Hydrofoil??

[Fishingaddict88]

Ok great I'll see how it goes without it first then. If I like it I'll plug it up somehow.

 

[JimS123]

Cracks like in the referenced post happen because the foil bolts were loose. Follow directions?.....LOL. Regardless, if the foil is off it won't crack anyway.

If your boat is a pristine Cobalt, pay to fix the holes. If the holes bother you put the bolts back in. If you're in fresh water and you don't care about the holes, just go boating and forgetabouttit. Besides, after you do the sea trials and collect all the required data, maybe you want to put the foil back on.

 

[bruceb58]

Cracks like in the referenced post happen because the foil bolts were loose.

Is that why Mercruiser warns not to use foils because it can break the cavitation plate? No...it's because they put a lot of pressure on it.

 

[JimS123]

Is that why Mercruiser warns not to use foils because it can break the cavitation plate? No...it's because they put a lot of pressure on it.

Legaleze foils a lot of improvements. All I can say is that 50+ cumulative years on 4 different boats (all installed per the manufacturer's guidelines) has shown no cracks, no pickup of weeds, superior performance and happy customers. I'm providing an alternate opinion to the OP. If all these huge problems truly existed they would all be out of business after all these years. The Consumer weeds out the bad ones.

 

[bruceb58]

If it's so good, why doesn't Mercruiser and Volvo sell it aftermarket or put it on every drive they sell?

I took the Doel Fin off my OMC outdrive after I discovered that it would cause a dangerous washout in tight turns. After I took it off, the only thing I found different was that I gained a couple MPH.

 

[ondarvr]

If it's so good, why doesn't Mercruiser and Volvo sell it aftermarket or put it on every drive they sell?

I took the Doel Fin off my OMC outdrive after I discovered that it would cause a dangerous washout in tight turns. After I took it off, the only thing I found different was that I gained a couple MPH.

​You are focused on your one experience with a foil, and not a very good foil at that, and I'Os frequently don't respond well to them, so while you are adamantly against them, not all people have bad experiences. Let the OP try it both ways and see what works.

 

[bruceb58]

​You are focused on your one experience with a foil, and not a very good foil at that, and I'Os frequently don't respond well to them, so while you are adamantly against them, not all people have bad experiences. Let the OP try it both ways and see what works.

I agree. BTW OP has an I/O.

 

[ondarvr]

I agree. BTW OP has an I/O.

​Some boats respond better than others, and what some people think is terrible, doesn't bother the next guy, so I just say try it and see if you're satisfied.

​On an I/O it's more common to have issues, lower top speed, odd handling, sometimes even to the point of scary, listing to one side at speed, water spraying up, etc. But then someone else says they didn't care about the top speed because they never went that fast anyhow, and they like planning at a lower speed and faster hole shot, then never experience the odd handling. Most of these things can be done better with tabs, but.....

 

[Fishingaddict88]

​Some boats respond better than others, and what some people think is terrible, doesn't bother the next guy, so I just say try it and see if you're satisfied.

​On an I/O it's more common to have issues, lower top speed, odd handling, sometimes even to the point of scary, listing to one side at speed, water spraying up, etc. But then someone else says they didn't care about the top speed because they never went that fast anyhow, and they like planning at a lower speed and faster hole shot, then never experience the odd handling. Most of these things can be done better with tabs, but.....

Thanks, I'm hoping to try it out this weekend. I have another issue that needs addressed at this moment. Gotta replace seals in the hydraulics. Once I get that taken care of I'm gonna take the foil off and see what changes. I'll post an update soon as possible. I appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[redneck joe]

I've had three boats with fins on them and all performed better, overall, without it based on my requirements of better performance.

They all made me feel uncomfortable in medium to tight turns,
They all helped hole shot a bunch
Top end dunno I'm not a speed demon on the boats these were on
One had a cracked fin when I bought it

I never felt comfortable enough in a tight turn with them on to get to the point to see about ventilation. I chose a slower hole shot and more stable turns.


Enjoy your test runs. That is what matters really...

 

[Fishingaddict88]

Just wanted to update this, I finally had the chance to test it out without the foil. I didn't notice much difference other than the steering was a little effected at slower speeds. Not a big deal, I'm going to leave it off.

Thanks again!