"Tim" wrote in message
...
There's an old saying at a local high performance engine shop that
says "Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?" And I know the
old rule usually applies "you get what you pay for? Well for the few
times I've taken my marquis out it's interesting to get it up on
plane. first , if you ease the throttle, you'll do a wheelie to where
you think the boat will flip over backwards and you do little but plow
water , so you have to nail it and you still get an extreme bow rise
but it settles down and know you're going, but you still have to keep
the RPM up above 2800 or the boat wants to drag back. So I'm
investigating trim tabs. There's all kinds on the market anywhere from
sophisticated hydraulic and independently controlled units ranging up
to around $500.00 all the way down to the spring loaded sets that that
are available for around a hundred bucks. I'm sure that trim tabs
would help the boating experience, but I'm really wondering how much
trim control I'm actually needing. to make a more efficient ride and
run. I'm constantly accused of being 'tight' but I'm not THAT tight,
because I know that money spent in the right direction will save in
fuel and ride in the longer run. But over kill is still overkill. This
is a 23 ft. V-hull Marquis with a 350 GM engine and not some 3000 hp.
40 ft. Fountain off shore racer. So, anyone have any suggestions?

Tim,

My father had hydraulic trim tabs on his 22 ft. Apollo back in the day, they
were very useful for the application that you are referring. They are also
very helpful if you have an offset in the load, you can equalize easily with
the trim tabs.

For little investment, you might also try one of the following first. I
have no experience on larger boats, however I know they work well on smaller
run abouts in the 16 to 18 ft. range. There are several other manufactures
on the market besides this one.

http://www.davisnet.com/MARINE/produ...asp?pnum=00448

JT