Which hydrofoil is best?

[Jack Daniels]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

Hey im happy this post was bumped. I am trying to decide if i wanted to purchase a hydrofoil and this thread helped me out alot. Trying to get one on ebay for uber cheap. Wish me luck.

 

[jspringator]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

Looks like hydro shieldhas made it to the USA.

http://www.hydro-shield.com/

 

[b.gagnon]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

None!

Smart Tabs.....are way better! I had a Sting Ray, and a Dole Fin(spelling?) on before the tabs, and there is no comparison. The Smart Tabs (for me) were better in every aspect of boat handling. I even gained 1-2mph! where as with fins you tent to loose 1-2mph... They are a bit more in $ but well worth the investment.

 

[jspringator]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

Of course, my problem is that I use them on an inflatable with flip down wheels. No room for lifters or smart tabs. I would like to combine the Hydro-Shield and the StingRay and see how they work together.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

This thread is nine years old.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

I have just aged and matured enough to graduate to smart tabs, and they improve
all around and overall handling and stability.

However, I used a few "fins" before, and believe that they do provide some
fore to aft improvement for boats up to about 2,500 pounds. I would rate the
Davis Whale Tail first, because it has the greatest surface area, and the SE
Sport second.

 

[YN2(SS)]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

My buddy owns a fishin boat, I'm the "mechanic". I also help ice down the "sodas". He got a 1980 Hustler 15' tri hull last summer with an original '80 Mercury 40. The performance SUCKED to say the least. Once we put a Stingray on it, Holy Crap that boat woke up. Hole shot, up on plane, wow, what an improvement. Best money he has spent on his boat so far. That $25 ended the discussion on whether to repower the boat or not. By fall we realized we were probably carrying about 20 gallons of water under the floorboards. Its now all torn apart and gettin new wood and glass. A stingray or similiar should come standard on every outboard as far as I'm concerned. P.S. I think it even cures avian flu.

And the fact that this thread is this old, is a true testimony to how important this forum is to those that find it. Thanks iboats!

 

[bar79lee]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

I have a 20' bass boat w/ a 225 johnson venom and the first time I took the boat out, I had a hard time getting the boat to plane. I researched hydrofoils and that seems to be the most affordable way to go. I was called back to work as I was installing it and have yet to use it. I will post the results as soon as I get to the water. But if anyone has heard of bad things please let me know before I tear something up. Thanks.

 

[dustedwatts]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

None!

Smart Tabs.....are way better! I had a Sting Ray, and a Dole Fin(spelling?) on before the tabs, and there is no comparison. The Smart Tabs (for me) were better in every aspect of boat handling. I even gained 1-2mph! where as with fins you tent to loose 1-2mph... They are a bit more in $ but well worth the investment.

Smart tabs, i am still in process of a refresh on my OLD tri-hull, almost done (YEA!!!) my hole shot last summer was GREAT! up on ski's before i could blink an eye... my question is my prop is a 17 pitch top end speed is kinda slow, but i like the hole shot... would putting smart tabs on instead of the foil allow me to change prop pitch to something that will give longer legs?

(1971 SeaSwirl Tri-Hull)

 

[northern wake]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

I bought the SE sport 300 http://www.sesport.com/5_29.asp for my 90 hp 1700 pro sport. Have not tried it yet, but have heard good things, build quality is excellent and very easy to install. Also it is quite a bit narrower than the stingray which I liked.

 

[mxzer29]

Re: Which hydrofoil is best?

I have a 1990 Sunbird SPL 174 with a 150 Magnuim with a transom Jack, the foil was always on the motor.Last summer I took it off to try without. Needless to say the foil was back on the next day..
I had to run the motor twice as hard to plane it off... and had to keep throttling hard to keep it from dolfining..It takes no time and next to no throttle to get up on Plane...
I have to look into the smart tabs might have to try these...

 

[KevenF324]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]I have had best performance with a SE Sport 300, though I have not tried every option, I have tried the Doel Fin and StingRay.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]I think that the Cobra EDGE is a good looking product but haven't tried that one. Just cheap, I guess.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]Red sky at night. . .[/FONT]