Permatrim

[rwp48]

Seeing the picture of Shawnee's transom with a glimpse of his motor reminded me that I needed to ask a question about adding a Permatrim.
My boat is hiding from the snow in a barn up in Maine. It's a 2520XL with a 250hp 4-stroke on a bracket. The local Yammi dealer has serviced and winterized it and will be splashing it in May. One of the items on their work list is to raise the motor on the bracket. The steering feels a bit heavy to me. You can't see the cavitation plate at any speed. The mechanic looked at it and said that he thinks it should come up one hole. I asked about going up two holes but they are concerned about cavitation. Hence my question about adding a Permatrim. Unfortunately launching and relaunching is an ordeal. I don't have a truck or trailer. No forklifts here. They have to take the boat to a ramp on a Brownell trailer to launch or move it to the yard and unload it from the Brownell to work on it. So it winds up costing a couple hundred bucks every time we go through the exercise.

I'm inclined to,follow their recommendation of raising the motor one hole. What will Permatrim do for me?

 

[shawnee83]

Randy, you didn't mention what your current hole was? Anyway, given your situation, I wouldn't raise any higher than 1 hole from the top or highest setting. This should provide you with a good proof of concept and after a season with it you can raise it the extra hole next year if you feel it's needed. Also, if you are going to instal a Permatrim that is going to provide some extra lift so 1 hole from the top is a good option, IMO.
The Permatrim will make your boat have less bow rise and quicker to plane out of the hole. It will also allow you to hold plane at a slower speed. This is really nice heading into a head sea chop and being able to deploy tabs along with the assistance of a Permatrim and bury the prow of the bow while staying on plane. My 2120 liked to porpose at high speed and corresponding trim, raising the motor and the Permatrim took care of that. I also added the bigger tabs too. The Permatrim was one of the best mods I have done, IMO.
Is your 2520 the mod V or Deep V?

 

[rwp48]

It's the modified V.
I seem to recall that it's presently on the third hole so going up one and adding the Permatrim should bring me closer to the sweet spot.
Thanks!

 

[shawnee83]

Sounds like a good plan. Kevin (Megabyte) has your type of hull (no Permatrim) I believe and he has his 1 hole from the top I think? He would be better to elaborate on this for you. I'm sure he will chime in when he reads your post.

 

[Jersey Jim]

I really miss mine that I had on the 1801. Below is a link to the old Permatrim thread, with pics.


viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4569&hilit=hydrofoil

 

[shawnee83]

Jim, are you going to add one to your 2120?

 

[grouperjim]

Highly recommended. The first mod I do to all my Parkers. I would not own/run a Parker without a perma. Just finished putting 2 permas on the new 2801. Completely tames the bow. Zero bow rise now on take off with no need for trim tabs at all. No drag/fuel economy hit from tabs with tabs used only to level boat side to side. Permas move the pitch axis aft which makes the hull ride longer.......more like a 30 footer in my case.

For $160 a pop it's the cheapest 2 feet of boat length/hull planing surface performance enhancement you'll ever buy. lol

FWIW I'll also add that the deeper your A/V plate/perma, the more effect it will have on raising the stern. Raise the motor and the perma will still raise the stern but not as much. A positive outcome either way......tune it the way you prefer.

 

[eyedoc]

I second GrouperJim's and Shawnee's comments on Permatrim. I added to my 2510 XLD with twin 150's 2 years ago and never looked back. They change the attitude of the boat; I feel like I have much more control, lowers the bow, and allows me to control the boats performance with just a little engine adjustment. Like Jim said, I only use the tabs for side to side tuning.