Zipwake Dynamic Control
The Zipwake Dynamic Control is a fast-acting, affordable interceptortype trim tab system designed and manufactured in Sweden. It automatically controls pitch and roll, adjusting for variations in sea conditions and hull attitude.
Interceptor/interrupter trim tabs work by extending blades into the water from either side of the transom at the trailing edge of the underside of the hull, disrupting the laminar flow of water over the bottom of the boat and thereby creating lift.
Zipwake blades extend only 30cm beyond the transom, minimising fuel-wasting and performance-robbing drag compared to conventional plate-type trim tab systems, which may extend as much as 150mm into the water. Actuation is five times faster than conventional systems too.
ATL has already installed numerous Zipwake systems on New Zealand vessels and Brett reports great results. Benefits include improvements in comfort and safety, better performance, fuel economy and more precise control.
“I have no qualms making a run to Kawau or Great Barrier, even in 20 knots,” he says.
We made a run out towards Kawau on a sloppy sort of day with 15-20-knot sou’westers, but it was a fast, comfortable 50-minute trip cruising at around 23 knots most of the way. At that speed the fuel burn was 30 litres per hour. Trident is permanently loaded with everything you’d need for a few days away, so she was not exactly in light trim, but Brett reckons he can still squeeze 32 knots out of her.
Brett cited a recent round trip from Westhaven to Great Barrier Island, the Needles, around the back to Cuvier Island, back to Great Barrier and home to Auckland. Trident used around 60% of her 300-litre fuel load.
UNDER BIRDS
Boating joined Brett and Caribbean’s Scott White aboard Trident for a morning’s fishing. Our plan was to fish under the birds, using Trident’s Simrad NSS12 evo2 to find the fish.
Brett has fitted two of the multi-function displays (MFDS) to her, a 12-inch bracket-mounted display at the helm easily seen from anywhere in the cockpit and a 9-inch display in the flybridge. He reckons he spends 60 percent of his time driving downstairs but he loves going up top when the weather’s kind and he usually
detail as you zoom in, giving you a better sense of target depth.
Even worse news for the fish is Selectscan target identification. It automatically shades fishholding cover and suspended targets (fish) in a colour that contrasts with the selected colour palette, making target identification quick and easy.
We saw this demonstrated beside the Harbour Bridge supports with fish clearly visible as individual red dots holding off the bottom along the sloping contour where the channel fell away into deeper water. Other concentrations could be seen sheltering out of the current in the lee of the pylon.
The 455 khz seven-element transducer is able to send and receive more data in the form of sonar pulses than the old model, explained Matthew Laster: “It’s better at ‘listening’ and because it hears so much more [than the old three-element transducer], we can turn all those sonar returns into detailed 3D images that are easier to interpret.”
By splitting the display, we could view the enhanced custom Structurescan HD twodimensional pictures above the 3D display. Combining custom HD and 3D views made it even easier to see how fish related to cover. This function should allow anglers to search fishing areas more effectively than ever.
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