Outboard Hydrofoils

[vision21]

G'Day

''Hydrofoils'' has anybody used one of these gadgets on there outboard?

A few blokes told me I need one but I'm not in a hurry to drill holes in my new 225 outboard.

Any opinions or ideas welcome. [you can google this ''SE SPORT 300'']

Tony.

[Robbielites]

Tony,

The key words there are..."my new 225 outboard"

What is it on? And why do your mates think it needs foils?

A bit more info and I am sure some one will jump in and point you in the right direction..

Cheers.

Robbie.

[vision21]

Tony,

The key words there are..."my new 225 outboard"

What is it on? And why do your mates think it needs foils?

A bit more info and I am sure some one will jump in and point you in the right direction..

Cheers.

Robbie.

Thanks Robbie your right I didnt give much info maybe I should sell used cars or something.

Anyway its an Allison boat 6.95mtr cuddy cabin with a 225hp optimax bought it new in june L/year.

The engine sits on a pod, so the prop is about 600ml away from the transom. The boat planes at about 2500rpm so I think its OK for a boat its size. My mates say the hydrofoil will get the rear end higher sooner and when trolling. So, would a $110 foil make a huge difference. I have not seen to many boats with these but have seen a couple Trophy boats with the engine pod set-up.

[bmar560]

Just as a disclaimer I'm not familiar with boats that size. Just wants to share my experience with this kind of modification to my outboard

I have a 3.8m Glass boat with a 40HP on it, before putting on permatrims the boat struggles to plane and itporpoises a lot. Mainly because the boat is overpowered and there's too much weight sitting on the back being a tiller control.

I've then installed a permatrim, which is a one piece aluminum metal on the outboard. I can say that I wish I have done it earlier ! The boat planes so much faster saving fuel in doing so and a lot more comfortable than before.

The permatrims may be and most probably is more expensive(+labour fee) than the plastic/foil counterpart, but this thing doesn't flex and it's strong as an OX. I've seen pictures where a dude stands on the permatrim just to prove that point.

Have a look at their website below

Permatrim Site

[Guest Big-Banana]

We used to have one, it does help, ours eventually caused a crack in the leg on the motor so we took it off. It was on a 175 Optimax.

[netic]

If you do end up getting one do not buy a cheapy...go with Permatrim...they are by far the best, the plastic ones are not very good in comparison

[lancer]

I have had a permatrim on a previous boat and it really did good things.

But having a new boat and not wanting to drill holes why not try this:

1) whenever starting off - trim the motor right in and work out the setting at which the boat jumps on the plane and the rpms. This may take a number of take offs to work out the best in trim setting.

2) trim the motor out until the boat will run straight and you dont have to steer it. Take a note of the setting.

3) then start always start off on that bottom setting and accelerate immediately to the rpms that gets it on the plane and then trim to the good running setting.

This is the technique I use on my boat to get the best performance without having to resort to a permatrim.

[Weasel]

I got a peratrim for my 4.1 Allycraft and it did wonders

[namesay]

Those hydrofoils can help especially if your boat doesn't have enough bouyancy in the rear. A lot of the older style boats have this problem.

But I would think if you are thinking about hydrofoils in a boat that size, a set of trim tabs are a better option. You don't have to drill holes in your engine and the tabs can be used to level the boat out as well. COsts more than the hydrofoils though. CHeers Kelvin

[Guest Big-Banana]

Just so you know, I had a Permatrim. It was great and we definitely wouldn't have removed it, if it had not of cracked. We believe this was caused by vibration when trimmed up and the installation. The holes were drilled 1-2 mm away from the stronger side of the plate.

If you can afford Tabs, then go for it. The electrically adjusting, hydraulic ones are great.

[Geoff]

Vision21 Suggest you stay away from the plastic wing type foils. There are some real horror stories around about them working in reverse & tipping the boat violently , ie , under certin conditions one of the wings digs in putting the boat on it's side

Geoff

[vision21]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Well all the info is here, just have to decide what to do now. I told my wife about drilling holes in it and she cant get over that idea, still has trouble getting over the price of the engine.

I really wanted to go for the trim tabs but the marlin boards would get in the way of the struts that house the electric motors.

We plan to go to apple tree bay on saturday morning. I will spend more time with the trim control and go from there.

The other thought I just had was the issue with the 3 year warranty on the motor. Nothing is easy I guess.

Tony.