Hydrofoils good or bad?

[davepring]

I'm tempted to fit a hydrofoil to my 25hp merc I know the pro's, easier planing, less cavitation etc, etc. Can someone tell me what the con's are? One thing, if these gizmo's are so great why are they not fitted as standard?

 

[sharkcat]

Re: Hydrofoils good or bad?

they can make you loose some speed at WOT,If your motor is not mounted correctly they can exagerate any faults.I have read posts about boats nearly flipping aftre a hydrofoil was fitted.Do a search & read the old posts they will give you some good info.I fitted one to a boat once & it created so much lift at the rear that it drove the bow down into the water I cured the problem by cuttin a couple of inches off each side of the foil.Hope this helps

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Hydrofoils good or bad?

Keep in mind they are a tool that allows you to run a higher X dimension to loose drag and therefore gain speed. <br /><br />If you install one and its trying to get under the water all sorts of strange things can (and do) happen. <br /><br />They are not standard equipment because the OE's have to build a motor that can find its way to anywhere in the world, be mounted in strange ways and still perform safely. <br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Hydrofoils good or bad?

In most cases, using a foil is a band-aid solution to mask/overcome a shortcoming elsewhere in the boat's setup - whether it be underpowered, improperly trimmed, improperly rigged, poor hull condition, etc. Motor vent plates are not designed for the extra load a foil can add and they've been known to snap off. Plus, there are the aforementioned performance idiosyncracies....<br />- Scott

 

[Cut n' Jump]

Re: Hydrofoils good or bad?

They get you on plane faster. If you don't have power trim it helps a bunch. The motor needs to be way down in the water or it will suck air on high speed turns. If you don't want the nose in the air while cruisin 5mph get one.

 

[Hopsdak]

Re: Hydrofoils good or bad?

I've got a custom one on my boat. I have a tunnel so it helps trap water that shoots out of it. It did knock off 5mph on the top end but, it plains in less than 2 boat lenths. And it handles alot better in rough water.<br /> Nedski foil 1 <br /> Nedski foil 2