Lenco Autoglide (Autopilot for trim tabs).

[baz]

Feedback…….with those that have installed the Lenco Auto Glide trim tab controls on there R23/25 or R27 I’d like to ask about your on the water experiences/satisfaction or disappointments with this product. I’m gauging whether this would be beneficial to have on our ordered R25OB.

Jim F

I absolutely agree with Jim's enquiry, as I'm also interested in forum members' experiences with this auto trimming system for the paining hull RT boat models. Thanks... 🙂

 

[Brian 27 OB]

Can’t speak to the 23 or 25. But my 27 so stern heavy the stock Lenco tabs are 50% as effective as I would like them to be. With the boat this fast I understand why ranger wouldn’t want to put larger tabs on it without having gps interface from the factory. A lot of builders haven’t figured out that boaters use the tabs to bring the bow down and not just for leveling out the boat when a fat mother-in-law moves from one side to the other. The autoglide does make the tabs automatically perform 50% as good as I’d like, it occasionally gets confused and will drop one tab unexpectedly when not needed. If the tabs on the 23 or 25 are functioning really well then the autoglide would certainly be a great upgrade. Otherwise maybe look at Humpfree or Zipwake for a better experience.

 

[baz]

Can’t speak to the 23 or 25. But my 27 so stern heavy the stock Lenco tabs are 50% as effective as I would like them to be. With the boat this fast I understand why ranger wouldn’t want to put larger tabs on it without having gps interface from the factory. A lot of builders haven’t figured out that boaters use the tabs to bring the bow down and not just for leveling out the boat when a fat mother-in-law moves from one side to the other. The autoglide does make the tabs automatically perform 50% as good as I’d like, it occasionally gets confused and will drop one tab unexpectedly when not needed. If the tabs on the 23 or 25 are functioning really well then the autoglide would certainly be a great upgrade. Otherwise maybe look at Humpfree or Zipwake for a better experience.

Thanks Brian.... Yes, I agree the R27/OB is a little stern heavy with that 600 lb monster of an outboard sticking way out... and more so if there's a kicker motor back there as well. When I had my R27/OB I took care as best I could to only take it out onto the waters with calm weather, little chop and wind. With these conditions going along at 38 mph the momentum and speed pretty much took care of weight moving about in the boat. I found the best approach to minimize rolling was to head as best I could into the swells and wind.... now following seas can be a real bugger dealing with and zig-zagging will partly address the situation and make the ride a bit more comfortable.

 

[Submariner]

Lenco Autoglide with a 4 blade stainless prop and hole shot is about as good as it gets.

I can pop off plane, bob though a big wake, then hammer down on the throttle and I'm back up on plane.
I'm also able to stay on plane at slower speeds, down to around 15kts.

 

[Craigmconrad]

Hello All,

I just ordered the Auto Glide system for my RT23 as a winter project. For the 23, where did you mount the control unit? I understand about removing the fridge for access to the control panel wiring, did you mount the control unit behind the fridge? I am also installing the drop fins at the same time. Has anyone used the auto glide and drop fins together?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

I mounted mine in the forward part of the refrigerator compartment. Enough room to squeeze it in there with about .5” to spare between the control unit and the refrigerator.

You will also need to order the NMEA 2000 connection. I ordered this one to make it easy. Replaced the last connector in the chain with it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQ6BK7X?ps ... ct_details


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Brian98133]

I was going to be ordering the controller this winter, and was planning on using drop fins on the trim tabs, which supposedly makes the tabs much more effective (someone told me adding the drop fins to our 12x12 tabs makes them act like 12x18 tabs?).

I wonder, has anyone done these two mods together? Did it make the tabs (and therefore the auto-control) go from 50% effective to 90+%?

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

I was going to be ordering the controller this winter, and was planning on using drop fins on the trim tabs, which supposedly makes the tabs much more effective (someone told me adding the drop fins to our 12x12 tabs makes them act like 12x18 tabs?).

I wonder, has anyone done these two mods together? Did it make the tabs (and therefore the auto-control) go from 50% effective to 90+%?

I’ve done both. Drop fins are a good addition. Autoglide is a great addition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dbsea]

Does anyone have any experience with the Bennett version of this system (Auto Trim Pro)? My C30-CB has the bennett tabs and this sounds really appealing...

 

[Submariner]

I was going to be ordering the controller this winter, and was planning on using drop fins on the trim tabs, which supposedly makes the tabs much more effective (someone told me adding the drop fins to our 12x12 tabs makes them act like 12x18 tabs?).

