Hydrofoil

[eyedabassman]

I have a 18 .6 Triton with a 150 and no jack plate! I was thinking of getting a hydrofoil to get on plane faster. So what are por’s and con’s?

[Longball22]

I just sold my 18.5 Nitro with a 150, and I had a hydrofoil on mine.  I strongly suggested to the buyer that he leave it on there.  I got on plane quicker, had less porpoising, and could cruise slower without coming off of plane.  If your motor height is set correctly, the plate should be out of the water when you're trimmed out, and not affect your top end.  

The only negative I noticed, is that if you were up on plane and somewhat trimmed out, then turned hard, you would feel the hydrofoil catch at times, or it air might get under the cavitation plate and throw an alarm.  That was not a deal breaker in my mind though.

Here is the one I had.  It doesn't require drilling, so for less than $100, well worth the experiment.  Mine was on for a year before it slipped back about 1/2 an inch.  I pushed it back forward and re-tightened the bolts, and it still in place after two years, so it was incredibly secure.

https://www.amazon.com/Sport-Marine-SE400-Hydro-Black/dp/B0757LYJSD

[mixermarkb]

Spend the money and get a jack plate, and the right prop for your rig. I'm betting if you are having hole shot problems, you are over-propped and lugging your motor at WOT. Setting up your rig with the right prop and the right motor height will make your boat more efficient, add to rough water ride and handling control, and just generally be money well spent.

Hydroplanes are basically a band-aid to hide other problems, the biggest one being a boat that is propped to be within the WOT RPM range when it's empty on a cool day, so salesmen can give an unrealistic top speed number to prospective buyers. Load that sucker down with a couple of cheeseburger eaters, a dozen or so rods, half the Zoom aisle at bass pro and a bunch of Plano boxes, fill the live wells and the gas tank, raise the air temp to about 90degrees, and that 5600 RPM number is about 5100 and it takes an hour to plane, if it will at all.

Boat setup isn't cheap, and it's time consuming, but if you ever drive one that is dialed in, you will be amazed at the all around performance difference it makes.

[Ketchup]

cheeseburger eaters? I dont stop there. Then its a large custard from Andys.  

What prop is on the boat, and what are your WOT rpm's?

[fishinwrench]

They help some rigs.   I have one on my old 18' Nitro because it allows me to stay on plane at 2400 RPM and jump across shallow spots so I don't have to do it at 50+mph.

They also help rigs that are prone to backwashing when you shut down quickly, or boats that wallow side-to-side when at a fast idle.   The only real down side to them is that if you hit a stick with it you can rip a big chunk out of the cav plate that will cost 250.00 to fix.

[176champion]

My boat was porpoising and i had extra cup put in the prop and that fixed it and i was also able to jack my jackplate up a notch for a better holeshot, i need to get my other prop cupped.

[eyedabassman]

1 hour ago, Ketchup said:

cheeseburger eaters? I dont stop there. Then its a large custard from Andys.  

What prop is on the boat, and what are your WOT rpm's?

I am running a Tempest Plus! 5400

[mixermarkb]

2 thoughts.

Make sure and play with the PVS vent plugs so you are allowing that prop to spin up to speed fast enough. Finding the right combo of vent hole sizes for how you typically load the boat may really help your hole shot.

if it was my rig, I think 5400 on top is a touch low RPM wise. I'd trade props down an inch or two in pitch, get my rpms back to 56-5700, and get the holeshot benefits of lower pitch.

and, 

i'd put a 6" or 8" manual plate on it. Rapid Jack is my personal favorite, but there are lots of good ones. With a jack plate to adjust height, you may be able to get your RPM's up without changing props. I'd bet you a cheeseburger that if you took all your gear out of the boat, emptied the live well, and ran it by yourself, that you would have 200-300 more rpms at WOT, and a much better holeshot.

[eyedabassman]

Should I take the plugs out  , one at a time or as pairs ? They just pop out?  I don’t like when I slow down how it goes off plane! I would like go slower and watch my Humminbird rather than worrying about what I can’t see  coming. That is also why I was thinking hydrofoil !

[bluebasser86]

My Stratos 189 VLO wouldn't get on plane very quickly until I got the motor height set right and the correct prop for it. Mine has a manual jack plate but it was pretty easy to adjust by myself and they're not terribly expensive. I also went from a Laser II to a Tempest Plus, which helped with hole shot and top end speed.