Hydro foils

[izuizme]

What do U think about attaching hydrfoils to improve performance

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Hydro foils

Some boats they help and others its a waste of money.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Hydro foils

what boat& motor? it is really advisable to spend a little more and use smart tabs. the best bang for the buck. http://www.iboats.com/Marine_Store/dm/keywords.smart tabs--submit.Search--submit.x.25--submit.y.9

 

[rndn]

Re: Hydro foils

After having both, I would go with the smart tabs.

 

[BillP]

Re: Hydro foils

Depends on what type of performance issues you have but they work great on some boats and not so great on others.
bp

 

[Benny1963]

Re: Hydro foils

i have never used a hdro that was worth it
just ended up with 4 holes in cav plate

 

[jonesg]

Re: Hydro foils

They make a huge difference for me, I have a 20' center console, J150 and I couldn't see where I'm going, it would plane but took time to drop.

They came with the motor so didn't cost anything to try,

but if I were spending new money I'd go with the smart tabs that also drop down for slow trolling without buying a trolling motor.

 

[marquette]

Re: Hydro foils

i had a 17ft crestliner with a 40hp johnson. it was the first motor i ever owned with power trim&tilt. when i would put the power to it the bow would come up out of the water and take for ever to get on plane. so i though i needed a hydrofoil. i put one on and it solved the problem. but as i learned how to properly use the power trim i wondered if i needed the hydrofoil so i took it off. i discovered that how to use the power trim was all i had needed. without power trim it would probably been a plus but with power trim it was just unnecessary. i can't say boat handling changed dramatically when i took it off but it seemed like i had a little bit less steering torgue. if i bought another boat with one i would probably test it with and with out but i wouldn't rush out to buy one if he motor didn't have one.

 

[rndn]

Re: Hydro foils

My brother has a 2007 Starcraft 18 foot with a 75 HP Mercury 4 stroke. It would take forever to get out on plane and have way too much bow rise. He bought one of the new(huge) clamp on hydrofoil and it made it better but still not great. I suggested he either try smart tabs of go with a 4 blade prop. He went with the 4 blade stainless steel prop and could actually remove his foil. The boat gets out of the water very nicely and he is able to hold plane at a much lower speed. He also significantly lowered the bow when taking off. His comments were that it feels like a completely different boat.
Now I know smart tabs are cheaper, but I just wanted to give you his experience. Smart Tabs are a one time investment to make a permanent change in the way your boat handles.

 

[109jb]

Re: Hydro foils

I've got Stingray hydrofoils on my 16' aluminum Starcraft with 70 hp Johnson and my dad's 16' aluminum Smokercraft with 60 hp Johnson. Both boats have power trim and tilt. In both cases there was a noticable improvement in getting on plane and controlling how much the bow came out of the water coming out of the hole. Also, both can stay on-plane at a lower speed. This is regardless of how you used the power trim. Both cases also didn't notice much change in top end, but then again I never measured it. I would guess less than a couple mph loss, if any, in both cases. Also never experienced any problems like you hear about regarding handling. Both of these boats are V-hull aluminum and we (dad and I), were very pleased with the results.

The Sea Ray in my avatar doesn't have one, and I've been thinking about taking the one off the Starcraft to try it. I've been thinking about going with smart tabs on that one as well to help with the lean under power though. I need to research how they would have to be installed on the back of the boat since the stern is curved and isn't straight across on that one.

Edit: I forgot to mention that in the case of my Starcraft, the foil also has the optional fins that you can bolt to it and they are set to virtually eliminate steering torque.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Hydro foils

While the fins and tabs do some things the same, they are actually designed to do different things. Just like 3 and 4 blade props. It's not simply a matter of one vs the other. Both, but especially the fins, are tools that allow you to do other things to improve efficiency.