Re: whale tail
They get boats on plane faster because they lift the stern of the boat up.
On any OB or IO, when you push the throttle foward, the engine pushes the transom both down and foward at the same time. Everyboat has pivot point so to speak, and then the stern goes down, the bow has to come up. That's part of the reason why boats get bow rise before on plane.
To help get rid of bow rise, you lift the stern instead. Those pigeon wings help in lifting the stern, and they typically work as advertised.
What they don't tell you is, the wing put stress not only on the antiventillation plate, but on the entire drive/gimbal/steering that is not normally there. They also lift from the center of the boat, which can make a boat tippy. And just like any other wing, depending on it's angle of attack (essentially your trim angle) If your trimmed out to far the wing will drag the back of the boat down towards, and possibly into, the water. You usually see it with hard cornering that the back of the boat takes a dip.
A much better solution is trim tabs. Smartabs is 1 product that isn't to much more expensive than a wing. And because they mount to the transom instead of the drive. Not only do they not put added stress on the drive. It lifts the boat from it's corners, instead of the center, and the boat actually becomes more stable than factory, not the other way around. And that's at any speed, any cornering angle, any trim angle. You don't have to worry about the trim angle as much, and there's no possibility of dragging the back of the boat down into the water.