Hydrofoils???

[ssaamm]

Does anyone have any insight on these things? Put 'em on the cavitation plate and you get on plane quicker is my understanding. Some say your top speeed is a bit lower. I've got a 17ft Crestliner Fishawk w/ a 90hp Yamaha. Are they [PoorWordUsage] or useful? Thanks

[Valv]

I never liked them, others loved them. It is a common discussion topic, do a search and you can come up with many threads like this.

[ssaamm]

Thanks

[CoorsCaptain]

Boats that are under powered they are a must.

[cold one sd]

They get you on plane a bit faster, slow you down a tiny bit and will keep you on plane at slower speeds. I think they work best where a boat is a bit underpowered or have a heavy drive unit like a low hp I/O.

[ssaamm]

Sounds like pulling kids on tubes with the whole crew in the boat that it may keep you on plane it little better.

[Bigtom]

I have one on my boat 05 fishhawk 17.5 90 4 stroke Johnson. As stated before you lose speed maybe 5mph. I can get to plane at about 1/3 of my speed, and hardly no cavitation when turning on a dime. They only help alot if you have a loaded boat or towing and maybe when planed out.

If you wanted my two cents it's not worth the money, I am sure I payed $100. bucks for it. Good Luck

[Northlander]

If you have the horsepower you should have on your boat there is no need for one. Its a band aid for not enough horsepower.

[LMITOUT]

Some boats just perform better with them even if they have the max HP hanging on the back. Skeeters are one that comes to mind and it's almost a given that one needs to be installed.

I've been thinking of putting one on my tiller (which has the max allowable HP) just because of the weight balance of the boat and the speed required to keep on plane. Lowering the on-plane speed would come in handy when running rougher waters among other things.

If you're having issues getting or staying on plane it might be an option for you compared to re-powering.

[PerchJerker]

Some boats just perform better with them even if they have the max HP hanging on the back. Skeeters are one that comes to mind and it's almost a given that one needs to be installed.

Agree 100%. One of my buddies has a Skeeter 1880 rated for a 200hp and he has a 200 HPDI on there. Great motor and the boat ran really well and he did some prop testing to get the best prop --- then he put the hydrofoil on and it made a noticable improvement for him.

I've got another buddy who bought a Triton that had been used for a year on the PWT -- the PWT pro had put a hydrofoil on that boat too.

[ssaamm]

My main problem is that my boat pulls hard to the right. If I let go of the wheel at full throttle it would be dangerous. My skeg is bent to the right from a sunken Canadian island. I also realized my trim tab/ anode was missing as well. I replaced it the other day, and if I straighten the skeg I would think I would have a better ride. The hydrofoil addresses diffferent issues it looks like. Thanks for the info.

[LMITOUT]

Yep, getting the skeg straight should help a bunch. After that you can adjust the trim tab and be good to go.

[PierBridge]

They work fantastic and have helped ton's of Boaters with a much better hole-shot and contrary to popular opinion they have also helped a few with top end speed gains as advertised..

I hated drilling holes in my 115 Merc. But it was worth it back in my Skiing days behind the 16 Baja for the insane hole-shot the Hydra-foil provided for our water sports.

[Surface Tension]

I'm not maxed out on HP so it helps get on plane faster but with proper trimming that isn't a problem.

Here is where I like the foil. I can reduce my speed and still keep on plane where as without the foil the boat would fall off plane.

That comes in handy when I'm going though traffic areas where I want to reduce speed, I can do that a ridiculously low speed but still be on plane. Less wake and I don't have to punch it to get back on plane when I've passed those boats.

Its also nice when searching for structure to stay on plane but at a slower speed.

[DTro]

That's why I bought one too. Staying on plane at a low speed is very helpful when you are alone driving a tiller through a log infested river at night.

It did drop my top speed by a couple mphs though.