Rage 14 Smart Tab SX Installation

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
Henrykjr
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:04 pm

Rage 14 Smart Tab SX Installation

Postby Henrykjr » Sat Nov 24, 2018 5:33 pm

Hey folks I iust thought I would share the performance results for my Smart Tab install on my Rage 14. It seems there is a bit of a cult following on these older boats and information on the web is somewhat limited.

Several months ago I bought my 1993 RAGE 14 that was and still is running the original engine and impeller. So running on what is now a 25-year-old engine is pretty impressive itself.

The only modification done to this boat was a set of old Tempo-Curtis trim tab which performed horribly. I pulled off those trim tabs, filled the holes, and mounted a set of Smart Tabs after speaking to the owner of Nauticus. On a side note it's rare you get such stellar customer service for boat accessory companies like this; these guys are great.

I mounted the smart tabs to the boat, but because I have the swim platform there is not enough space to mount the dampers to the transom. Ultimately I wound up pinning the damper to the bottom of the well supported swim platform. There is only one hole that these will fit in and still work so there is no adjustment for me.

I am very happy with the results and here they are:


The boat was able to plane with two full 6-gallon tanks and both my wife and I sitting on the back bench seat. Combined we weigh 380 lbs. You still cant jam the throttle down without cavitation, but the RAGE 14 comes up on a plane in about the same time with my wife sitting on the bow and 6-gallons in the tank--that's a win.

The oscillation of the bow up and down while on plane was significantly reduced and the boat stopped bouncing in about half the time when riding over wake. Today the lake was choppy and running about 12 t0 18-inches, A vast improvement had been made here.

I took some speed measurements with the GPS: maxed out the boat ran 29-MPH which is nearly the exact factory published specification with a single rider in the boat. To maintain plane with two passengers the slowest boat speed was 17-MPH. This is important because you can suck dry a 6-gallon tank in a hour running this boat wide open. We ran this boat for two hours on less than 5-gallons. That equates to two hours of fun for about $18 in fuel. So the lower planing speed with the tabs really had a positive effect on fuel economy.

Backing up the boat was a little slower but was still not a concern.

Idle speed performance reaped the biggest rewards The molding in the tabs act like a skeg to help the boat track straight, which is huge when passing other boats in narrow canals. Remember: jet boat slide and turn, not turn.

Before moving the boat in sort of a "quick idle" was useless due to bow rise. At slower speeds before the dampers compress they force the nose of the boat down. You can feel this and is what made me the most happy. Why? Fuel consumption once again. Running at lower RPM actually will get you somewhere as opposed to before.

Overall grade: A+ for the smart tabs.

HK

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Dutchman
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Location: Kalamazoo, MI (South Haven)
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Re: Rage 14 Smart Tab SX Installation

Postby Dutchman » Tue Nov 27, 2018 11:35 am

Thanks for the positive info on a Rage and its performance. You didn't mention which engine she has as there were several as I recall.
EJO
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50th edition 2008 Montauk 150, w/60HP Mercury Bigfoot