Trim tab importance for Camanos

My starboard trim tab (lenco) is not working. If I can't fix it without hauling the boat out then how important is it to the 31s seakeeping??

Can I wait until winter to fix it? Or is it very intregal to handling? The boat is very new to me....

My Camano doesn't have trim tabs but a previous boat did so I know what they do.


If you run your Camano at 7 knots or less like I do, trim tabs do little if anything so I wouldn't worry about the tabs unless one is stuck down.


If you like to go 10 - 12 knots, the tabs will help to get on or near plane.

While often the problem is with the electric actuator (ram) in a Lenco system, do not overlook a switch or control box problem which could be fixed inside without hauling. Find where the two wires from the actuator come into the boat and directly energize them with 12v. They go up and down by reversing polarity so you can't get it wrong. If you don't hear anything then its most probably the actuator. If you do hear the actuator, check the switch or some systems have a control box in line that sometimes fails

The Camno being a planing hull and not as heavy as trawlers would/could use them but no need at slow speeds. If they are both up ... good. Just forget about them. But if one's down (or both) I'd look into raising them manually w the boat in the water.
The only downside is just drag or the boat not traveling in a straight line. If you have one tab down and pull a dinghy pull it from the opposite side the boat turns to. Just some thoughts.

I bought a 2002 Camano troll, lightly used, in 2004. I added trim tabs about a year later. I'd say there is no rush to repair it as long as, like Nomad Willy posted above, you can get both in the same position. Trim tabs will definitely get you up on plane faster in a Camano, but if you cruise mostly at "trawler speeds" 7 to 8K as I learned to they won't make a lot of difference.
They sure are very well made boats we really enjoyed ours, we covered the Gulf Coast from Houston to Sanibel Is. We sold her in 2008 to a guy in Sweden we just wanted a bigger boat.

If it's the actuator, you can probably change it in the water.
Lenco Marine - Actuators

Thanks so much for the responses guys. I feel better! Yes, currently the inactive tab is in the neutral position (so that's good). There is no sound when the button is pressed but the LED is on. I'll try and diagnose it more this weekend. I'll get the marina to look at it as well. I still haven't even taken my maiden voyage yet! I'm still fixing things and adding upgrades. Hopefully by Friday I'll be done. I just officially became the owner 1 week ago.

Congrats on your acquisition! I am a month into my 2003 Camano and am learning a lot. I have been focused abit on head smells since I spend the night on her most of the time I get down to her. Appreciate the easy access to most everything I have needed to get to. Pumping out was a challenge with the narrow side deck but I managed the two handed part from the cabin window.

Milton, if you are dealing with head smells, you need this book.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Get-Rid-Boat-Odors/dp/1892399784

Although I do not own a Camano, I have big trim tabs on my boat and have found that in beam seas, I can extend the tabs down and they "dampen" the roll just a bit.

HopCar said:

Milton, if you are dealing with head smells, you need this book.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Get-Rid-Boat-Odors/dp/1892399784

Click to expand...

BTW, I was always annoyed at having the book either at home or on the boat and I wanted to look at it when I wasn't where it was. I decided to buy the Kindle Edition and can view it on my Kindle or on my iPad, computer, or Android phone using the free Kindle app.

Well, since I already purchased the book through Amazon, the Kindle version was only about $2.00. It would have been a bargain at any price however.

MiltonP said:

Congrats on your acquisition! I am a month into my 2003 Camano and am learning a lot. I have been focused abit on head smells since I spend the night on her most of the time I get down to her. Appreciate the easy access to most everything I have needed to get to. Pumping out was a challenge with the narrow side deck but I managed the two handed part from the cabin window.

Click to expand...

Yea, you'll do better to dock starboard side to the dock if you're planning on a pumpout.

People sometimes complain about narrow side decks but on a boat that size you wouldn't want to sacrifice interior room for wider side decks.

Every thing on a boat is a compromise of some sort.