3m 4200 or 5200 marine adhesive (quickdry recommended)

13/64 drill bit

3/16” drill bit (lenco actuator mount)

3/8” drill bit

Spiral point threading tap UNC 1/4-20

½” wrench/socket

7/16” Wrench/Socket

Angle finder ap or device

Painters tape

12v power supply (i.e car or drill battery)

Watch this reference video to get a general feel for the tab installation process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWe69Xnizmw

Apply a line of painter’s tape along the edge of your transom along the running edge. Using the printable template as a guide, determine the best hinge and actuator mount placement so that the platform won’t interfere with the actuator motion. Ideally the edge of your tabs should be 2” – 5” from the outer edge of your boat.

Use the hinge as a template to mark your holes for drilling. Make sure that the bottom edge of the hinge is at least 1/4 inch above the bottom running edge of your transom. 

Use the supplied print out template to help locate the best area for your upper actuator mount on the hull. Try to find a flat area, shims may be required on some installs. Keep in mind placement may vary from boat to boat, additional lower actuator mounting bracket holes may need to be drilled on the tab to adjust the actuator mount location from side to side. Make sure the upper and lower actuator mounts are square and in line to avoid binding. We suggest tapping and using through bolts, but you can alternatively use different drill bit and Lenco self-tapping screws (#14 x 1 ¼” Pan Phil Sheet metal screws 18-8 stainless).

For bolt method use a 13/64 drill bit in reverse direction to drill the hinge holes you marked, burn through the gel coat layer in reverse, once you’re through the gel coat turn the drill to the regular direction and continue drilling right through the fiberglass transom. Make sure you are not drilling into any hoses, ballast bags or electrical connections on the backside of your transom. 

Thread the holes with the spiral point threading tap UNC 1/4-20 tapping bit. 

After tapping the holes use a 3/8 drill bit in reverse to chamfer the edge of the hole to help prevent spider cracks in the gelcoat. 

Fill your holes with 3m 4200 or 5200 quick dry adhesive and install supplied 1.25” long 1/4-20 bolts securing your hinge to the transom. For extra support secure nuts with washers on the backside/inside of transom (optional). Let 3m adhesive dry as directed.

Watch this video for reference before you start to mount your tab:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNtDUj6CF8

Connect your surf tab to the hinge and then your actuator to the upper mounting bracket and the lower bracket on the hinge. Using 12v power supply make sure the actuator is in its fully retracted position. Place the upper actuator bracket against the boat and position it so that the tab is retracted as far up to your swim platform as possible without hitting it. Mark the location of the actuator bracket on your hull by tracing around it. It must be aligned square to the hinge and usually falls between ½ and 1” above the top edge of the hinge. Record the retraction you achieve; you should aim for at least 18 degrees so the diverter fin wont effect the surf side wave. 

Extend the actuator all the way using 12 v power supply and check the tab angle relative to the hull using an angle finder. Aim for 15 degrees of deployment, anywhere from 12-15 is acceptable. If you need more deployment move the mount lower on the transom and/or try different mounting holes on the tab. Once you have tested the range in both directions trace around the outside of the mount bracket and drill your mounting holes in the boat using the same drill technique as the hinge mounting but size the bit correctly for the supplied Lenco self-tapping screws. The bottom of the bracket is typically ½ to 1” above the top of the supplied hinge. Make sure you have access to where the center hole will be drilled, if you cannot get to that part of the boat due to your boats floor, drill alternate location above the floor.

Controller Mounting:

Follow the Lenco Led or M2 Autosurf control mounting instructions included in your control box.

Reference video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2zTUEViEgk&t=432s

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Testing and Tuning the system tips:

Get the clinometer ap and use that to help tune your boat. Most boats will need about 9-12 degrees of pitch (bow rise angle) and 3+ degrees of roll (list towards surf wave). If the wave is washy you likely have too little list, empty offside ballast in small increments or move additional weight to surf side. If wave is too short in length put more weight in the bow or adjust centre plate.

Note: There is no replacement for displacement. New boats are holding around 4000 lbs of ballast and have total running weight over 10000 lbs, The more weight you can run the better as long as it can safely be done.