?? Trim tabs

[Schaf]

My trim tab buttons are reversed. The toggle on the right controls the tab on the left. I have been told this is correct. Why is it set up like this? Thanks.........

[Carl C]

Because it's more natural to use them. To drop the starboard side of the boat you push the starboard button.

[Morgan's Cloud]

I don't think they're really 'reversed' ... more like they're done the 'traditional way' .
I think it hails back to what they do on aircraft .. not sure though.

Some years back one of the boat mags did a test on a Scarab (I believe it was) that had the tab switches rigged so that port switch operated the port tab and stbd switch/stbd tab.
They said something to the effect that finally someone had gotten the tab rigging right ..

I do the same thing with mine ... when you understand how the tabs work it's much easier.

[BUIZILLA]

I reverse the feed wires on all of mine, regardless. Whatever button I push, I want that side of the boat to react.

[Carl C]

Here are a couple paragraphs from the Bennett manual that came with my boat. I like the operation like this and if I got into a boat with the wires reversed I'd be all messed up. Driving my 22C at speed requires constant small changes in tabs and drive angle. These changes must come intuitively.

[Cuda]

I reverse the feed wires on all of mine, regardless. Whatever button I push, I want that side of the boat to react.
I'm with you on that one. Also, when I push up on that toggle, I want the tab on that side to go UP! It's really a pita when you go from my Formula, which is wired with the way I like, to the Benetts that are wired the opposite way. I've damn near gotten myself in real bad shape using the wrong tab the wrong direction. I've gotten to where I hardly ever use the tabs on either boat. You can pretty much steer the Formula because the surface drives don't have as much rudder area by just using the tabs......whether you mean to or not.:eek!:

[MOP]

Every tab company follows the Bennet way, it is more intuitive. If I want stbd down I push stbd down I don' want or need to think about it, I am always perplexed why some want to buck a very old industry standard.

[roadtrip se]

Every tab company follows the Bennet way, it is more intuitive. If I want stbd down I push stbd down I don' want or need to think about it, I am always perplexed why some want to buck a very old industry standard.

I had three offshores with K-planes on them, before settling into the Donzi with Bennetts and every one of them was wired "the right way" where you push the button and that tab responds. I'm with Cuda, I just don't use the things and that solves the problem.

By the way, Gero's BHLE has k-planes and they are wired port is port, and starboard is starboard, just like most other offshores.
Maybe this is just an offshore thingy, but I like it better...

[RedDog]

yep - I had to re-wire my Bennett rocker switches to operate like the instructions Carl posted above. Push the rocker switch the way you want the bow to go - you want the port side to go down, push the top of the port switch.

[zimm17]

I re-wired mine. As a pilot, when I push down on the starboard switch, I want the starboard tab to go down. I just think in terms of wings and control surfaces- when I want the boat to roll to the right, I raise the starboard tab, and/or drop the port. Thoughtless for me.

[RickSE]

My 2002 is wired port switch to port K-Plane and starboard to starboard which make more sense when you have indicators. My 1996 was wired port switch to starboard tab and starboard to port. The learning curve switch has taken a while but I'm finally used to the new p-p & s-s setup. Either way your brain will finally get used to it.

[Schaf]

Thanks everyone. Logically it makes more sense to me for port to port and star to star but the way Carl explained it makes sense too. It will just take time to condition my brain.

[Cuda]

The Bennetts also have that assbackwards way of up and down. When you push the rocker up, the tab goes down. It references it to the bow, instead of the tabs. I think it's assinine myself. Push up, tab up, on the side it's on. That's the way it should be.

The 22 has the tab rockers, even though it doesn't have tabs. It must have been rigged with them, because you can see from the inside where they were mounted, but the outside it so perfect, I think they must have been removed at the factory. They probably just left the rocker, so they wouldn't have to redo the upholstery. I plan on using one of the rockers for the electric hatch actuator when I get it mounted.

[Cuda]

Here's the setup on the Formula. Granted, it's twins, but the same idea applies. Both the drives and the tabs are controlled by the side they are on, and when you push up, either the drive or the tab on that side goes up.

[CHACHI]

The Bennetts are not refereced off the tabs themselves, they are referenced to movement of the bow. Thats what people see. They want the port side of the bow down, they push the port button on the top, they don't care what happens aft. I believe the trim plate on the Bennetts does say bow down on the top of the plate.
I personally couldn't get used to it that way, so I rewired the switch.
My .02.
Ken

[zelatore]

I've got to agree with the Bennet standard 'bow referenced' tab controls.

We often sell boats to new boaters. They are overwhelmed trying to absorb all the details of things like seperate shift and throttle controls on a twin screw boat and docking without the steering wheel. Add on top of that trying to explain why when you put the port tab down the stb bow goes down and they're likely to just lock their brains up entirely. It's much easier for average people to refernce what they see happen to the switches than to actually understand what is happening and why.

You can't expect the average boater to actually know anything about his boat, can you? I've done walk-throughs with some new boat owners who litterally didn't even care about opening the hatches - all they wanted to know was how to turn on the lights and power. A normal walk-through on one of our boats runs 3-4 hours, but these guys are 'done' in 20 minutes and want to get out on the water. Glad I'm not their insurance company...50 tons of boat can do a lot of damage to another boat even at the dock.

Don

[MOP]

There is far more to said about "Standardization"! I being in the boat biz operate many various boats during the year anyone should be able to go on any boat and be generaly familiar with the operation of the controls, tabs if equipped are part of the controls! Now that you boys have rewired them they do not match the the switches marked functions! Why not reverse steering and shift & throttle control, interesting concept we could all see how our minds work in reverse! Another thought many of you will let others run your boat, they can get into trouble with things not being standard as designed!

[BigGrizzly]

the Corsican has a joy stick. As little as I use then I like the stick.

[zelatore]

the Corsican has a joy stick. As little as I use then I like the stick.

I remember the joystick - I had one on a '72 Uniflite 36 a year or three ago. I always liked the dual rockers better as I didn't trust the antique joystick on my old boat. Never seemed to be sure if it was working or not; of course that was true of most things on that old Uni. I don't think I've ever seen one anywhere else.

Don