Trimming Your Boat; Trim Tabs - Four winns FREEDOM Owner's Manual

continued acceleration. This maximum angle is known
as the "hump". Because visibility, handling, and perfor-
mance are reduced, it is advisable to get "over the hump"
as soon as possible. A few seconds at full throttle should
get the boat over the hump and into its planing attitude.
After getting over the hump, accelerate until reaching a
comfortable plane, then throttle down to cruising speed.
This also will provide for better fuel efficiency.
T - 7

TRIMMING YOUR BOAT

A. Trim Tabs
Trim tabs are used to add lift to the boat's stern, thereby
changing the boat's attitude (see Figure T2). This lift
can help the boat get on plane faster and remain on plane
at slower speeds than if no tabs were used. Used inde-
pendently, tabs can also correct listing conditions caused
by crosswinds, unbalanced loading and quartering seas.
Trimming your boat properly involves two separate pro-
cedures, trimming or tilting the lower unit and setting the

trim tabs.

When you are sitting dead in the water, your drive should
be down and the trim tab switches are in the BOW UP
position. Accelerate until you get onto plane. At this
Freedom™/Horizon™ Owner's Manual
point your boat will be plowing through the water with
the bow down too far. Trim the lower unit up slightly
until the bow comes up. If you trim the lower unit out
too far, your boat will porpoise or the propeller will cavi-
tate, and the bow will slam up and down on the water.
Your boat is trimmed correctly when it is just short of
porpoising or propeller cavitation, under ideal running
conditions.
Trim your boat to compensate for seas, winds, or un-
even loads.
Figure T2: Trimming the Boat with Trim Tabs
Head Seas Trim drives in more than usual.
Use tabs to keep bow down
and go at a slower speed.
Following Seas To prevent taking seawater over
the bow, trim drives out and
keep tabs up to keep bow up.
Listing Due to Use tabs independently to
Quartering Seas, adjust for list. If listing to star-
Beam Wind, or board, press port bow down
Uneven Load switch. If listing to port, press
starboard bow down switch.
Section T
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