Bubbasboat
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2014
- Messages
- 467
Foils are used too to plane faster a boat that uses much less HP than transom rated for and riding with not well ballanced boat. Is 70 the max that boat can handle ? Issues as : well engine/transom height seated, well propped, water conditions, load, trim will affect a boat to plane faster or not..
Foils besides slowing a bit a boat, are great collectors of unwanted plastic bags, kelp, even banana peels. Definitely not a fan of them.
Happy Boating
There is a mistaken belief that the way to use one of these is to bolt it on and have it drag in the water to force the bow down or help prevent poroising, this is where the negative comments come from. They do sort of work when used in this fashion, but they can slow the boat down and possibly create some very odd, and possibly scary, handling.
A foil allows you to raise the motor higher on the transom without the prop ventilating (pulling air from the surface) under hard acceleration. The higher mounted motor can increase top speed due to less of the gearcase dragging in the water, plus possibly better MPG's for the same reason. It may also reduce bow rise and porpoising because the motor will have less leverage on the hull by being mounted higher. There is no guaranty any of these things will happen, and you will need to raise and lower the motor several times and record the results to know if it helped. It should definitely not be dragging in the water when on plane, this is what creates the issues people commonly complain about and then demonize the product for not working.
My post should have specified that that applies to medium size boats and portable engines with fixed clamp screws and mechanical trims in which you can't play raising engines that much as opposed to engines that sits and bolts to transom. Different animals. Again some swear by them, not me.
Happy Boating
My post should have specified that that applies to medium size boats and portable engines with fixed clamp screws and mechanical trims in which you can't play raising engines that much as opposed to engines that sits and bolts to transom. Different animals. Again some swear by them, not me.
Happy Boating
I'd probably leave it off too.
The AV plate should typically be above the lowest part of the transom, and depending on the exact setup and prop it can be 1" to 2" higher. A SS prop will normally let you mount it higher than an aluminum prop. In line with the bottom is an OK starting point, but raising it will possibly allow it to perform better, and that's at no cost $$$ to you.
If you are relying on it to drag in the water then it is not being used correctly. In the past I've compared it to using a Crescent Wrench as a hammer, not the correct application, but you can still beat on something with it. Don't complain when it doesn't do a great job though.
Even a clamp on motor can be adjusted for height, and for best results it should be. A fin only allows for more adjustability in some cases.
I will verify actual location of AV plate in relation to deepest point on keel tomorrow. Will adjust motor if necessary to get it right!!