Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

[abogle]

All,

I have an 05 Larson 180 with a 135hp Volva Penta SX. I was thinking about installing a hydrofoil to help get on plane faster. Any thoughts on hydrofoils, are they worth it?

Thanks!

 

[Rentaltux]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

The short answer would be no, although some might chime in with a different answer.. IMHO a much better solution would be a 4 blade prop and or Smart Tabs. I have both and my boating is night and day compared to my 3 blade prop and no Smart Tab combo.

R

 

[Bartine]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I have a Sport 300 on my outboard and absolutely love it. My boat had a slight mid speed porpoise that I couldn't correct. The foil fixed it, no change in top end because it is out of the water at speed. For an I/O you might be better off with helm adjustable tabs. I had smart tabs on another boat and don't think they worked as good as the foil, but some people think they're great.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

The hydrofoil enhances the trim ability of the drive unit. The tabs work in all trim positions. I suppose it depends on what issue you are having but I prefer the tabs.

 

[greg crosby]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I have a starcraft islander 221 with what looks to be hydraulic trim tabs but it still takes too long to plane. I noticed the out drive is drilled for some sort of fin. Thinking of trying one. Had one on a 20' holiday and it worked great!

 

[HopinImFloatin]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

i had a hydrofoil on my 18ft bowrider, 175hp sterndrive. Took it off and noticed no difference really. Added smart tabs and its like a different boat. Would never not use them again. Just one mans opinion

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Tried those things twice in the past and found them of zero benefit. Have always installed trim tabs since. Lenco tabs are my preference as electric over hydraulic Bennett's. Either are great.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Best thing since sliced bread. Three of our family boats have DoelFins, and over the years we only found 2 boats that they didn't work well on, or didn't need them in the first place.

You have 2 options - drill 4 holes in the aluminum anti-ventillation plate of your motor (like...so what?), or drill a dozen holes thru your transom and hope they get sealed correctly and the transom doesn't rot out.

For sure, if you don't mind the additional cost and drilling, the tabs will work as well or better.

 

[jestor68]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I have used the Doel Fin on every boat since discovering it in 1986.

I used to call it the $40 wonder; but now it looks like it's the $33 wonder. :joyous:

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I'm not a fan of using this item, my experience with them is that they tend to mask possible larger issues, poor or under powered , too heavy of a boat, wrong prop. I will also suggest some would walk away from any boat that has one installed for these same reasons. In the end it is your boat and as you can see others have had good results for very cheap cost, which is rare in the boating world. Before I had knowledge of these things I purchased a boat with one installed. The boat had two rotten floors, and saturated foam underneath. Once I removed all that rot and replaced the transom, my boat had no issues getting on plane and performing well. You will soon see that this topic has been beat to death and both sides have strong feelings.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Used both smarttabs and fins, and I'd never consider using fins again. Smarttabs work so much better! I'm curious if there is anyone out there that has used both and actually gone back to fins?

 

[Rentaltux]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

op2: It is my understanding that hydrofoils are a bit more effective on outboards. I still stand behind my smart tabs but would look at a different (4 blade) prop first.
R

 

[Maclin]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Pretend your boat is toy size. Imagine grabbing the outboard or I/O leg lower unit with one hand, then trying to lift the stern up while trying get the bow pointed up some as well (fins method). Now imagine holding the boat on each edge of the stern and controlling it for the same longitudinal action (trim tabs method).

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Maybe on a comfortable lake there may be some benefit-- my 2 attempts were on Lake Erie and the Atlantic where they were found a total waste. Trim tabs all the way-- I've had Bennett's and Lenco. Both are great I prefer Lenco but a matter of choice.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

op2: It is my understanding that hydrofoils are a bit more effective on outboards. I still stand behind my smart tabs but would look at a different (4 blade) prop first.
R

My son's brand new 23' stern heavy cuddy needed something for sure, so we tried a 4-blade first, then the Doelfin. After some experimentation, we found the having BOTH was the cat's behind.

Of course, (and I've said it many times before) I run tabs AND a Doelfin and that even beats the cat's behind!!! My fuel tank is aft, and I added a second fuel tank fully aft, plus I have a 9.9 kicker cantilevered out the back on a bracket. So, they don't get any more tail heavy than me.....LOL.

Caveats are that all of our family boats were bought brand new and unmodified, and none are rotten or have waterlogged foam.

The other caveat is the Doelfin. THAT's the answer...all the imitators are what gave the fin the bad name in the first place.

 

[Okieboatguy]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I had a hydrofoil on my old bass boat and it did wonders, and it did the job I needed it to do,which was keep the bow down during slow speeds, but planed out, it would wander a bit at WOT. It has been 18+ years since then and I can't remember the brand. However, I have since discovered the Smart Tabs. We placed them on dads 21' Bayliner, and the before and after is amazing, and for only $100 bucks. Hole Shot issue fixed, slow speed steering fixed, porpoising fixed, and the boat became much more stable at WOT.
Like previously mentioned, You usually don't see someone who has tried both and gone back to a Hydrofoil. If they do it is an oddity, not the norm. Besides, the thought of all the stress on that small section seems a bit scary. That is allot of stress to bet everything on when you and your family are out in the middle of a lake and something breaks. If I want to save $50 or so bucks, that is one part of the boat I will not sacrifice to save it. To sum it up, I will say what my dad was told by another member of the forums;
"Friends don't let friends buy or use Hydrofoils!"

 

[dan t.]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Well I just proved they work and work well. I ran a Stingray on my Bayliner 2452 for years because it needed the stern lift, bearing in mind I also had Bennett trim tabs which I also used. I tried a 4 blade prop which was a total waste of time and money, the 3 blade performed far better. This spring I installed 18x12 trim tab planes, twice the size of the originals and removed the hydro foil. The results were disapointing to say the least.Time to plane was at least double ,and minimum planing speed was way up. The hydrofoil went back on,my performance came back. I must say I did gain something from all this. With the smaller tabs I cruised at 22 knots at 3500 rpm, I now get 24 knots at 3500 rpm so they did help. In my opinion hydrofoils work.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I have a stack of foils I've removed from boats and tossed in the corner LOL

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

Doelfin is also a piece of junk. Had one on a Bayliner I bought used. Took it off, top speed went up and boat planed faster. If you tried to do a fast turn, felt like the stern was going to fly sideways. Made the boat completely unsafe.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Hydrofoil - To use or not to use

I had a doel fin on my Carver 2667 for a day.... had to swap on a new lower unit and it already had the fin on it so I tried it.... YIKES the boat put the inside rubrail in the water on a sharp 10 mph turn!!!!!

took it off and added it to the pile!