Hydrofoil

I fitted one, it's good at speed when the legs trimmed out. Not much difference with holeshot but my boat is kind of heavy in the ass.
 
Tried one years ago on an older 268 Sundancer that was ass-heavy. It caused the boat to "porpoise" at planning speeds - not a nice ride. Removed it.
 
If it was a good ideal to have one. Wouldn't Sea Ray put them on in the first place. :smt021

Forget that tailwhale and reprop. :thumbsup:
 
I think they work better on smaller (lighter) boats than larger boats. I have one on my 20' cuddy and it helps it plane sooner and it keeps it at plane at a lower speed. It took away 2-3 mph at the top end, but the improvement in getting on plane was worth the speed loss. I'll keep it on until I can get a different prop (lower pitch) or add tabs.
 
the454assassian said:
what would you suggest to reprop with? I am a complete newbie and don't have a clue.
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If your boat reaches WOT (wide open throttle) rpms while normally loaded your prop is correct. However if you want to tow skiers, tubes etc and want a good holeshot, getting a smaller pitched prop than the one you currently run is a good idea.
From memory I think 1" of pitch is equal to about 250 rpm at WOT. Going down to a 17" pitch prop will give you heaps of grunt getting on the plane but your top speed will drop.
Does your boat have trim tabs? Good investment if it doesn't.
 
I'm running a 5X17 prop with a whale tail. As I stated in my PM WOT is 5300-5400rpm. I need to reprop to 19 to get me down to 4800-5000 spec for the 5.0. The whale tail is the best alternative to tabs but adds a lot of stress on the outdrive. Tabs are the way to go. I get on plane a lot faster with the tail but don't have the ability to trim starboard and port.
 
They KILL your trim pump. The hydrofoil creates this big pressure bubble that is constantly trying to tilt your sterndrive up. So you WILL jump up on plane easier, and be able to plane at lower speeds, but according to the mechie I asked at the marina- you'll be rebuilding your trim pump every couple of years. ($400 repair) I don't run 'em, but your experiences may vary. ;)
 
GoofyLeo3 said:
They KILL your trim pump. The hydrofoil creates this big pressure bubble that is constantly trying to tilt your sterndrive up. So you WILL jump up on plane easier, and be able to plane at lower speeds, but according to the mechie I asked at the marina- you'll be rebuilding your trim pump every couple of years. ($400 repair) I don't run 'em, but your experiences may vary. ;)
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Sorry. That mechie is full of crap. I ran a whale tail on my previous boat for 6 years without a problem. We spend most of the time sking and boarding putting lots of stress on the drive and trim. No problems. My opinion is they are worth it on smaller boats and don't make a difference on larger boats.
 
I finally bought a different prop and it made a HUGE difference. I went from a big ear style 19 pitch to a new style 17 pitch. Both are thee blade aluminum about 15.5" diameter. It feels like a whole different boat when taking off. It comes on plane in about half the time as the old prop and whale tail. I lost 2 mph according to gps and my wot went from 3600 rpm to 4200 rpm. Absolutely the best $100 I've spent on the boat. It also corners totally different. The old setup would drop speed in a tight corner where the new can accelerate out of the turn. It made the boat feel much more nimble.
 
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