Outboard motor hydrofoils

[Thumpers Kid]

Does anyone use one and do they work? My backside is a little bigger than average and I have a 14' V-bottom jon boat with a 20hp longshaft outboard on the back. With my backside and all the weight of the motor and 2 batteries the bow comes WAY up when I'm heading down the lake by myself. I've looked at the hydrofoils (Doel-fin and Stingray) that claim to keep the bow down and wondered -- Do they work? They run $40-$50 and I'll have to drill holes in the motor to mount it. If they're not really worth it I don't want to drill a bunch of holes in my motor for nothing! Thanks!

[rdant]

I did have a 14 foot flatbottom, with a 20 on it and the hydrofoil made a big differace. Like you said the front end stuck way up in the air without it. Money well spent.

[TxBigRed]

I had a doel fin on my last boat and it helped alot

[wannabe fisherman]

I had one on my Bayliner 14' runabout and it would lift it right out of the water at half throttle, almost flipped it over. The Bayliner people said the type of hull on my boat doesn't need it. they were right!!

[wannabe fisherman]

I had one on my Bayliner 14' runabout and it would lift it right out of the water at half throttle, almost flipped it over. The Bayliner people said the type of hull on my boat doesn't need it. they were right!!

Wanted to add as a word of caution, They do work well. but IF your boat starts to curl to the right at anything over half throttle like mine did take it off.

[FisherMike]

Wanted to add as a word of caution, They do work well. but IF your boat starts to curl to the right at anything over half throttle like mine did take it off.

Mine did just that and all I did was move the trim.
Took care of everything.

I have the Stingray and love it.

One thing about any one of them is, there a little difficult to steer when in shallow water drive. With a tiller anyway. Especially in a current like going up-stream in a river.

[wannabe fisherman]

Mine did just that and all I did was move the trim.
Took care of everything.

.

do you have power trim on your boat?? Mine didn't, but it does now.

[Crappie Obsessed]

I love mine I can have 4 people in the back half of the boat with 90hp and have no problem running level also gets on plan much quicker when loaded

[stinkies daddy]

I have 16' venture Kricket it weighs 700 lbs w/ a 40 hp mariner on it and because of the doelfin my boat just pops out of the water and hits top speed of 31 mph in just a few seconds. I highly recomend this product

[ShortStorie]

I've installed hydrofoils on two boats. They work. I put a Stingray on my old 16' Lunker III with a 50 Evinrude. Discovered one thing about the Stingray... The shape catches stumps easily. I hit a big one at full throttle and broke the foil. Replaced it with a triangular shaped SE Sport 300 (looks like a big guitar pick)... no more problems with stumps. I put a SE 300 on my Champion with a 90 Merc and have been very pleased.
For a small boat/engine, I would recommend the SE Sport 200... It is smaller and designed to fit the lower unit of smaller engines. Doel Fin is 2 piece. Rather have one solid unit. Measure twice, drill once. On my Lowe, the foil stayed under the water even on plane... cost a couple mph but completely eliminated porpoising. On my Champ, the foil is out of the water at full speed so it has no effect on top end. You will not need to use much trim to get "out of the hole" and keep the nose down. You will be able to go slower and stay on plane. Get one.