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I was lurking around here a lot before I ordered our new R5 and appreciated the comments about must have items. In the spirit of giving back I thought I would post about one of my must haves. I was on The Lake of the Ozarks last weekend - that is one rough lake. Without the trim tabs the bow of the boat was slamming on a lot of waves. Trimmed them all the way down it made a huge difference. No more slamming into waves, the R5 cut through almost all of them. The auto setting is also nice just to make the boat ride level by compensating for uneven loads or wind. Overall a great system and would put on the must have list.

Somewhat surprises me they're not a standard option. I would not want a boat without them.

Absolutely and without doubt the most important, “never go without” option.
Tabs can definitely change unbearable conditions to tolerable with a simple deploy.

I rarely use mine, I must be missing something.

MikeBo wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 9:17 pm I rarely use mine, I must be missing something.

I could see that depending on where on Table Rock (my favorite lake) you boat. Up by Shell Knob were we typically boat the wind and the waves aren't as big of a factor. Lake of the Ozarks is all wind and waves

I had tabs on my A25, when we ordered our r7surf they were not an option due to how the surf tabs work. The R6/8 Surf they can be ordered and I’m looking forward to upgrading for that alone. It’ll be a while as this is only our second summer with this boat, but I agree they are must have for sure!

I have my R5 on Lake Tahoe which can get very rough. Not needed at all.

bruceb58 wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:58 pm I have my R5 on Lake Tahoe which can get very rough. Not needed at all.

I posted elsewhere about this, but when I ordered my R6 Surf (for Tahoe), the dealer strongly recommended against ordering TT's. Sounds like you'd agree with that.

PS, as also posted elsewhere, I am still waiting for my boat...several months behind schedule.

The other thing I should add is my dealer told me that the auto trim tabs were hard to add after the boat was built. Something about the calibration of the unit.

bruceb58 wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:58 pm I have my R5 on Lake Tahoe which can get very rough. Not needed at all.

While I suppose not "needed" I find on big water I can cruise about 5-10 mph faster using the tabs in the same comfort. More of a luxury really.

Love the trim tabs on our R5. Mostly use for port/starboard balance vs waves, but have also use to change pitch. Agree if you are ordering a new boat a no-brainer. Wish I had ordered the rudder indicator from the factory. Bought the parts, but been a chicken to install.

After owning multiple boats with and without tabs, I wouldn’t own another without tabs (unless it’s a surf model for obvious reasons).
In fact it was the first thing we added (Bennet electric with auto retract and digital indicators) when we purchased our 263. Deep Vee hulls cut through waves nicely but their draw back can be listing depending on load and/or crosswinds. . Lake Erie kicked up with 3-5’s yesterday plus 15-20 mph winds gusting to 30 and they helped improve the ride easily as well. No brainer IMHO.

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AsLan7 wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 9:14 am Lake Erie kicked up with 3-5’s yesterday plus 15-20 mph winds gusting to 30 and they helped improve the ride easily as well. No brainer IMHO.

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Too big for us!
1-2' is tough.

carrera wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 12:46 am

bruceb58 wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:58 pm I have my R5 on Lake Tahoe which can get very rough. Not needed at all.

I posted elsewhere about this, but when I ordered my R6 Surf (for Tahoe), the dealer strongly recommended against ordering TT's. Sounds like you'd agree with that.

PS, as also posted elsewhere, I am still waiting for my boat...several months behind schedule.

Same here. For the Surf model, my dealer recommended against getting the trim tabs option as well. Never having had the option before, ignorance is bliss at the moment for me.

My lake here in Tennessee is ROUGH as well. I got the trim tabs and I have to say I'll never have another boat without them. It really does smooth things out when the waves and traffic gets crazy. I'm running 30+ MPH COMFORTABLY while the tow boats are barely able to keep it above 10mph due to the waves.