Maristar 210 trim tab

[gregg]

Ok, all you Maristar 210 owners. After much research and a conversation with Mastercraft, I have ordered a Bennett trim tab that will mount between the exhaust ports on my 2002 210. Love the boat, but am tired of the bouncy bow and rough ride in chop. Guess I will be the Guinea Pig and let you know the results. Is on backorder as of now, but should ship next week sometime. Will keep you posted on installation and results.

[prostar205]

Nicely done Greg -

I am very interested in this installation. I have an '02 X30 that I am not very happy with the ski wake. I am hoping that the installation of a trim tab may help smooth out the wake. Let us know what you find out.

[bigmac]

Ok, all you Maristar 210 owners. After much research and a conversation with Mastercraft, I have ordered a Bennett trim tab that will mount between the exhaust ports on my 2002 210. Love the boat, but am tired of the bouncy bow and rough ride in chop. Guess I will be the Guinea Pig and let you know the results. Is on backorder as of now, but should ship next week sometime. Will keep you posted on installation and results.

Thanks for stepping up. I have a buddy with an X10 that complains about his wake on our Thursday morning jaunts. I've been trying to talk him into getting a Bennett X22 (http://overtons.com/modperl/overtons/detail/pdetail2.cgi?r=detail_view&item_num=71185) . He's about 5' 3" and 120 lbs, and isn't edging hard so the wake hits him harder. The other guy I ski with is 6 feet 230 lbs and he barely notices the wake. But...the short guy owns the boat and is an orthopedic surgeon, so I hope to use your experience to convince him. If it works on his too, I'll put one on my 230VRS.

[gregg]

I too am interested in what happens to the ski wake. Bennett claims it will improve and so should the fuel economy. Not sure I buy into the fuel claims and how would you know? Besides with the expense of these boats, who cares. Logic on the other hand would tell you that if you get the bow down, and lift the stern slightly the ski wake could improve. Someone who knows the hull design on these Maristars could probably jump in and answer this better that I. As far as the x-18 tab, it would be too wide for the 210/x10 unless you cut out around the exhaust ports as they measure 14 inches between them. Not sure of the width on the 230, may be wider.

[rick s.]

Would be extremely interested in the results too. It would be nice to reduce the bow-rise (not that it is really a problem) out of the hole.

r



I too am interested in what happens to the ski wake. Bennett claims it will improve and so should the fuel economy. Not sure I buy into the fuel claims and how would you know? Besides with the expense of these boats, who cares. Logic on the other hand would tell you that if you get the bow down, and lift the stern slightly the ski wake could improve. Someone who knows the hull design on these Maristars could probably jump in and answer this better that I. As far as the x-18 tab, it would be too wide for the 210/x10 unless you cut out around the exhaust ports as they measure 14 inches between them. Not sure of the width on the 230, may be wider.

[Jerseydave]

I'm interested in the results, too.

Is bennett the one that MC uses? I thought it was another brand.
(there is one that requires no hydraulic lines, just an electrical connection, can"t remember the name right now.)

If it works well for you, may consider one for my 230VRS.

[Leroy]

Sounds interesting, I also would be interested in 3 performance areas:
1. the wake (would expect worse you're dragging something)
2. rise (much less rise)
3. fuel performance (probably similar, more drag of tab vs less drag of boat)

[rick s.]

I was thinking about this over the weekend and in my somtimes not-so-humble-opinion, the addition of the tab would very likely:

- reduce bow-rise out of the hole
- be very useful for shaping the wake for wakeboarders
- do very little to reduce the wake size at skiing speeds. At wakeboard speeds the tab would not lift the stern that much but would push the bow down into the water. At skiing speeds the tab would push the bow down pretty hard, of course you can adjust the tab angle, but to reduce the wake size you need to get as much boat hull out of the water as possible.

A friend of mine has a Malibu, with the wing on the back (I forget what you call it) that pulls the stern down into the water for wakeboarding. He made a new wing for the boat that lifts the stern instead, and says it helps. I've not been on the boat to verify this.

My 2 cents worth.

[gregg]

I was thinking about this over the weekend and in my somtimes not-so-humble-opinion, the addition of the tab would very likely:

- reduce bow-rise out of the hole
- be very useful for shaping the wake for wakeboarders
- do very little to reduce the wake size at skiing speeds. At wakeboard speeds the tab would not lift the stern that much but would push the bow down into the water. At skiing speeds the tab would push the bow down pretty hard, of course you can adjust the tab angle, but to reduce the wake size you need to get as much boat hull out of the water as possible.

A friend of mine has a Malibu, with the wing on the back (I forget what you call it) that pulls the stern down into the water for wakeboarding. He made a new wing for the boat that lifts the stern instead, and says it helps. I've not been on the boat to verify this.

My 2 cents worth.


I believe what you are talking about is Malibu's wedge, and yes it does pull the stern down to increase wake size to my understanding.
These Mastercrafts (someone correct me if I am wrong) use what is called a water displacement hull design. I still believe if the bow is lowered and the stern is lifted(reverse of what the wedge is doing)the possibility of a softer ski wake may result. I also think for wakeboarding the tab may not be used at all, due to wanting the stern deeper in the water. Right now I am very happy with the wake for boarding and surfing and am not as serious about slalom as my younger days. My main focus is still making the ride softer in choppy water and keeping the bow from bucking out my passengers ( just kidding, not quite that bad). Hope to end all this speculation as soon as it is shipped and can get it installed.