Smart tabs on a 182 Bryant???? Anyone???

[grambo72]

Has anyone installed tabs on a Bryant? Looking for suggestions of where to mount them and if they actually help these boats. 1998 182 Limited. Just got the thing and it is a bear to drive. Had a hydrofoil on it and had sever list to the left, so bad rub rail was in the water. Took the hydrofoil off and this sucker wont plane, seems very unstable and still wants to list to either side. Ordered smart tabs in hopes it would cure my issues, just dont know about mounting to this boat as the stern is no where near flat. Hopefully picture of stern attached.

 

[grambo72]

[No message]

 

[89retta]

Just email them including the pic. They will respond and tell you where the best mounting location should be.

 

[Fed]

I'd be wondering why it had a counter rotating prop and if that would cause any problems.

 

[b.gagnon]

It looks like a std rotation to me....
The boat should not be a bear to drive! You must have some major issues with the hull or setup that is causing the issues that you are seeing. Tabs will only mask the problem.

 

[Fed]

The bloody pictures are mirror images... LOL!

 

[grambo72]

It looks like a std rotation to me....
The boat should not be a bear to drive! You must have some major issues with the hull or setup that is causing the issues that you are seeing. Tabs will only mask the problem.

Sorry, new to boating please explain. Original picture was flipped, sorry the second was mirror. I hust wanted people to see the stern.

 

[Fed]

Fit a trim tab anode in place of the flat one you have now, turn the trailing edge a few degrees to the Starboard & test.
Make small adjustments to the new trim tab until you get it right.

 

[Maclin]

With the extended planing surface it should not need tabs. As for planing, Bryant hulls have a long running surface. I had to get used to that, it does not pop up on plane like some boats do, Not like climbing over a hump, more like walking up a ramp by way of comparison. There is more boat in the water while planing than you may be used to. The shorter the boat the more this is magnified regarding handling.

Your 1998 model looks different than mine, yours has sharper chines and corners at the stern, Mine is round the the stern edges, the chines do not seem as sharp, so the rest of this may not be apples to apples.

I know mine cannot take a lot of trim before the prop will blow out. By the gauge, right at 1/2 is when it will start to blow out. It is also sensitive to trim in turns. If I am at the trimmed out sweet spot and close to top speed and turn the wheel it feels like it will fishtail, have to bring the trim back in closer to 1/4 to turn at speed. I don't really notice the boat being more out of the water after 40 or so, but it must be, can hit a pretty good clip.

On yours, since someone had put a fin on it previously, there may be a problem with the trim, or just interpretation of what it is doing while getting on plane. I trim in all the way then bump out out a couple of clicks then push the throttle to about half maybe more if I have passengers, the boat starts pushing water out of the way then after a couple or 3 seconds the water settles down and it is on plane, speedo indicates about 18-20 usually if I keep the throttle there. Usually don't. If I am trimmed up accidentally of 1/4 or more the prop can blow out just taking off. All of this is with a 21p 2 blade aluminum. I have a 19p aluminum and it accelerates quicker but can overrev.

What prop do you have on it? Pitch, brand model. It may have some issues, and you find you may need to change it out to a known entity while sorting all this out.

Do you have any extra mounted equipment, subs, amps, etc?


mine (2002 188 RB) (prop has been changed since this photo)

 

[Alumarine]

As Maclin says make sure the drive is trimmed all the way in and give it some gas when trying to get on plane.

 

[tonyjh63]

I'm very interested in how this turns out. I bought a '99 Bryant 182 Limited a few years ago, and though I'm not having the issues as bad as the OP is, this boat has always handled a bit different than the other two 18 ft boats I've had in the past. OP, please keep us posted on how those Smart Tabs work...

 

[grambo72]

Sorry guys, I work a strange shift. Just want to say thanks for all the input. Prop on the boat is a Quicksilver 48 19P. Lots of good info Maclin. I will keep you posted, looks like I will try trim tabs and see how they do.

 

[Blind Date]

Fit a trim tab anode in place of the flat one you have now, turn the trailing edge a few degrees to the Starboard & test. Make small adjustments to the new trim tab until you get it right.

Absolutely do not do that. The boat has power steering it is set-up correctly in that regard. Your boat has serious issues and mounting smart tabs is the equivalent of putting a big expensive band aid on to cover them up. Figure out what is wrong(list/poor planing) with the boat first. Because something isn't right. Bryant is a well built/engineered boat and it shouldn't perform like something sold at Walmart.

 

[Maclin]

I forgot to mention the fuel tank is mounted in the bow. One of the claims from Bryant for this is faster planing. Between the extended planing surface at the stern and the bow mounted tank, should not need tabs on your size of boat.

 

[natemeins]

This is great info everyone, thanks. I too am a Bryant owner, a 2007 210 (technically a 200BR but that model apparently didn't exist in 2007, nor did the 210, but it's 21' long with an extended platform and looks identical to the modern 210, you do the math) with a 4.3L TKS merc. I've always noticed she takes a bit longer to get on plane than I would have expected or was used to in this size boat, and when she had the stock 19P 3-blade she'd blow out the prop in a turn when trimmed or not, and didn't really handle all that well anyway, dragging a chine heavily in rough water especially loaded up with 6 or more folks. Most Bryant owners will tell you they switched to a stainless 4-blade Evo prop and their boat became a completely different animal- it handled like it should. I planned to add a tower and wakeboard behind mine so I opted for the Mercury High-Five (actually it's the Quicksilver QST-5, more or less the identical prop) 5-blade 17P stainless prop, which was designed with V6's in mind. I too noticed a remarkable improvement of handling and maneuverability. I can now take significantly sharp turns without blowing out the prop. I do have to trim down a bit to do so but I think that's expected. At best cruise (26mph) before installing the tower I could trip up to the 1/4 mark, 1/2 mark was/is full trim and only reserved for WOT and smooth water. Now with the tower installed, at best cruise any more than 1/8 trim and she begins to porpoise and I also noticed a slightly longer time to plane. I was always disappointed with the small amount of hull I could get out of the water at best trim but knowing now that this hull just has a long plane hull I can live with it. I guess this is expected considering I added approx. 80lbs to the aft end of the boat with the tower. Unfortunately she still wants to drag the chines in rough water especially loaded up but I'm thinking this may just be the nature of the hull design and I just need to trim or move the load around to get her to to stay level.
All this to say I too have been considering SmartTabs to help with the listing at cruise in rough water, improve holeshot, and just help her get on plane faster. I've used SmartTabs on a smaller boat I previously owned and they were the real deal! A boat this size I'm a bit more reserved to try them just yet. So I'm curious to see how they affect your 182. Keep us updated!

 

[grambo72]

Just an update, I ordered a set of trim tabs but never put them on. The wife was super uncomfortable in this boat so we actually sold it last night. I was honest with the guy but he was just going to resell it. I hope he's honest with the next people. Thanks for your help guys

 

[tonyjh63]

Argh! I was hoping to finally get a real-life result and opinion about the efficacy of Smart Tabs on a smaller Bryant (specially since I have the same model of Bryant). People who try them on other boats say they're the cat's meow, but others say they're completely unnecessary and useless on a Bryant (something about a Bryan'ts "longer running surface"?).

 

[Maclin]

Tony, join up (if you have not already) and post over on bryantboatowners.com, I have seen some threads there on the subject.