?? "Hydro Foils" on Outdrives on Scepters

[1bayouboy]

I'm convinced it'll help. Now I need to figure on the fin or the skeg mount. I think the fin but I also have a drive shower mounted on the Bravo I and need to see if I can mount a fin and not interfere with the drive shower. I might need to change where the pins go through the shower tube to let the intakes extend far enough down to clear the
fin. There a lot of shallow water around Charleston and while I always try to avoid it I rather have the fin than the skeg mount just in case I find a new sandbar or oyster bank. I like that no drill stingray version.

[BigLew]

Don't get the two items confused. As Fr. Frank explained to me and corrected my thinking; the "doelfin" type product works by being timmed down and thus presenting a rearward inclined surface to the water flow and is NOT a hydrofoil by design.

The Hydro-shield is a hydrofoil type design and provides the "lift" even when the drive unit is trimmed so that the thrust is parrallel to the forward motion of the hull.

They are different animals!

[76Red18]

First of all, Doelfins will work on sterndrives, just as they do on outboards. They only create an appreciable drag when the drives are trimmed all the way down.

Second, in a chop, they are very good at keeping the bow down cutting into the chop for a smoother ride, and they cost less than trim tabs.

However, unlike trim tabs, they cannot be used independantly of the drive angle. This means that underway and planing, you cannot adjust the boat's attitude while maintaining the best thrust angle on your outdrives. Remember that the best outdrive thrust angle while underway on a plane is as close as possible to parallel to your direction of travel, given the detractions of ride quality and trim angle. For thhis purpose, trim tabs are much better.

Given cost considerations, I'd probably go with the Doelfin or Stingray hyrdofoil stabilizers. You WILL get on plane faster, and be able to plane at a slower speed.

I have a Merc 150 OB on a Seafari 20, and I have a Stingray XPRIII mounted to my cavitation plate, AND a stabilizer mounted to my skeg.
I plane in under 3 seconds, and have a top speed of nearly 50mph. It looks funky, but works well.

Fr. Frank, I can only find a XRIII no XPRIII. Is the XPIII what you have? It's the no drill to mount model. If so did you choose it for that reason or better performance? Richard...