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A question of attitude

Motorboat and yachting MBY March 2006 UK

"...So if you find it a pain having to adjust leg trim to maintain correct
fore and aft trim and the tabs to stay level in side winds or as people
move around, help is at hand."

"In turns, a heading sensor freezes the lateral trim tab setting, allowing
the boat to lean inwards while still holding the correct fore and aft trim."

"I was able to test ACS on a Crownline 23 CC powered by a Mercruiser
5.0 EFI and Bravo III leg over a period of several hours, and I have to say
I was impressed "

"If fiddling with tab and leg trim controls is one of those things you'd
rather not have to bother with, ACS is the answer to your prayers."

Attitude problem?

Sportsboat and RIB March 2006 UK

"Once you've 'told it' what the correct running attitude is during the once-only
commissioning and calibrating process it will do its best, by manipulating the
drive trim and tabs, to maintain that attitude whenever you are up on the plane."

"One of the clever things about ACS is that during turns, a heading sensor
freezes the lateral trim tab control, allowing the boat to heel naturally inwards
while still holding the correct fore and aft trim."

"On sterndrive and outboard boats, ACS uses leg trim as the primary control for
pitch. If it can't keep the bow down sufficiently by trimming right in it resorts to
symmetrical tab deployment."

"I tested the ACS on a Crownline 23 CC powered by a Mercruiser 5.0 EFI and
Bravo III leg over a period of several hours, and was extremely impressed "

October 2007
Motorboat and Yachting UK

The magazine tested the new Fairline Targa 44 with the ACS installed as standard.

Quote from the article: "Where the Targa 44 does differ from the C46 is transversely, where it's
noticeable more lively. Fortunately, responsibility for keeping the boat level in a crosswind or a big
quartering sea can be devolved to Mente Marine's auto-trim-system ACS (see MBY March 2006),
which Fairline fits as standard. Programmed correctly, it worked very well on our Targa 44. It could also be
used to practically eliminate the hump and keep the 44 on the plane at remarkably low speeds- a benefit
when rough weather forces you to slow down.

Review ( 08 / 2008 UK Motorboats Monthly )

Automatic trim system

A must for all powerboat owners

When we took delivery of our new Doral Elegante from Essex Boatyards, we booked ourselves on an
intermediate powerboat course with RIBATTACK at Essex Marina. During the course the weather
was a bit lively and the boat seemed to struggle. The instructor suggested she seemed
underpowered. He also mentioned that he'd delivered a boat to Jersey that had automatic trim tab
control, which he thought would help us, as we were constantly fiddling with the trim every time we
wanted to get up on the plane.

After some investigation it turned out that the reason the boat wasn't performing was because it had
the wrong gear ratios in the out drives. These were quickly replaced by Essex but I was still curious
about the automatic trim tab set-up.

Shortly afterwards, I came across the Attitude Correction System(ACS) from Mente-Marine, which
was showcased on the Keypart stand at the London Boat Show.
Keypart offered two types of ACS: one to control the trim tab operation only, and another to
control both outdrive trim and trim tabs. Owning an outdrive boat I decided to go for the latter option.
Logic told me that by allowing the ACS to take care of the trim tab operation and power
trim, I could focus on my heading and what was around me.

The kit was purchased from Keypart and fitted by Essex Boatyards. Once fitted we were left
with the job of setting the system up. This wasn't difficult though, thanks to the manual- all we had
to do was save our desired cruising trim into the memory.

With this done, we put the system to the test and the boat maintained our desired settings no
matter what we did. We ran across the tide, against the wind, took the wind on the port side, then
the starboard side. We even tried moving everyone over to one side of the boat and the ACS took
care of that too. It even retracted the tabs when we moored up.

The system works by using three electronic gyros and comes with a control panel with lights to tell
you the position of the tabs, should you need or wish to know. You tell the system what your perfect
cruising attitude is, and it will, using the gyros, maintain that position using trim tabs, power trim or
a combination of the two. I've been using the system for a few months now and I'm
really impressed. The boat gets on the plane faster, it stays on the plane longer and it seems to be
using a lot less fuel than before.

All in all, I think this installation has improved the performance and fuel economy of my boat, and
has made her safer to use, as I don't have to struggle to see over a bow like I used to, which is
fantastic. I would definitely recommend ACS for all powerboat owners with trim tabs, (with or without
stern drives), and ACS can be retro-fitted to most electromechanical or hydraulic systems. For us it
has helped turn boating into child's play, leaving me free to relax...well, almost
Peter Hills