motorbrain

Has any had any luck installing trim tabs on there speedster 200... In really rough water it would be nice to trim it out...  Thanks in advance...

I just wanted to let you know that I've contacted a friend of mine, who's husband builds boats for a living, to ask him about trimming out the S200. He's contacted a dealer who makes something called a jet-a-vator or place diverter for the pump that will fit. We're checking pricing now and if the price is right, we'll be ordering and placing it on ours. I'll let you know how it goes.

drmarvell,

have you heard anything back from your friend and/or place divertor?

thanks
Brad

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