Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

[Cricket Too]

Has anybody ever heard of these Dolphin/Whale Tails putting an extra strain on the lower unit of an outboard when used, or causing any L/U problems??

I always wondered if all of that extra area getting forced down on by water when trying to plane out, would hurt or strain anything.

Also how do they work with trim and tilt, do they affect anything when trying to trim the motor out at high speed, like do they dig down into the water when angled up?

Thanks.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

i have two sets in my shed, i'm waiting to give them to someone i really don't like. they are ugly, imho, cause more problems than they solve. invest a couple of more dollars, and put smart tabs on your boat.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

tashasdaddy.....What do you mean by ugly,the way they look or some of the damage you've see them cause?

I had one once on a Johnny 115 that I bought from an outboard shop, the shop had put it on there, so I figured it was alright. The boat planed out nice at low RPM and I never had a problem, but I only used that motor for about a year, so I never saw any long term affect.

It just occured to me that it's a lot more leverage pushing down on the lower unit, which is why/how they work, but also wondered if that extra leverage was hurting other things.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

ugly to look at, they say i have a planing problem and too cheap to really fix it. you have to consider that yes down the road they have to put stress on the engine and transom, where it was not designed to be. the idea of them was to pick up the stern of the boat. so you have all the stress on the motor or outdrive, transferring to the transom. with smart tabs, or trim tabs. they are on the bottom of the transom, on the sides where there is more beef. the lift the complete transom.

there was one on my center console when i bought it. i tried it. it brought the transom up so fast the bow plowed before i could trim it out. it also kept the transom high, that the slightest turn of the wheel made the boat dive to the side if you steer right the right gunnel would dip 6 to 8 inches. they would bite in in a turn. they just don't do what they are hyped up to do.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

Yeah I agree, I hate the way they look. I don't really have a need for one, my boat planes off pretty good as is and rides really nice on plane, but as soon as I drop below about 3500 RPM, I come right off, so I was thinking that a whale tail might keep me on plane at lower speeds, but I DO NOT really want to drill into my motor and don't want to put any undue strain anywhere.

I may still have to get used to having T&T, I just bought this boat, 1997 Sea Pro 190 W/A with a '97 Johnny 115, and it's the first boat I've ever had with T&T, so I might just have to trim it differently when I slow down to keep to keep it on plane.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

when you slow down tuck it in some. it will push the bow down that's why when you come out of the hole you tuck it all the way down, and then trim up, or it will push the nose down and plow. if that doesn't correct it smart tabs will.

 

[BillP]

Re: Whale Tail/Dolphin on L/U

Reports of breakage and bracket wear are 99.99% hype...ask any busy motor shop how many worn brackets or broken cavitation plates they've seen from fins. They are going to tell you none from fins...some cavitation plates without fins are seen broken from careless handling...and worn brackets are seen on flats boats with jackplates that run very shallow. I posted this already but the installation matters big time on how well fins work. Half azz installations give pizz poor results which is where the negative hype usually comes from. Anyway, for a boat like yours I'd do cockpit adjustable tabs if max performance matters. They do it best for all conditions. Nothing else come close.

bp