Hydrofoil??? Need some advice from my Nineteen owners...

excalibur1031

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
31
Okay, so when I bought my Nineteen, it came with this ugly whale tail hydrofoil on the outdrive. What is your opinion on these. I have not had the boat in the water or driven it so I don't know how it responds with or without it. I have a family of 5 who will be riding, maybe pulling a tube. If I need anything on the boat, I think I'd rather have trim tabs, but you guys who use yours know how they react, so that's why I'm reaching out to ya'll. Thanks for any advice!
 

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
imho, i'd get rid of the whale tail. i had one on my last boat. it came with it and i left it there. i removed it when i hit something on the river and it broke half the whale tail off + some of the anti vent. plate. i also don't like where the whale tail puts the stress at. on the drive, forcing the bow down, thru the drive.
myself, my Nineteen has no mods to it, whale tail or tabs, but if i was gonna get something i'd sure do tabs before i did a whale tail.
if i was gonna have 5 on board, i'd think tabs would be in order. i normally run with 2 or three on board and for my boat it seems fine. if i have more folks on board, i think i'd be considering tabs pretty fast as with 4 or 5 on board my boat and it certainly affects bow rise and planing time. i'd run it w/o prior to doing tabs, just to see if in fact it was something that was needed. from what i get, tabs on most boats is a plus. i think luva63 has some smart tabs and i think he likes them a lot. hopefully he'll chime in....
 

luva63

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
156
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Yeah, mine had one of those stingray? hydrofoils on it when I got it. Took it off when I noticed some cracks on the cavitation plate from it putting too much stress on it.Threw it under the work bench LOL. I installed some "smart tabs" and really like their performance. Easier on the outdrive too. Mine's got the 165 straight six and I feel the tabs pop it up on plane quicker.
 

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bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
I had a Doel Fin on my 20' Cuddy when I first bought it. Made turning dangerous as it would cause the rear end to slide out. Took it off and no more issue. Also made my boat slower.
 

excalibur1031

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
31
Thank you so much for your input. I think I will go with ziggy's advice and toss that piece and see how it rides fully loaded. I think my worst fear is the additional stress on the cavitation plate.

Luva63...thank you for the pictures of your tabs, they look really good. As far as the placement, is where they are installed the most appropriate place to install them? The reason I ask is because I'm used to seeing them installed further towards the outside of the boat. I guess the placement would affect how the boat handles??

Bruceb58, thanks for the input as well. I certainly don't want slide out in a turn, that could be a little scary.
 

luva63

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
156
There is another fellow on here (can't remember his handle) that sent me some pics of his nineteen with the exact tab on it and that's where the Smart Tab people told him to put them. And it makes sense when you look at the bottom of the boat as it needs to be flat in front of the tab. I thought kinda like you when I first saw his tabs LOL,but I've got used to it.
 
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