Doel-Fin Hydrofoil,,,,, It Works!!!!

Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
58
I installed a Doel-Fin ($20 at Academy) on my Tracker Pro Team 175 with a 40 HP motor this past week. I have to admit that I was a little hesitant after reading some of the posts on this forum. Here are the improvements that I found for my particular case:

1) The boat gets up on plane instantly. There is no bow rise from the hole shot. Prior to installing the hydrofoil, there was significant rise, especially with two people and a full tank of gas as I tested it today.

2) The boat stays on plane at a much lower rpm, this meant higher speeds at lower rpms for my application. This could equal better fuel economy, but I did not check that on this outing.

3) The boat did not lean as bad with just myself while I was on plane. I had my partner get out of the boat so that I could test it. With this being a smaller aluminum bass boat, it will tend to lean significantly to the side with the most weight. The hydrofoil seemed to help greatly with this.

I did not see an increase or a decrease in my top speed. I just got better performance without sacrificing much of anything. Anyhow, I just wanted to post my experience with the hydrofoil on my particular boat. Many of the reviews that I read on here were quite negative about them, and in some applications they may not be a good fit, however, it was a good fit for my particular set up.
 

rickdb1boat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jan 23, 2002
Messages
11,195
Re: Doel-Fin Hydrofoil,,,,, It Works!!!!

Glad to hear it. I've run one for years on my small runabout and have been well pleased with the results, which are pretty much the same as yours..
 

javsam

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
Messages
421
Re: Doel-Fin Hydrofoil,,,,, It Works!!!!

yes, I installed one on my 15' alumacraft with a 40 horse johnson,and was pleased with the results that you also stated.worked for me too.
javsam
 

fishingdan

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
1,045
Re: Doel-Fin Hydrofoil,,,,, It Works!!!!

What you described are the exact characteristics that they are designed to improve. Get a boat on plane fast by increasing the planing surface in the aft section of the boat. Great for underpowered boats or boats with excessive wait in the back of the boat.

When people try to fix things outside of this, they are often disappointed.
 
Top