performance
 

What are trim tabs most commonly used for? Does it have any thing to do with speed or more so for leveling the boat? also, is a jack plate designed to increase speed or allow for shallow water?

trim tabs are to allow the boat to get on plane quicker and allow to balance the boat

if you think about it as an aerofoil it kinda makes sense

I use my trim tabs to keep the nose of my boat down in a rough chop. Eliminates alot of pounding. Also,gives you a quick holeshot in shallow watter.

I can get a lot more top end using the tabs. And you can save bucks on fuel.

I guess I need to fool with them a little more. All I find they do is slow me down and turn more RPMs. The boat is well balanced so I don't need them for that. Someone said they help you plain off quicker?? Also, please explain proper use of the Jack plate!

Trim tabs are extremely usefull when you are taking a chop from the side while running. You can keep your boat riding level and decrease the pounding and rolling of the boat. If you lower your trim tabs all the way when getting on plain it will decrease the amount of bow rise which will keep your motor from digging so deep in the water. Therefore, you can get on plain in much shallower water.

The jack plate is usefull in shallow water operation as well. If you wish to get on plain in shallow water you can raise the jack plate and as you begin gettin on plain you lower the jack plate at the same time. The jack plate is also usefull to prevent cavitating. Normally you would trim a motor up after plainning but in some chop you may begin to cavitate when you trim up too much and the prop is above the cavitation plate. With the jack plate you can leave the motor trimmed down enough so that the prop is below the cavitation plate which will help the boat have a smoother ride. A jack plate is good for increasing fuel economy as well because if you can raise the engine out of the water more you will have less drag on the boat and get more speed with less effort by the engine.

I have a 6 inch Jack plate. What depth(jack plate depth) should I normally cruise at? I typically leave it at the 1" mark. If I raise it anymore I feel like I turn more RPMs with less MPH.

You should most likely have your jack plate set up at a hieght that gives you the best of both hole shot/how fast it gets up on plain, and top end speed you could possibly gain. If you do not have a hydraulic jack plate you should take some time to play with it and get it adjusted correctly. You should have it low enough in the water so that you do not turn excessive rpms (definitely try not to exceed the recommended max rpms for your motor) during your hole shot or cause your water pressure to drop because there isn't enough motor in the water. However, you should try to get it high enough that you can decrease cavitation by being able to keep the motor trimmed down some while cruising and at the same time increase fuel economy because you have less motor in the water causing less drag.

Every engine, boat, jack plate combo will have different heights that are optimal for the setup and everyone will have different opinions on where it should be set. The best thing I can tell you is play with different heights yourself and see what the best height is for your rig.