I wonder, has anyone done these two mods together? Did it make the tabs (and therefore the auto-control) go from 50% effective to 90+%?

I’ve done both. Drop fins are a good addition. Autoglide is a great addition.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you upgraded to a 4 blade prop on your R23 yet? Hole shot with a 4 blade and the auto glide on an RT27 is amazing. I've thought about doing the drop fins, but I don't know how much benefit I'd actually see from them.

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

I was going to be ordering the controller this winter, and was planning on using drop fins on the trim tabs, which supposedly makes the tabs much more effective (someone told me adding the drop fins to our 12x12 tabs makes them act like 12x18 tabs?).

I wonder, has anyone done these two mods together? Did it make the tabs (and therefore the auto-control) go from 50% effective to 90+%?

I’ve done both. Drop fins are a good addition. Autoglide is a great addition.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you upgraded to a 4 blade prop on your R23 yet? Hole shot with a 4 blade and the auto glide on an RT27 is amazing. I've thought about doing the drop fins, but I don't know how much benefit I'd actually see from them.

We have talked about a 4 blade. It’s on the list, but power improvements are next up. Upgraded the charger already to a 60A in prep for more useable battery capacity. In the final stages of deciding between firefly and LiFePO4.

I would do the drop fins, if I were you. I think you mentioned that one of yours had to run almost fully deployed to keep you level. I think mine are working more efficiently, and it may help you.


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[Submariner]

I would do the drop fins, if I were you. I think you mentioned that one of yours had to run almost fully deployed to keep you level. I think mine are working more efficiently, and it may help you.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Since I put the 4 blade prop on, it seems like the boat is using less of the tabs. It's probably too early yet for me to say definitely one way or the other. I'll pay more attention to this going forward.

I published the take-off videos of both the 3 and 4 blade props with the auto-glide.
https://www.letsgochannelsurfing.com/autoglide

 

[Danation]

Made the Lenco Autoglide upgrade to our Cutwater 32 last week before the holiday weekend. Let's just say getting the old controller out was more of a struggle than getting the new ones in. The factory install left no slack in the wires to the trim tab and the ignition power wire. You can unscrew the old controls by popping out the cupholder. The rest of the job was done from below in the cave under the dinnet. Lots of cutting zip ties to remove the older controller. Once the old controls were out, installation of the new went in easy. Plenty of room to mount the control box on the side of the console up around the cup holders. There is a NEMA 2000 bus for the engines and autopilot right nearby too.

I'm struggling with the initial calibration for "Auto" mode. Typically, the best setup for our boat is engines fully trimmed down with minimal trim tabs adjustment, just for pitch only. I'll get somewhere around 0.9 mgp with this setup. After calibration, it seems to be pushing the bow down significantly, reducing overall fuel economy to around 0.7 mpg. I recalibrated it a couple of times with no significant difference. I ended up just overriding it in "Hold" mode to get back to a better fuel economy. Any insight would be great.

I will say, not having to screw around with adjusting trim tabs every time someone moves or you change course is nice in itself. Worth the upgrade right there.

 

[Submariner]

Made the Lenco Autoglide upgrade to our Cutwater 32 last week before the holiday weekend. Let's just say getting the old controller out was more of a struggle than getting the new ones in. The factory install left no slack in the wires to the trim tab and the ignition power wire. You can unscrew the old controls by popping out the cupholder. The rest of the job was done from below in the cave under the dinnet. Lots of cutting zip ties to remove the older controller. Once the old controls were out, installation of the new went in easy. Plenty of room to mount the control box on the side of the console up around the cup holders. There is a NEMA 2000 bus for the engines and autopilot right nearby too.

I'm struggling with the initial calibration for "Auto" mode. Typically, the best setup for our boat is engines fully trimmed down with minimal trim tabs adjustment, just for pitch only. I'll get somewhere around 0.9 mgp with this setup. After calibration, it seems to be pushing the bow down significantly, reducing overall fuel economy to around 0.7 mpg. I recalibrated it a couple of times with no significant difference. I ended up just overriding it in "Hold" mode to get back to a better fuel economy. Any insight would be great.

I will say, not having to screw around with adjusting trim tabs every time someone moves or you change course is nice in itself. Worth the upgrade right there.

The pitch portion of the calibration was the hardest for me. The instructions state to run the boat in a straight line at cruising speed without using the trim tabs at all, and adjust the engine trim such that the boat starts to porpoise, then back down the engine trim to where it's not actually porpoising, but close. I found that fairly hard to find. Then run the boat in a straight line (I used autopilot on heading hold). Once you find it and start the calibration, it takes 66 seconds for it to complete the calibration. The autoglide adjusts the tabs to figure out the range of motion needed to bring the bow down.

