Thread: Whale tail question

First, if your engine is still under warranty, installing a fin will void it.
A fin might get you on plane, but you may be pushing the capability of the engine past its limit.
As far as brands go, while there are fans of one or the other, most all of them do the job. You might also look at changing the prop. Check Iboats.com forums, there's a section specifically for prop discussion. Trim tabs or flotation pods could also help.
And last, which you probably already know, trim all the way down to plane faster, then up to increase efficiency after you're on plane. If you have manual trim experiment with the engine in different slots, you may be able to pop 'er up without spending a dime.

I agree that looking at the mounting of the motor and trying various mounting holes may solve your problem.. Always trim in for your take off and trim out to adjust ride once on plane. Prop size could also be a factor. On a 17 1/2 ft fish-n-ski that I used to own I used a whale tail on a 80hp Merc. It helped with cavitation in tight turns and with top end speed, but I noticed no difference on getting up on plane. If anything it might have added a second or two to get up on plane.

The first boat I owned was a Champion 18 ft with an Evinrude 150. I wasn't use to bass boats but to me it was slow to plane and you had to be going a decent speed to keep it on plane. I installed a Stingray hyrofoil that clamped on thus you didn't have to drill holes in the lower unit. The differance was night and day and I thought it was money well spent.

I sold that boat and bought a Tracker 16 ft deep-v with a Mercury 50 on the back. I decided to go ahead and put one on but bought an SE Sport 300 which bolts on. It cost a lot less than the Stingray. The improvement on the Tracker wasn't as good as the champion but it does pop out of the hole faster. I think it also ads stability and responsiveness.

I think they're worth it and I don't have any reservation about drilling a couple of holes in the lower unit.