Trim Tab Failure

[pease]

We have a R27 purchased new in February 2011; we have been very happy with her. Today when we accelerated to a speed requiring trim tab adjusting we found that the port one was not functioning. When we returned to the dock we found that the tab was hanging from the (actuating) cylinder; i.e. was connected to the hull elsewhere. There was no sign of a hinge or other mounting hardware on the hull. Has anyone else experienced this failure?

 

[sidetrack]

I had a trim tab failure this past spring. Bennet replied to an email stating that they would honor their Warrantee but after obtaining my address they never contacted me again. I have not recieved any $ or a new trim tab.

 

[knotflying]

Are the holes in the hull where the hinge is supposed to be? Sounds like the hinge demo united from the hull and then slipped off the tab.

 

[ronnieg]

please contact us at the factory and we will work with you in getting these tab issues fixed.

Ronnie Gonzales
ronniegonzales@cutwaterboats.com
425-220-3932

 

[Levitation]

Just to throw another log on the fire, my tabs have significant rust oozing from behind the plate screwed against the hull and from around the mounting screws.
I'm considering taking them off to see what is going on.
And this is on a boat that has spent 99% of it's life up on the trailer.

 

[Dale777]

Just to throw another log on the fire, my tabs have significant rust oozing from behind the plate screwed against the hull and from around the mounting screws.
I'm considering taking them off to see what is going on.
And this is on a boat that has spent 99% of it's life up on the trailer.

Denny,

The trim tabs on my 2012 R27 have the same "... significant rust oozing from behind the plate screwed against the hull and from around the mounting screws." that you noted. I reported this problem in May 2012, with photos, to Marc Grove at Wefings Marine where I bought my R27. He assigned the problem to Dominic Hebert who reported it to Bennett. The reply was as follows:

"Mr. Dale, I have spoke with Bennett and unfortunately they are not going to send free tabs because they do not cover electrolysis but they are willing to sell you tabs at 30% off list price. I sent the picture to them that you sent to Marc. The gentleman I spoke with is Mike Thorpe. He said "as I stated in our conversation earlier, electrolysis is not covered by our warranty. The trim tabs do not look like they are too far gone, just the screws. These will have to be removed and replaced either way. Judging by the picture, it looks like he could replace the screws, clean up the tabs, add a zinc and bottom paint them. There is obviously an some type of issue causing the excessive electrolysis that will need to be resolved too. If the tabs had been anode protected and painted as per our recommendations this would not have occurred."

Please let me know what you would like to do."

By the way, I never asked for free replacement tabs. I simply asked for a resolution. Obviously, Bennett concluded from the photos that the problem was excessive electrolysis. I scraped/sanded as much of the rust as possible, replaced a couple of screws that had broken heads, installed anodes, and painted the tabs with Velox Plus. We'll see how long the tabs last before falling off.

If Bennett recommends "...If the tabs had been anode protected and painted as per our recommendations this would not have occurred.", then I would think Ranger Tugs or Wefings Marine should have done that at the outset before the boat ever hit the water.