The benefits of trim tabs

With the boating season for much of Australia nearly upon us, now is the perfect time to upgrade your planing-hull boat with Dometic’s new SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs.

Trim tabs can transform a boat’s performance and handling, delivering better control across a wide variety of sea states, along with greater ride comfort and improved fuel economy.

With traditional systems utilising twin hinged plates with hydraulic actuators mounted on each side of the boat’s transom, trim tabs are independently raised or lowered to ensure your boat maintains its optimal running angle for the prevailing conditions, both in terms of pitch (from bow to stern) and roll (from side to side).

Achieving your boat’s optimal running angle enhances safety across the board, while trimming the boat to lower the bow can improve visibility significantly and lowering engine revs while keeping your boat comfortably on the plane reduces fuel consumption.

Meanwhile, everyone on board will appreciate the smoother ride, especially in choppy conditions or when punching on through a swell.

The latest breed of trim tabs from Dometic makes harnessing the inherent benefits of this feature even easier, with the firm’s SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs boasting a number of clever inclusions.

Trim your boat with confidence with the clever and intuitive dial controller with integrated pushbuttons. See the individual settings of your port and starboard trim tabs at a glance courtesy of the position-indicating LEDs with adjustable brightness.

Trim the boat’s bow up or down via the integrated pushbuttons and twist the dial clockwise or counter-clockwise to level the ride from port to starboard, instantly addressing issues of uneven weight distribution or windage. It’s never been easier to adjust your trim tabs on the fly.

There’s a ‘Holeshot’ mode to get your boat out of the hole and climb up on the plane with maximum speed and efficiency, along with a ‘Home’ button to return the tabs to their home position and a ‘Favourite’ button that remembers and stores your preferred running settings.

The tabs automatically retract when the boat is in reverse or the ignition is keyed off, and because Dometic’s SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs are fully NMEA 2000 compatible, the position of your trim tabs can also be integrated across a wide range of suitable multi-function displays.

New for the Australian market, Dometic’s SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs are designed and manufactured in Canada and the USA from components of the highest quality.

Featuring heavy-duty stainless-steel tabs with 316 SS marine-grade fasteners, the trim tabs are controlled by electric actuators with a simple two-piece design that minimises water intrusion points, with dual housing seals, a rear seal in a protected bushing area, and a wiper to protect the rear seal and remove particles from the shaft.

The solid and chromed actuators feature a 304-grade stainless-steel shaft for strength and maximum scratch resistance, while the all-electric design, with CAN-based communication, reduces overall complexity, in turn enhancing reliability and durability.

Trim tabs aren’t by any means new to the boating scene but Dometic’s SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs mean that anyone can pilot their planing-hull boat with total ease and pin-point control. With the best of the boating season looming, take your on-water experience to the next level with Dometic’s SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs.

Click here for more information on Dometic's SeaStar Adaptive Trim Tabs or here for more information on the full range of Dometic SeaStar Trim Tabs, including Dometic’s Standard Trim Tabs and Optimus Adaptive Trim Tabs, the latter compatible with Optimus joystick controls.