Carver Yachts 380 SPORT, Owner'S Manual, Page: 93 / 131

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OPERATING AND MANEUVERING SECTION 6
Operating at Planing Speed
Your boat has a “planing” hull. A planing hull skims “over” the water rather than
“through” it. To do this, however, your boat first has to reach a certain speed,
called “planing speed.”
When you first accelerate from a dead stop, the trim angle of the boat increases,
causing the bow to rise and the stern to drop. If you continue to accelerate, the
boat eventually achieves plane, which means the bow slowly drops to a more
level attitude.
It is important to get on plane as soon as possible and avoid speeds that
cause the boat to plow through the water with the boat in a bow-high
attitude. A bow-high attitude obstructs your vision and limits the boat’s
handling and performance capabilities.
Once the boat is on plane, you can back the throttles off to a point where the
hull is still planing but the engines are operating at a fuel-efficient speed.
Trim Tabs
Your boat is equipped with a set of electro-hydraulic trim tabs. Trim tabs help
the boat get on plane by allowing you to adjust the attitude of the boat for
variables such as load, passengers, seas or wind. Under normal conditions your
boat does not need adjustments to the trim tabs to achieve plane. Use the tabs at
planing speeds to make minor adjustments in the fore-to-aft and beam-to-beam
angle of the boat.
To use the trim tabs:
1. On the Safety Breaker Panel:
a. Turn the accessory battery master disconnect switch to the “ON” position.
b. Switch the Main - One circuit breaker “ON.”
2. On the DC Control Center:
a. Switch the Main circuit breaker “ON.”
b. Switch the Trim Tabs circuit breaker “ON.”
3. A set of trim tabs controls are located at the helm. The controls consist of two
switches. The port switch controls the port tab; the starboard switch controls
the starboard tab. Each switch is labeled “BOW UP” and “BOW DOWN.”
Before advancing the throttles, press both switches on the “BOW UP” side
for 5 seconds. This lifts the trim tabs to the full “up” position.
4. Advance the throttles to bring the boat on plane. Adjust the engine RPMs for
cruising speed.