TAPS 21

[UNSTUCK]

I'm starting the build of my surf system and thought you guys may like to follow along. I hope to have this done in the next few weeks and then maybe take the boat with us to PHX over Christmas if the weather looks nice.

Anyways, here is the progress so far:

I got it drawn up, as kind of a rough draft. This is loosely based on the measurements of a 2016 RZX. A 2015 Z3 had the same tabs as well. I guessed on the angles, but they are close.

TAPS21 4.jpg

It helps to have a big printer to print off 1:1 drawings. I'll take these templates home tonight and see what they look like on the 21v.

TAPS21 (1).jpg


TAPS21 (2).jpg


TAPS21 (3).jpg

I'll modify the drawing a bit with rounded corners and bolt holes for the hinge, along with any fitment changes I'll need to make. In the mean time I'll be ordering the Lenco actuators and controller tonight. I'm having a bit of trouble finding piano hinge that I want to use. So far no one local has 1/4" pin hinge yet. I might have to order that in as well.

The actuators:
http://www.wholesalemarine.com/lenco...FYRFaQodHGkAiQ

The control switch:
http://www.wholesalemarine.com/lenco...retractor.html

I'm also looking into how to take the remote controlled "trolling tabs" Lenco has and make that function work out on the surf board. Long shot, but it would be cool.
Lastly I'm going to email Hydrophase to see if they can build me an On-Off lead to go in the switch control box. I'd like it to put the tabs all the up under 9mph and then again over 15mph. It would be a sweet feature. Again, no idea if it can happen.

More to come.

[SKSailboatshop]

let me know if you need any measurements of a 16' RZR with taps 3. Looks like a cool project, were actually going to retro fit a 15' Z1 with taps 3 then just update the system to have taps 3.

[Bryan]

How do you plan to attach these to the hull? Im assuming some sort of stainless backing plate with thru bolts? What if you just threaded the holes in the backing plate and used some locktite? Or maybe weld some nyloc nuts onto the plate? That way in the future if you ever wanna check thightness you dont have to pull the floor up to put a wrench on the back side....

[UNSTUCK]

Yeah, I'd love to know the overall length of the tab from the transom to the end where it bends down 90*. Also the width of the tab right at that 90* bend. Just wondering if it is the same size as the tabs on the boats I measured.

[UNSTUCK]

There are a few install videos that Lenco put out on trim tab install. I'll find one here in a minute. But just 1-1 1/2" screws. Drill a pilot hole just deep enough but not all the way through. Fill the hole with sealant then run your screws in.

[Bryan]

Well that was my first thought, but I wasn't sure how thick the glass was in this area of the transom or how strong it would be against those forces... I guess they're in the business of installing tabs though...

[UNSTUCK]

https://youtu.be/cV2BKm1s0iQ

Here's an install video. Pretty straight forward.

[UNSTUCK]

So I mocked up my template to see what it would look like. I basically have two options for mounting.

The first option puts the tab above the spray pocket. This put the tab all the way to the outside of the hull. I would guess that this would offer the greatest effect of the system. The downsides are that I would need to modify the mount as it crosses over the spray pocket just a bit. You can see that in the second picture. I don't want the mount to be inside the pocket and always be dragging through the water. It also mounts the tab up quite a bit over the edge of the bottom of the transom. This will cause the tab to loose some of its effectiveness, again just a guess. The last problem is that I would have to figure out a new trailer to boat strap position as the tab blocks where the strap would be.


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The second option is to mount it further inboard. All around this is easier to do and provides more room for the actuators and doesn't interfere with anything. The concern would be how much loss of effectiveness would I get? Someone said in the other thread that a boat had the wavemakers mounted inboard 7 inches. And that didn't seen to cause a problem. The RZX I modeled has them mounted inboard 2-3 inches. I'm not sure what to think, but I'm leaning towards this for ease of mounting.

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I guess a third option would be to mount the transom bracket in the inboard position and then build a new tab that mounts to it, but comes way outside to the edge of the hull. That wouldn't be hard to do, and will avoid the spray pocket, but mess up the strap.


In the mean time, I struck out on the remote set up from Lenco. They no longer make that setup. And Hydrophase as no way of adapting an on/off switch to help me raise and lower the tabs at low or high speeds. I didn't care too much about the remote capability, but I really want the tabs to raise automatically so I am continuing to pursue that. It just doesn't seem that complex of a system, but that is way out of my area of expertise (if I even have one), so who knows. And now it looks like my car project will be coming back to me sooner than I thought, so I might have to put this on hold for a month or so while I jump back on the car.

[Captainkurk72]

I am glad to see someone taking on this project. A possible solution to your controls issue is using a Raspberry Pi computer. I was going to make one with a small touch screen and use for stereo control and gopro screen (via wifi). If a 10 year old can build and control a robot using these I am sure we can control two actuators. You have motivated me to buy one and start figuring this out. The only challenge (for me) is the GUI interface development. Maybe a TO has experience in this and can share.

https://www.adafruit.com/raspberrypi

[UNSTUCK]

Computer programing stuff is over my head. I feel about computers the way most people feel about their cars. I just want to turn it on and have it work. Funny though, I ran across the adafruit forum today and asked a question. They have a few interesting GPS tools. Maybe one of them can do what I (we) need.

[culrich77]

Unstuck I would love to see this in person!! I want to do the same to my boat but I feel about boats like you do computers, I just want it to turn on and run, ha!

[UNSTUCK]

Well, I wish there was more to see at this point, but by spring I hope to have a nice system in place. The more research I do, the more excited I get about the possibilities that are out there. Stay tuned.

[Ewok]

Have you thought about doing a NSS style tab system? You can cut the tab to follow the outline of the hull including the spray pockets. It's a Volvo trim tab system and you can mount it at an angle to deploy as far as you need.

[Captainkurk72]

Here is probably one of the best DIY NSS systems I have seen yet.
My 220 Nautique home/factory made NSS
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=800079



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[UNSTUCK]

Here's a generalization: a surf boat needs to drag something in the water to get a nice unlisted wave. The more I research the more I understand it doesn't matter what is being drug back there. Just drag something. The different boat makers know they need something so they come up with something that hasn't been done yet so they won't get sued. After that it is up to marketing to sell the design. I'm willing to bet the design of the surf system is much more about a new style that is sue free than actually scientifically making something that will produce a killer wave with a specific hull. Mostly because at this point there is something like that.
In short I believe any system will produce a better wave than what I have now. I choose a tige system because it seems easy to build and I wanted to keep it in the family.