How to Trim and Tilt on an Outboard

Outboard engines should not be trimmed up too much.

Weight is not evenly distributed in a boat and in order to help it drive better, motors are often equipped with trim tabs to offset the imbalance. Trim tabs can be used to balance the roll axis, or the side-to-side level of the boat, in addition to the front-to-back level, or pitch. Most often, tabs are used to correct the pitch in order to plane the boat off once it reaches cruising speed.

Instructions

1. Trim the tabs all the way in when taking off from idle. This will plane the boat off the most quickly.

2. Trim the tabs out incrementally once the boat is on plane. This will nudge the bow of the boat up a bit until you reach the optimum angle. This takes a few quick blasts on the trim lever, keeping the throttle constant until the speed reaches its maximum.

3. Trim up the bow when driving through rough water. This will prevent waves from crashing over the bow.

4. Trim the bow of the boat a bit higher than the optimum angle in windy conditions in order to keep spray out of the boat.

5. Remove the adjusting rod found on small outboards to manually adjust the pitch. There are around five adjustment holes to raise or lower the pitch, according to the boat's weight distribution. Insert the rod back through the holes and secure it.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not make manual adjustments while the boat is in the water, in order to avoid dropping the adjustment bar.

• Trimming the bow too far upward can send water over the transom.

References

• Tropical Boating: Outboard Engine Tilt and Trim for Medium Size Outboards
• Boater Exam: Operating a Motor Boat