Hydrofoils??????????

[TopEnder]

Hi All,

Iam going to purchase a hydrofoil for the 60hp 4stroke on the back of the TopEnder and was wanting to know what type(s) everyone is using and what their opinions are both good and bad. My current choices are the SE sport turbo and the new XP-1 stingray. Iam mainly interested in lift at slower speeds rather than stability. (the boat is very stable, but digs the bum in at slow speeds like 5-8knots) Goes like a rocket so if you give it even just a little it is up on the plane and away but way over 8 knots and mister plod doesn't understand that. ??? If you try to slow down it digs the bum in. To give you an idea it planes at about 1000-1500rpm but this gives about 10-15knots and WOT is about 5800rpm and over 40 knots!!! :o :o :o. Any help would be appreciated as I do alot of river fishing alone and doing 8 knots I would make all the wake boarders very happy ;D and all the river banks very sad. :'(

Regards
Dave

[NQCairns]

I take it you dont have trim n tilt.
Topender what about Smart Tabs, you dont want a foil - not at all with what you describe sounds well set up - perfect actually IMHO sometimes boats will be boats ;D. Do a search on them. Check out the Smart tabs. cheers nq

[cooky]

i did a quick search and couldn't find any details apart from price on whitworths - no images, etc.

Any ideas where info can be located?

[NQCairns]

Cooky if you were refering to the smartabs? http://www.nauticusinc.com/index_800.html

Here is some good general tab info

http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=035494

cheers nq

[TopEnder]

Thanks for the reply nq. I do have trim and tilt and this helps with the hole shot (more like a rocket firing ;D) but with the motor trimmed all of the way in at slow speeds (and trimmed out and everywhere in between) the bow goes skywards and the stern digs in. I'm really just after a slower planing speed. I will check out the smart tabs.

Regards
Dave

[Fitzy]

Trim tabs on a tinny with a 60? A bit of overkill & a bit extreme IMHO.
I'd definately be trying the hydrofoil first. The SE Sports are a very popular foil. Cant fault them in my experience.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[cooky]

NQ Cairns - have you tried these? or do you have them on your boat?

They look pretty interesting

[Zeeke]

Maybe heres something insightful for my 1000th post..? No? ok.. anyways

I think you'll find, due to the Quintrex hull design, low speed planing will be difficult, even with a foil fitted, they are a real dog to try and get up out of the plane easily and you sacrifice the speed for stability until your up and going full go, my old motor had a Stingray fitted and when i took my boat in yesterday to get a new motor fitted (yammie 40hp 2stroke) they recommended i try and use the power tilt and trim to adjust the ass hugging that happens when cruising at speeds 6 and above knots, the foils do hole shot you faster but they can also dig the ass down in the water when reverising and swamp your boat, my boat is used for 99% of Lure and Flyfishing so i know what you mean about slow planing speeds, lowest i can go while planing is around 10 knots.. then it digs its ass in the water, you might be better off just taking your boat for a spin on an open stretch of water where its nice and deep and you can zoom up and down and play with the trim and tilt while going at lower speeds, once you find the perfect tilt angle (as recommended by the fellas at Dolphin Marine) put a dot using liquid paper on the trim and tilt guage where the needle is pointing for future reference.. also handy for playing with when youve got a full tank of fuel and a empty tank, you can adjust the tilt for optimum speed, put a dot on the guage and you save the guess work for future references

Tim

[SeaHunt]

I think you've got a weight distribution problem. Try putting the esky full of stubbies a bit further up the front. #;D
Foils are basically designed to get you onto the plane quicker by providing lift at the arse end, they may also possibly hold you on the plane longer when slowing down but at eight knots I doubt that you would be planing anyway.
Having said that, I have 60 4st on a Quintrex, a 475 Freedom sport so different to yours , I had trouble getting onto the plane quickly with 4 fat guys in it so I bought the SE sport turbo and basically that is all it seems good for. #:P

[NQCairns]

Cooky no never even seen them in real life :P I would guess they are no full substitute for hydraulic tabs but a hell of a better idea than any foil if simply because they act upon the hull (like what Zeeke said re:dig the ass down) not the O/B and therefore the propshaft alignment can be correct with T&T use for any speed or attitude cause the tabs look after the hull only if needed. They would get any boat up faster than any foil would with the added advantage of not being a lump on the motor after holeshot because they do the job then as well.
If I have any dramas when the project boat is launched they will be going on quick smart, I even designed a spot for them on my floatation pods :D Have you had your new boat out yet??nq

PS Topender, with full negative O/B trim + tabs your arse will be catchin the breeze at lower speeds than you are now IMHO. Wont someone I know be the guineapig ;D ;Dcheers nq

[TopEnder]

Hi All,

Thanks for all of the great replies. Yesterday I took the plunge and purchased a SE Sport turbo Hydrofoil. My theory was I can always take the thing off and I have only lost 100bucks and gained 4 holes and waisted a bit of time. But the result was even better than expected. The bum doesn't dig in hardly at all, planing speed is about half of what it was and top speed is not really any different and the wake at really slow speeds is much much less. You can now shut the throttle from a fast cruising speed and the water doesn't even come near the motor well. All in all a great result so far. Tried a few tight turns a high speed in both smooth and rough conditions and there was no signs of any ventilation. (cavitation to some!!) Once again thanks to everyone who had a say and I will keep you posted good or bad after I give it a good run this weekend.

[cooky]

I get the boat delivered Monday - may not have time to take it out before Wednesday camping trip to Taylors Beach, but we'll see. The guy who owns it may want to take me out in it on monday.

2 more sleeps

GO THE COWBOYS!!!!

[NQCairns]

Topender glad you had a good result, and especially that you have no bad high speed handeling problems considering it sounded so well set up in the first place. 1/3 the cost of tabs with benefits has got to be worth it. [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

Cooky you must be excited I would be hope your trip goes well.

nq