Best addition to a 2320 has been, auto trim tabs

[kalani3175]

I have a 2021 2320 and I hated the way my Parker rode from day one almost sold it due to the horrible ride. I did some research and found most people felt the same way. I decided that I could fix it. After all the adds I made there was one single stand out fix. The auto trim tabs by Lenco is the best 1000.00 you can spend on the handling of a Parker. I can say that because I did tried just about everything else. When I bought the boat it was a level 1 helm master with hydraulic steering and since then I have taken it to a level three. Which is well worth the money. However that did not help the ride just made it easier to focus on everything else. Once I finally got the auto trim tabs installed and programmed properly I can now enjoy all the things I added prior. I will plan to add additional threads as soon as I finish my current project which is a tower with second station and the new garmin digital switch. I will get in to more details as soon as I see how this is received. I have attached a couple pictures of the current set up.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Looks like a real nice boat. I have an older 2320sl. I am not familiar with auto trim tabs, how do they work?

 

[kalani3175]

Looks like a real nice boat. I have an older 2320sl. I am not familiar with auto trim tabs, how do they work?

If you have lenco electric tabs it’s a plug and play add on you will need to have a heading sensor and a gps antenna. If you have the Yamaha autopilot you should already have everything you need. The system checks your speed, pitch and roll, rpm, 30 times a sec and keeps and maintains your idea plane at any speed. It makes adjustments way faster than you can. I can’t say enough about how much of a difference it makes on the 2320.

 

[Postal719]

The permatrims and 4 blade props went a long way for me.

 

[Jason Currier]

The permatrims and 4 blade props went a long way for me.

Does the Permatrim make that big a difference? I have been interested in those. Does it only help the "ride" or do you actually see better fuel economy as well?

 

[Postal719]

The boat has not been being used a ton due to maintenance and the new auto pilot install. Now it's getting a tower. But I've run it a few times. Seems like the economy increased a bit. Maybe 0.4 mpg at cruising speed. It's tough to tell though because the longest run we have done was in terrible conditions. Also, we did props at the same time, so I don't know how much of a difference each component made. I will say this, it is a game changer for ride. With a full load of ice and people it planes almost instantly and the bow is way down. Almost no need for tabs. If I were to buy another Parker, I'd do it again ASAP.

 

[Bodick93]

Does the Permatrim make that big a difference? I have been interested in those. Does it only help the "ride" or do you actually see better fuel economy as well?

Permatrims make the boat more responsive to engine trim. Kind of like adding a third, more effective trim tab.
I have a 2320, 17" Rev 4, Permatrim and 18" trim tabs. I also raised my motor. If I were to do it again, I would do 18" tab blade swap first, followed by prop and engine raise, with permatrim last if at all. 4.2l 300.

 

[Bodick93]

Sorry Op. Back to auto tabs.

 

[Kadman]

We have a 2520 XLD with twin 150 Yamaha Outboards. The Permatrims made a huge difference in the quality of the ride for our Parker. We get up on plane faster, the ride is much smoother and we have improved our fuel economy. It makes a huge improvement with our ride in the afternoon chop going and coming from the Channel Islands here in California. We typically run a heavy boat with 4 Divers, 12 tanks, weight belts and ice.

 

[pelagic2530]

I’m curious as to how the auto tabs would affect my autopilot. I’ve got the Simrad NAC-2 with Virtual Rudder Feedback rather than a rudder position indicator. So it constantly assesses the rate of turn and heading holding performance of the boat and makes engine corrections to maintain course. I notice that if I make a change to the tabs, or if people are moving things around (full coolers, big guys, etc.) it throws the VRF off for a second and it has to readjust. I wonder if the auto tabs would either 1) keep it steady enough where it won’t need to correct or 2) be constantly changing and messing it up so that it’s always trying to counter the tab input.

 

[kalani3175]

Does the Permatrim make that big a difference? I have been interested in those. Does it only help the "ride" or do you actually see better fuel economy as well?

I used the lenco auto trim tabs But to answer your question the auto trim tabs changed the boat handling and the difference is night and day. My fuel economy has almost doubled but I’m not sure it was all the tabs. Since I added the Yamaha auto pilot as well. I am using a level three helm master system. Throttle, swift and steering by wire.

 

[kalani3175]

Oh yes the digital switch add is pretty great I can turn on anything with an iPad or my phone and of course from the chart plotter. Also I was about to buy a new mfd for the tower but now with active captain I can just use an iPad with full control of my boat and all my switches

 

[Bodick93]

I thought you may have been exaggerating a bit, but a tower with autotabs truly would be effective!
As far as doubling your fuel economy, you are seeing 4-6 mpg....?
Light as possible, trimmed to perfection on slightly choppy water I barely see 3.0 mpg.

 

[kalani3175]

Before the upgrade at 4K rpm I was getting 1.2 1.4 mpg now same conditions uphill 1.9 to 2.3mpg down hill seeing 3’s on a single 300 hp Yamaha

 

[Bodick93]

Before the upgrade at 4K rpm I was getting 1.2 1.4 mpg now same conditions uphill 1.9 to 2.3mpg down hill seeing 3’s on a single 300 hp Yamaha

Oh wow. Your tabs were slammed causing a ton of drag I guess? Anyway, it sounds like a GREAT system.

 

[SharkBait]

How hard was the install. I don’t have a heading sensor or external gps sensor you said both are required.