To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

[DeviledAvs]

Hi all, this is my first post on iboats.com, so please forgive me if I sound like a rookie - after all, I am. My wife & I just took delivery of a 2011 Tahoe Q5SF with a 4.3L MerCruiser and an Alpha One Stern Drive. Whereas we've both spent a lot of time on the water with friends, this is the first boat we've actually owned and because I've seen motors both with and without a Hydrofoil Stabilizer, I was wondering if I should consider installing one on our boat or should I simply play with the trim as described above... or both? We plan on taking it out tomorrow or Monday without a Hydrofoil Stabilizer, but I wanted some experienced advice to go along with my "testing" this weekend. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wifisher]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

If you do a little searching, you will find plenty of opinions either way. Try it out and see what you can do with or without it. My thoughts on that boat are you don't need it. IMO they are nice for a boat that is stern heavy, and has trouble getting on plane. If the boat gets up on plane and runs OK, why would you want it?

 

[ziggy]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

yep, ya don't even know if ya need some kind of lift at the stern. ie. hydorfoil, trim tabs, smart tabs, 4 blade prop, etc.

take it to the lake and see how it performs...

my '75 nineteen in my sig. has nothing. it performs like i believe it should w/o modification... maybe yours does too...

 

[Crawdadblue]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

With experience even sold Tahoes for as long as theyve been around. That boat you will not need a hydrofoil. YOu need to make sure you distribute your stuff in the boat as evenly as possible. Life jackets and junk you take to the lake. All the hydrofoil does it get the nose down quickly and then provide a bit of lift on the stern once on plane. That boat with that engine has plenty of power and you should do whats recommended in owners manual for BREAK IN! Then normal operation after exactly like owners manual says. Trim down all the way before take off and then start trimming up once the nose comes down and you can see the horizon. Remember on the throttle switch......if you want nose up push up and if you want nose down....push down. Simple. That boat will easily porpoise (bounce the nose) if you have it trimmed too much up. Simply trim down a bit at a time until it runs smooth and stops bouncing.

 

[Crawdadblue]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUKk6epiTEc&feature=related

Watch this....an then also watch the regular Q5i video. Same exact boat without fishing stuff. No worries! Plenty of power an no need for Hydrofoil!

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

Hydrofoils are a crap band-aid on an I/O like yours. If you do have concerns about planing, the best fix for a boat your size are Smart Tabs. Cheap and very effective.



(and yes I am one of the most passionate hydrofoil haters around here...)

 

[rallyart]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

dockwrecker is wrong... (and yes, I'm not one of the haters)

You want to drive the boat first. The foil is a fix and is not necessary on many boats. It depends on your use. It achieves less bow rise on start, slower planing speed, stiffer steering (often)

 

[DeviledAvs]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

Thanks everyone - you have more or less confirmed what I was thinking. I intend to drive it at many different speeds (after break in, of course) and in varying sea states before making any decisions. I had heard of the smart tabs too, so I may consider them as an alternative if I feel I need any modifications at all after getting comfortable with the boat.

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

I recently purchased an old chrysler (1969) Valiant,trihull with a 82 merc 50 hp with power trim , which came with a hydrofoil on it....the boat and motor handled great on my first trip and ran 30.5 mph with 2 adults and gear .....fast on plane and stayed on plane very easily. After reading a lot about hydrofoils I decided to take it off for a trial. The results were quite interesting: I gained 1 mph
but took longer to get up on plane and had to go faster to stay up, as well the boat didn`t steer or ride so nicely , trim was not so responsive . In my case the fin will be staying on !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

Would be much better with Smart tabs. Until you can prove load is better carried from the drive rather than distributed across the transom in defiance of the laws of the physics of leverage, you have a band-aid. Just sayin.

 

[QC]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

dockwrecker is wrong... (and yes, I'm not one of the haters)

I'm with dockwrecker and my sig used to be Friends don't let friends use hydrofoils. But then I started modulating and I decided I needed to be less blatant :redface:

I will add, I am a trim tab freak, and I believe they should be standard on all V-hulls. While I like SmartTabs, I LOVE helm adjustable tabs. I have determined a very simple thing about those who disagree with this . . . they've never used helm adjustable tabs

 

[rallyart]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

. . . they've never used helm adjustable tabs

Except me. I love the Bennett tabs on my current inboard and on the sterndrives of a few friends.
However, on a $3000 Grew the tabs were pricier than I wanted to spend and I am someone who could install them myself. The Foil I installed on the beach one morning and it fixed and improved many more things than I expected for a cheap price.
(I don't recommend putting the foil on when the boat is in the water. I was just too lazy to pull it out)

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

I agree fully with QC about helm adjustable tabs, No better way to go especially with a boat over 3500 lbs or of any sort of high profile I'd say they're mandatory. The typical wanna be fin user isn't piloting a heavier craft but wants a planing aid for a low cost. Smart tabs do this very well for not that much more $ wise with none of the crap that goes along with a fin, and don't require the attention that helm units do. I think they are a good choice for craft up to 20' and especially for newer boaters who don't have the experience trimming a boat under power or in weather. Smaller boats will benefit the most with Smart tabs. Helm adjustable tabs are the Cadillac tho once you learn to use them, nothing better and well worth the money.

 

[haley]

Re: To hydrofoil or Not to hydrofoil...

I am a new boat owner as well, and suffer from the same phenomenon. A strong desire to invest in modifications to a boat that I do not have very many hours on. I am going with your advice and using it for a while before tinkering.

In the mean time to satisfy this desire to sink money into the boat I am going to a) look at the hole in my checkbook the boat made or b) go with cosmetic investments - like I know I will need a bimini since no matter how the boat performs the sun will be turning my kids to bacon.

I am also getting help from the other boat owners in my immediate family, 9 year old daughter and 12 year old son. When I ask them about Hydrofoil or Trim Tabs they ponder it for a bit and respond "tow tube." When I ask Seafoam or Ringfree they ponder it for a bit and respond "root beer." When I ask wake-board or water skis there is no pondering involved - the answer is "yes."