Trim Tab Takeoff at Seawork
01 Aug 2007
One of the products shown by Poole UK based Marine Components International at Seawork 2007 was the new SST System by Bennett Marine. Bennett has been producing a trim tab system for smaller vessels for some 45 years, but the new SST extends that range from 16m up to 46m boats.
All SST Systems include 304 stainless steel actuators, single or dual acting, with no external lines and no dissimilar metals, making then unsusceptible to galvanic corrosion.
The seven gauge 304 stainless steel, heavy duty trim plates have an interlocking 10 gauge hinge that is not welded and not susceptible to corrosion. There are two high pressure compact hydraulic power units for either single or dual acting pumps and a patented automatic tab retractor moves them to the full-up position whenever the ignition is turned off, minimising marine growth on the actuator shafts. The Euro-style rocker switch control is ergonomically designed, water resistant and easy to install. There is a customer choice of three internal sensor indication systems, each of which accurately shows the position of the trim tabs.
The Bennett rocker switch electronic indicator control combines rocker switch control, trim tab indicator and the auto tab retractor in one unit. The accurate, water resistant unit features variable intensity LEDs for day or night reading and a relay module mounted near the transom simplifies installation by reducing the number of wires run to the helm.
The tab position indicator helm display accurately shows the deflection percentage of each trim tab, with LED brightness again adjustable for any light level.
The SST System is compatible with NMEA 2000 compliant electronics, so the position of the tabs can be seen on any compatible multi-function display or gauge, GPS/chartplotter or sonar.






