Extending the TAPS Plate Bracket

[houstonshark]

I really want to try and get a little more out of the TAPS plate on my boat. I think if I can get it lower it will really help my boat plane out better. I don't have pics of my plate but found a couple online of Ragboy's Z3 and RZ2.

Could some of you engineer types help me figure out the best way to do this where it won't put any more stress on the existing bracket?

After looking at it, to me, the best way seems to be via a spacer between the plate and mounting bracket. This would require drilling out the rivits and installing a spacer between the bracket and plate. The only issue I see is that I would have to use nuts and bolts to put it back together. I'd want to put the head of the bolt on the bottom so I would worry that the nuts up top would get in the way of reattaching the actuator.

Another idea I had was to install a spacer between the actuator and the bracket and use longer bolts. This doesn't seem like it will lower the plate as much.

The 3rd option would be to use a thin aluminum strip maybe 3" tall, bolt it to the existing bracket and raise the mounting point of the actuator. This would be the easiest solution but I'm afraid it may put too much stress on the mounting bracket.

Thoughts?

[whitlock87]

If all you are doing is lower it into the water deeper (trying to push the bow down) then add a shim to the plate...
On my boat, it would porpoise a little at high speeds, so I added a ¼” shim to where the actuator connects to the taps plate and it fixed my problem.

[Timmy!]

Do you want the plate to be able to go higher or lower?

[chpthril]

Could some of you engineer types help me figure out the best way to do this where it won't put any more stress on the existing bracket?

Im no injunear, but can tell you it cant be done Stick your hand out the window at hiway speed.......now stick your whole arm out. Bingo! The more that plate travels below the water line, the more force is placed on it. Since the plate extends about 10" back off the hull, I do not think its going to take a very thick spacer to get that plate a little deeper in the water, and I think thats all thats needed.

I do not see any issue with using nuts and bolts as long as the bolts are not much longer then needed to get the nylock past the end of the threads.

[houstonshark]

Mike, I know it's going to put more stress on the whole plate, I just didn't want to do it in such a way that it puts a ton more stress on the mounting bracket causing it to bend or break.

I just want it to be a little lower in the water Timmy, in order to help get out of the hole better and have a more usable range on the plate. Right now, 2 is the max I can use it on whether surfing or wakeboarding.

[duffymahoney]

Is this while weighted for wakeboarding and surfing? I would say try and add bow weight. Maybe get 200#'s of lead or leadwakes. I run 300# of lead in the bow in the nose plus 400 each side of the bow while wakeboarding.

[houstonshark]

Is this while weighted for wakeboarding and surfing? I would say try and add bow weight. Maybe get 200#'s of lead or leadwakes. I run 300# of lead in the bow in the nose plus 400 each side of the bow while wakeboarding.

I already have around 600lbs in the bow plus the factory 400lb sac. For some reason, TAPS is nearly worthless on my boat above 2 so I was hoping to try and get a little more usable range plus help it to plane out better.

I'm going to put a spacer between the bracket and plate and see how that works.

[ragboy]

OK, so here is the thing, we have 176 hours on the Z3 now and have learned a lot. No joke, this hull is the best hull we have seen for wakesurfing. RJ wants to bear its children, the kid loves it intensely and he has ridden behind more boats that many, and a lot of various boats this year, all world class.

I don't think the folding of the tip down makes that much of a difference, maybe some. We have done 2 other things that I think make a TON of difference and are amazing. I am buried right now with several things, but will post on those things in the next couple of days with pics and video. The video is amazing, showing the amount of adjustability we have on both sides. We go from steeper than RZ4 to shallower than supreme all while maintaining more push than both, with a push of a button. We have been testing with various riders and conditions. Sorry, I wouldn't have teased but someone sent me this thread so I wanted to let you know I plan to respond, and have some cool stuff. I will have RJ give his input in his own words also.

[talltigeguy]

I am sure it will make a huge difference when wakeboarding. If you look at that tab, it is clearly way out of the water when up and several clicks down still won't get it down.

It is interesting that the tab shown there is different from the tab that was on my 2005. I don't recall the alluminum piece being stuck to the main tab. That made it easier just to put a spacer on the bottom of the trim tab and make the screw heads longer. I hope to dig up a few pics if I can find them.

Although for surfing, Ragboy thinks it might not make so much difference, for cruising and wakeboarding, getting the TAPS right is HUGE.

[houstonshark]

Thanks Robert! I really look forward to hearing about your findings. Are you saying I should hold off on my mod of the bracket?

[topaz surfer]

I just finished fabing up my spacer for my taps plate and am planing on testing it out this weekend. I will let you know how it works.

[Timmy!]

What about drilling new holes for the plate and moving the mounting point back? The original holes won't make much of a difference.

[houstonshark]

I bought some .5" and some 1" aluminum spacers to use for testing. These will go between the plate and the mounting bracket. Once I figure out which one works best, I'll prob use some sort of solid block instead of 4 bolts and 4 spacers.

Here's the .5". Chances are, I'll probably want .75" which I didn't buy!



I saw how Robert did it and that's definitely the quickest and easiest way to do it but I'm afraid it will put way too much stress on the rivits that mount the bracket to the plate. I would think it would be much easier to bend that bracket with the mounting point being so high, especially since I want to use the lower position to help get from 0-23mph faster.

[houstonshark]

I had too many projects to do today so I took a short cut and drilled holes higher up in the bracket like Ragboy did. I also added .5" rubber spacers between the actuator and the bracket in order to give it a little more travel. I'll upload some pics later tonight and report back. I should have measured the position from the TAPS plate to the ground before and after but I forgot. I'll do that when I pull the boat out tomorrow. It looks like I gained at least .75" if not more.

[houstonshark]

Well, we are stopped, waiting for a rain shower to pass so I thought I would post some pictures. The plate at the lower position worked great! The boat now gets out of the hole much better and I have a lot better range of use with it. Haven't surfed yet but prob will in a little bit.

Here are some pics:







Here it is at 1:


Here is where it was at 1, prior to the mod. I thought the camera position was the same but clearly it was not.