment.

The Switch
My package came with two switches...a rocker switch and a "racing type control". Since we're talking Speedsters, I obviously installed the "racing type control". Once installed, I found that you had to really press on the buttons in order to engage them...wifey wouldn't like that...so I took it out and installed the rocker switch. It's much better. I installed it just forward of the FNR and throttle controls.

Sea Trials
I had it out for about an hour yesterday putting her through her paces. As I mentioned, I also turned Merc's trim plate up 1/2 turn. I didn't have the GPS with me, but at wot on flat water, the speedo got up to a steady 60 in no time (full tank and wifey aboard). I'm going to experiment more with the trim plate.

As soon as we hit chop or started to porpoise, just a touch on the rocker switch brought an end to any bouncing. Fully extending the tabs at wot gave us a really cool twin rooster tail


Well Kevinper, I hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if I left anything out.

Hi, I noticed that you stated there is no difference between the 2000 and 2004 speedster hulls, since the 2004 and the 2005 speedsters are also the same, I should be able to install trim tabs on my 2005 speedster 200 sc. Can you send me pictures of your installation?

Thanks
Brad

[Kevin Leclair]

Brad we were referring to the Speedster 160 model, not the Speedster 200 model.

[thumper]

still dont understand why you guys fir trim tabs to seadoos -
on larger boats trim tabs are used (not exclusively) to offset the effect of windage on the hull - in small boats its more important to get the weight distribution correct as windage on these boats will be minimal - 40lbs of anchor chain in the wrong place will make my sporster list at wot.

[Doooer]

still dont understand why you guys fir trim tabs to seadoos -
on larger boats trim tabs are used (not exclusively) to offset the effect of windage on the hull - in small boats its more important to get the weight distribution correct as windage on these boats will be minimal - 40lbs of anchor chain in the wrong place will make my sporster list at wot.

Thumps,
It's not about listing. Any boat can use some sort of trim system. Smaller outboards are trimmed with the engine. Jetboats propulsion is fixed much like a fixed prop boat (as opposed to an i/o) and could benefit from tabs. Basically what they do for me is smooth out the ride in choppy water. If the water is calm I don't need tabs. If I want to jump waves or wakes, I don't need tabs. But if I have a particularly whiney passenger (read spouse), who bellows at every bump, I need tabs. They allow me to travel faster in choppy water without being bounced around. If I start to porpoise, a touch of the tabs will stop it. They allow me to get up on plane faster. They allow me to stay on plane at 18 mph.

For me, the investment was well worth the few dollars it cost. It's allowed me to use the boat in much choppier water than I normally would. Again, my boat never lists...it's not about listing.

[thumper]

ah yes that niggling whiney noise that comes with every boat - my dad used to say in every new car he ever had there was an annoying rattle - i couldnt hear it he obviously meant us kids in the back

i used to have a very annoying whine on an older boat but i managed to get rid of it - it cost me in lawyers fees though - the only whine i hear now is

why cant it go faster

[FJHIII]

Thanks!

I was told that these would help me in the ocean with chop. Did you end up installing these on your old boat Kevin? Are you looking at doing it on your new one?