One of the biggest introductions from Mercury Racing (www.mercuryracing.com) at the show was Performance Active Trim. It was designed specifically for use with Mercury Racing outboards and stern drives equipped with SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift (DTS) that run partially surfaced. The hands-free system automatically adjusts trim angle for changes in operating conditions to maximize performance and boat handling at speeds up to 50 mph.
The key to Performance Active Trim is its patented GPS-based control system that uses boat speed as the primary input to trim the vessel. Competitive systems use engine rpm to adjust trim angle. Using speed instead of engine rpm ensures that the vessel is always trimmed at the optimal setting, according to Mercury Racing.
At speeds above 50 mph, the system returns to manual trim to give the operator full control. When speeds drop below 50 mph, the automatic system will resume control. Personal Active Trim provides five selectable trim profiles that let the operator personalize the system to his/her driving style and compensate for changes in boat load, operator preference and weather conditions. The Performance Active Trim profiles were designed to accommodate the sensitive trim range of surfacing outboard gearcases and stern drives. Trim speed and range were designed exclusively for surfacing V-bottom and catamaran applications.
