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Going to get the Tabs

HangOutdoors

Jetboaters Admiral
Messages
7,300
Reaction score
8,415
Points
492
Location
Royal Oak, MI
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2020
Boat Model
AR
Boat Length
21
Just got off the phone with Russ at Lectrotab. Real nice guy. Ordered the 10 x 14's with the SLC-11 controller. Should be here in a week give or take. After getting taken by that guy at the Marina last year, I am finally ready to get these on. I think the Admiral will be happy with change in the chop on the great lakes.

A bit nervous drilling all the holes, but I have read enough on here that I think I can get it done. Any musings or advice on it, send it my way :)
 
Good luck. I’ll be curious to see what kind of a difference it makes.
 
I’m going to have service department at the dealer/marina that I dry stack at put mine on the last week of April. I travel a lot and when I’m home don’t want to eat up what little relaxation time that I have with more projects.
 
I would consider having someone do it for me, but my dealer is booked up for months.

I will be honest, outside of computers and home wiring, when it comes to electrical in cars and boats I am challenged and on uneasy ground.
 
Measure 3 times, drill once. Chamfer the holes with a countersink bit to prevent spider cracks. Just the layer of gelcoat. This also allows more sealant/adhesive to seal the holes. If you are on Lake Michigan, you will love them in the chop and others wakes. Best mod for these boats. They will stop the porposing of the bow. It is not hard, take your time and ask questions. There are plenty of us that have done it.
 
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@Markwest Fantastic write up. Read up to the electrical part. Will definitely be using your guide.
 
I put "smart tabs" on my old I/O. Instead of an electric actuator it had a gas charged cylinder that would deploy them at low speed, then retract at high speed (due to water pressure change on the tabs themselves). Super awesome mod, boat planed so much faster, rode better in general, and I lost very little top speed. I've considered them on the AR190, but haven't really seen the need just yet.

Here's an "after installed" picture.
IMAG0209.jpg

Worst part. Hands down. Was drilling the holes.

Like @zipper said, chamfer the holes as you start them. I did this by running the bit backwards for the first small indention in the gelcoat, then flipping to forward and drilling the hole. I also used tape on the drill bit to mark the depth so that I didn't go too deep. I also covered the entire area with blue tape to keep shavings from spinning in a circle and scratching the gelcoat around the hole.
 
I didn't make a template before drilling; I held the tabs up and marked with a pencil on the tape... Next time I would do the template thing--a solid idea.

As to the electrical: The install is so little electrical it is almost comical. There is much more in the proper positioning of the actuator, proper sealing, proper drilling (all of which is covered well above). When you get to the electrical part you are practically done. Only tricky part on mine was figuring out where to tap into the ignition switch on wire (for the auto retract function). I tapped right at the switch.

Lots of installs were documented on the recent group buy thread. https://jetboaters.net/threads/lectrotab-–-yamaha-group-buy-now-through-oct-2020.30013
 
I would assume that these tabs can be lowered or raised separately right? (From the pic of the controller that option isn’t real clear)
 
I would assume that these tabs can be lowered or raised separately right? (From the pic of the controller that option isn’t real clear)

i have the auto version. Which also supports manual operation. It has 4 buttons up/ down and left/right. By pressing the left/right it allows independent adjustment of each side.

the fifth button in the center is the auto mode which once calibrated keeps the boat in a constant attitude. I found that this drifted after 10 min or so. I would switch to manual, adjust to my liking and then switch back to auto.
 
Nice! Make sure you try them for surfing like the tow boats - I'd be really interested how these impact wave creation by pushing down on a tab on non surf side like the big boys use.
 
Call up Russ directly and tell him what you want, there are several different models. He can walk you through and help you with sizes and controls. Let him know you are from here and he will quote you a cost on your package. He is very helpful.

Russ Williams

russ@lectrotab.com


(804) 368-8428 - office
 
Tabs Came in today, very nicely packaged. Took 4 days and it was UPS Ground. Fantastic experience working with Russ at LectroTab. Putting the drill batteries on the charger and getting ready!

20210319_122051.jpg

20210319_122343.jpg
 
Just ordered my kit! Russ answered the phone and answered all questions I had. Good guy for sure. Orders the heavy duty 9x16s, short actuator and the auto controller.
Also picked up some tools and tape. Just need the 5200 and I’m ready.
He also gave me some info I didn’t see here (maybe I just missed it). He said the GPS inside the unit is supposed to keep the tab from deploying in a turn when in auto mode. Guess I’ll see.
 
You need a handy neighbor to do the drilling...He wouldnt be nearly as nervous to drill a hole in your boat.

My prior neighbor had me cut out a hole for his subwoofer and hole in the dash for a remote stereo in his brand new boat..easy easy..:winkingthumbsup"
 
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