The Run
Up in Northern Queensland, Australia, a day on the water is rarely a short hop. The islands and the reef are out there, and getting to them means a run that can test a boat, a crew, and a fuel tank. The southeast wind that builds through the day doesn't help. For Triggy, the trim tabs answer the conditions directly: put the nose in, run the chop properly, and arrive in better shape than you left.
"Any little bit of improvement we can get from the trim tabs, it's a must," he says. "With that southeast, we can adjust, put the nose into it, which is going to make it safer."
Safer in this context is not a small word. These are long runs in real offshore conditions.
The Fuel
A boat running at the wrong attitude burns more fuel than it needs to. Triggy knows this. When there are passengers on board, other blokes who want to fish the islands, want to anchor off the reef — the centre of gravity shifts, the trim changes, and the engine has to work harder to compensate.
The trim tabs give him back that control. Adjust for the load, bring the hull back to where it wants to be, and let the motor run at the efficiency it was designed for. Over a long day with big distances, that adds up.
The Kit
Here is the thing about island camping in Northern Queensland: you always take more gear than you should. Food, water, camping equipment, fishing gear for multiple days. The weight sits where it sits, and the boat runs the way the weight dictates.
With trim tabs, that's a manageable problem rather than something you just accept. Heavy to port? Adjust. Heavy on the nose from a big load forward? Bring it up. The dial controller gives Triggy the ability to compensate for whatever the load looks like on any given day without compromising on the experience.
For Triggy, it wasn't simply about installing trim tabs. He wanted a system that was easy to operate while running offshore. The Dometic SeaStar Trim Tab system combines fully electric operation with an intuitive dial controller, making it simple to adjust the boat's attitude as conditions and loads change throughout the day.
What the Day Looks Like
On the water, Triggy does what fishermen in Northern Queensland do…. he reads the tides, works the pressure points on the islands, and backs himself to find the fish. Not every hit connects. The day can be tough before it gets good. Massive tides, missed strikes, moving from island to island until one produces.
When it does, and on this day it did, the result is a coral trout that earns its moment.
The boat that got him there is set up right. The trim tabs are part of the reason.
Dometic SeaStar Trim Tabs are available now through authorised dealers. Visit dometic.com/marine.