I am fairly new to boating and fishing fresh water... I have a wide 14 ft. jon and i'm putting a 1996 johnson 25 hp on it. stepping up from a 69' evinrude 18hp. anyway this new "used'' engine has a doel-fin hydrofoil stabilizer that comes with it and i just wondered if putting it on the engine would make a noticable difference? Just wondered if anybody out there ever used this or any other type of hydrofoil system?? Any info would be great. Thanks.
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Hydrofoil Stabilizers Do they work?
- Thread starter Aaron2000
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Some people swear by them. I wouldn't be caught dead with one. "Friends don't let friends use whaletails....." (Signature of a member on another board).
The only thing they are supposed to do is help with stern lift. They won't really help with anything else. Had I a problem with a lack of stern lift, I would be going with trim tabs, or likely smart tabs on a larger boat, or some sort of fixed tabs on a smaller boat (there was a thread on this a couple months ago. Search homemade trim tabs, or something like that to find that).
The only thing they are supposed to do is help with stern lift. They won't really help with anything else. Had I a problem with a lack of stern lift, I would be going with trim tabs, or likely smart tabs on a larger boat, or some sort of fixed tabs on a smaller boat (there was a thread on this a couple months ago. Search homemade trim tabs, or something like that to find that).
ben2go
Well-known member
I've only seen those work at high speeds on light weight boats.Then they can make the boat a bit twitch and give an unsafe feeling.I personally wouldn't use one.
Captain Ahab
Well-known member
phased
Well-known member
I put one on a 17 ft. fiberglass with a 70hp Johnson I used to have. Made it pop up on plane twice as fast. I had no issues at all with handling and stability. Heavy boat though. I have no experience with one on a tinboat.
ben2go
Well-known member
phased said:
They are very different on a glass boat.On a light tin boat,they try to lift the transom out of the water,and make the boat feel skidish at speed.
redbug
Well-known member
i had one on my 15ft tin boat it was on a 15hp yamaha it helped with my speed and getting on plane best $40 i ever spent ...
Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to get the engine in a couple of hours from the boat shop. I guess i'll just have to experiment with the hydrofoil. I'll run it without first and then maybe monday i'll put it on and take it for a test run. Thanks again
I took the new engine out yesterday. When i picked it up the hydrofoil was already on. I was very pleased with the way the boat handled. Although the 25 hp might have something to do with that. It did seem like the *** end of the boat was out of the water more than before. When i turned the boat at high and low speeds it did not feel like the boat was skipping across the water. Maybe with less weight in the boat it would but i had 700lbs plus the engine. Going back out today to play in the water a little and do some testing. I need to figure out what pin setting i need on the back. I will test the Johnson motor without the ''whale tale'' but as of right now it will probably stay on...
Waterwings
Well-known member
Good to hear there weren't any stability problems. Keep us informed as to how the tests turn out 8)
Well i took the boat back out last monday and tested it some more. I had less weight in the boat. The winds were about 10-15 mph and the water was a little rough. The engine ran great! I did noticed that it was a little lighter in the *** end when at high speeds. The boat did seem to float more than before or glyde on top of the water what ever you want to call it. The boat never felt unsafe and i don't feel that the boat was unstable. Today i am going to take the hydrofoil off here in about an hour and go fishing. I'll see what i like better. I can see where if someone had a heavy fiberglass boat that a hydrofoil would work wonders. I'll write more tonight or in the am...
Well i went out last weekend with out the hydrofoil but i was by myself so i'm going to wait till this weekend to make up my mind about that crazy thing. by myself 28mph on rough water, winds about 15 mph.... not too bad. The boat handled great!
ben2go
Well-known member
Have you checked speed with the hydro foil in place?If it doesn't feel unsafe,I'd go with the set up that gives the best average speed loaded and unloaded.
i wouldn't trade my whale tail for anything other than about a 25hp motor, i put it on my 1998 evinrude 9.9hp on a 14ft lowe, and it made a very noticeable difference in speed, handling, and fuel consumption(used less gas). but it may be different on a bigger boat and/or motor combination. now to replace my dinged all to heck prop so it'll perform the right way lol
thanks
sam riley
thanks
sam riley
Well i think i finally came to a conclusion with my Hydrofoil. I went out on sunday with my fishing buddy and the engine was bare with no whale tail. The conditions were less than perfect on the lake... 15 mph winds and very very choppy. I had the boat top speed 26 mph for about 30 sec. then dropped it back down to around 20... Although the motor itself ran great, it just seemed to me that it took the boat a little longer to plain out and it didn't feel like my boat was just floating like before when i did have the whale tail on. i think with the perfect conditions i could get my 14' jon boat over 30mph. which i think is hauling *** for such a small jon. Well thanks to everybody that had some input on here. I'll post what happens when i reinstall the whale tail back on the motor.
