96TL
Well-known member
I finally got around to doing my trim tab upgrade this weekend. It was definitely not the easiest thing to do, but it wasn’t too bad. My boat yard blocked up my boat very low this year, and it was very uncomfortable working under the swim platform. I hit my head on it about 99,839,153 times!!!
First, I removed the old tabs. The screws fought with me a little bit. Some came off with little effort, others were a bear. There were two or three in particular that were so difficult to get out I had to take a break in between cranks! Out of 16 screws, only one broke. Not too bad I guess. It broke about 1/4” deep inside the glass, maybe a little deeper. I decided to leave it inside instead of causing more damage trying to remove it. Thankfully, I didn’t need to re-use that particular hole.
Once I got all the other screws out, I began removing the tabs. I was able to lift a corner with a putty knife, and then pried the rest off with a flathead screwdriver. No damage to the gelcoat at all. Surprisingly, there was VERY little caulk under them, but I believe it was 5200. There were plenty of rust stains though. Despite the minimal amount of caulk, the holes all appeared to be solid and sound. My boat has been out of the water for over 4 months though, so any residual water MAY have dried up already.
I cleaned up the whole area with some acetone and gave it a light sanding.
The center hole is the same on both sets of tabs. So I bolted on the new tab using just the center screw, mounted the actuator, lined it all up, marked the new holes, removed the tab, and finally drilled them out. I over-sized the new screw holes so I could make epoxy plugs for the new screws, just to further protect the core. The pencil markings are for the new holes, just to make it easier for me to keep track. The old screws were drilled out slightly larger to clean up the hole and ensure the epoxy would soak up well.
I then filled all 36 holes with West System epoxy. First I injected straight epoxy into each hole, then filled them with thickened epoxy and covered with a piece of blue tape. I also epoxy-ed right over the hole with the broken screw. The epoxy there is at least 1/4" thick. It will also be covered in 5200 and the new tab. I don’t think it will ever be an issue.
The epoxy was fully cured the next day. I drilled out the screw holes for the new tabs into the epoxy plugs, and mounted the tabs with 5200. Some 5200 oozed into the hinges. I wasn’t expecting that! I didn’t have a chance to go to the boat yard yesterday and check them out. I hope it doesn’t restrict any movement, but I really doubt it will. I cleaned up all the excess 5200 with some acetone, and did my best to clean up the hinges.
And here’s a pic of the old tabs sitting on top of the new ones. There should definitely be an improvement.
This weekend I will apply the Petit Underwater primer and give them the first coat of ablative paint. I can’t wait to try these along with my new 4-blade Powertech prop. It should feel like a different boat. I will be sure to post my results once I splash.
Thanks for reading!
Dom
First, I removed the old tabs. The screws fought with me a little bit. Some came off with little effort, others were a bear. There were two or three in particular that were so difficult to get out I had to take a break in between cranks! Out of 16 screws, only one broke. Not too bad I guess. It broke about 1/4” deep inside the glass, maybe a little deeper. I decided to leave it inside instead of causing more damage trying to remove it. Thankfully, I didn’t need to re-use that particular hole.
Once I got all the other screws out, I began removing the tabs. I was able to lift a corner with a putty knife, and then pried the rest off with a flathead screwdriver. No damage to the gelcoat at all. Surprisingly, there was VERY little caulk under them, but I believe it was 5200. There were plenty of rust stains though. Despite the minimal amount of caulk, the holes all appeared to be solid and sound. My boat has been out of the water for over 4 months though, so any residual water MAY have dried up already.
I cleaned up the whole area with some acetone and gave it a light sanding.
The center hole is the same on both sets of tabs. So I bolted on the new tab using just the center screw, mounted the actuator, lined it all up, marked the new holes, removed the tab, and finally drilled them out. I over-sized the new screw holes so I could make epoxy plugs for the new screws, just to further protect the core. The pencil markings are for the new holes, just to make it easier for me to keep track. The old screws were drilled out slightly larger to clean up the hole and ensure the epoxy would soak up well.
I then filled all 36 holes with West System epoxy. First I injected straight epoxy into each hole, then filled them with thickened epoxy and covered with a piece of blue tape. I also epoxy-ed right over the hole with the broken screw. The epoxy there is at least 1/4" thick. It will also be covered in 5200 and the new tab. I don’t think it will ever be an issue.
The epoxy was fully cured the next day. I drilled out the screw holes for the new tabs into the epoxy plugs, and mounted the tabs with 5200. Some 5200 oozed into the hinges. I wasn’t expecting that! I didn’t have a chance to go to the boat yard yesterday and check them out. I hope it doesn’t restrict any movement, but I really doubt it will. I cleaned up all the excess 5200 with some acetone, and did my best to clean up the hinges.
And here’s a pic of the old tabs sitting on top of the new ones. There should definitely be an improvement.
This weekend I will apply the Petit Underwater primer and give them the first coat of ablative paint. I can’t wait to try these along with my new 4-blade Powertech prop. It should feel like a different boat. I will be sure to post my results once I splash.
Thanks for reading!
Dom