Calm seas was also hard to find to perform the calibration. Slack high tide on a day with little wind is what I had to find.

I will note, that often times when I'm cruising, the autoglide does retract the tabs almost all the way to 0%. It all depends on the sea state, current, wind... speed... Other times I'll be dragging one tab at 85% and the other at 0%.

 

[cfs]

Can you comment on the different models of the Lenco Auto Glide Kits. There are models with and without GPS antenna or network and single and dual actuator trim tab systems. Which one is needed? is the GPS antenna not needed if you are tying it into a NMEA 2000 system? There doesn't seem to be a good overview of all the models on Lenco's site.
Thanks
Chris

 

[sgeary]

I put drop fins on our RT31 when it was on the trailer.
This was about a two hour job.

If you trailer your boat, do the install on the trailer rather than on the hard, as the end of the trailer bunk required a small section of the inside drop fins to be removed.

The effectiveness of the drop fins was noticeable. Before the drop fins, I needed full trim tab at speed. With the drop fins, I am using much less nose down trim to get the same results.

 

[Submariner]

Can you comment on the different models of the Lenco Auto Glide Kits. There are models with and without GPS antenna or network and single and dual actuator trim tab systems. Which one is needed? is the GPS antenna not needed if you are tying it into a NMEA 2000 system? There doesn't seem to be a good overview of all the models on Lenco's site.
Thanks
Chris

All Ranger Tugs that I'm aware of come with a Nema2k network, the engine to N2k module, and GPS that connects into N2k (the Chartplotter has an internal GPS receiver which will relay into the N2k network).

Purchasing the Autoglide would not need N2k nor GPS since the boat should already have those.

You would only need to purchase "Autoglide for a single or dual actuator" (depending on what trim tabs you have installed). The RT27 and smaller are single actuator trim tabs.

The Lenco Autoglide, to function correctly, needs to know the engine RPM, the boat's speed, and the boat's direction. This is why they ask about N2k and GPS.

 

[Submariner]

Can you comment on the different models of the Lenco Auto Glide Kits. There are models with and without GPS antenna or network and single and dual actuator trim tab systems. Which one is needed? is the GPS antenna not needed if you are tying it into a NMEA 2000 system? There doesn't seem to be a good overview of all the models on Lenco's site.
Thanks
Chris

The exact parts list of what I purchased to install the Lenco Autoglide on my RT27-OB is published here, with links back to the manufacture site.

https://www.letsgochannelsurfing.com/autoglide-techtalk

 

[geontemt]

I am having an issue with my newly installed auto glide. I have recalibrated several times and every time it works well unless I have another person on board or it is extra rough out. What is happening is the boat will adjust roll appropriately (but to achieve this 1 trim tab is maxed out) then it adjusts pitch which will make roll inappropriate and the cycle continues. I see it trying to adjust a maxed trim tab repeatedly. I have talked with Lenco and they want me to send the unit back to check it out. I am going to do that, just a lot of work to undo everything. To me it seems like the trims tabs are too small (R-23) otherwise it would work flawlessly. Does anyone have any thought? Either way when it is working correctly it is great!

 

[Submariner]

I am having an issue with my newly installed auto glide. I have recalibrated several times and every time it works well unless I have another person on board or it is extra rough out. What is happening is the boat will adjust roll appropriately (but to achieve this 1 trim tab is maxed out) then it adjusts pitch which will make roll inappropriate and the cycle continues. I see it trying to adjust a maxed trim tab repeatedly. I have talked with Lenco and they want me to send the unit back to check it out. I am going to do that, just a lot of work to undo everything. To me it seems like the trims tabs are too small (R-23) otherwise it would work flawlessly. Does anyone have any thought? Either way when it is working correctly it is great!

For an R23, adding a 4 blade prop may help, assuming of course, that the unit itself isn't faulty.

When I went from a 3 blade to a 4 blade prop on my RT27-OB, I did notice a difference in that the tabs are used less with Autoglide. The extra blade on the prop helps with stern lift, in addition to the autoglide that's using those tabs to lift that stern, to get the bow down and balance the boat. For me, it was common to see the trim tabs in the 90% deployed with the 3 blade (it never stayed at 99%... always less). The 4 blade prop lowered my numbers into the 70 and 80% range. And of course, when I'm cruising fast, 25-30 knots, the trim tabs are either fully retracted or just barely deployed (less than 20%).