Hydrofoils - Do they work?

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Lloyd Alexander

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Jan 11, 2004
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I just purchased a 2004 Nitro NX882SC with the

Mercury XR6 150.I have only taken it out once and I

love it.The largest boat I ever drove before this one

was only 15 feet with a 65 Johnson.The new boat seems

to have alot of bow raise when taking off.The Stingray

Speed-XP Hydrofoils claim to help this while also

improving handling and fuel usage(it really likes gas!!!!).
 
Yes they work, I have put one on every boat I have ever owned and it makes a difference. I like the SE3000 hydrofoil the best of all the different ones I tried. Of course that boat with a 150 should come up on plane very quickly with the correct prop and trim usage, without the hydrofoil. But yes the do work.
 
At one point there was some discussion about foils and warrantys on newer boats. Mainly they void them because you are drilling the lower unit. Someone should chime in about it, or you should check it out.



TOXIC
 
Also hydofoils are largely designed for heavier boats. They don't work very well on a lighter boat..tends to make the boat follow a wake.

TEE
 
Thanks alot guys! I will check out the warrenty problem

first.I am loving this site.Maybe i could make the rally

next year.
 
Had one on my TF1800 and it worked awesome. The boat planed out in seconds with it, without it, it took forever. No noticable loss of speed or performance either. A great investment. I didn't like the little anti-torque tabs though, they kept breaking.
 
Adding a foil WILL NOT VOID THE WARRANTY on the boat or motor.



Except..... If the cavitation plate should fail where the holes are drilled, that would not be covered.
 
You shouldnt need a hydrofoil to make an 882 with a 150 plane out properly. Bow rise is normal when taking off and because the NX 882 is stern heavy it will have a little more then other boats. I have played extensively with the setup on my 882 to max it out and there are lots of things i have found. My boat now is a rocket out of the hole and i dont have a foil nor would i ever put on on my boat, i dont like them for many reasons.



Things to check

1) Engine height, the motor should be setup so the propshaft is 3" below the pad, if its too low it will not plane good and may chine walk. If its low have the dealer raise it to the right height. Nitro tells the dealers where to mount them but it seems the dealers dont listen because having the motor mounted low is a common problem.



2) whight Distribution. If you have all your tacles in the back compartments move some of it forward. The 882 is very stern heavy because of where the fuel tank is positioned, there is a lot of weight back there, fill the livewells and its even worse. If you move some weight forward it will help.



3) Propeller. The 882 should have a 23 tempest plus on it. I have found the best combo on the pvs plugs is all three smaller holed plugs in. If you take any out or put in large holed plugs the prop ventilates too much and the holeshot suffers.



4) driving style. One thing i have noticed about my 882, you really cant ease it on plane. the best way to get it on plane is to trim all the way in and mash the gas. Its a high performance hull and it had to be driven as such.



One other thing that will help it plane out better is prop work. Custom prop blueprinting will make it like a whole different boat. It will halp with planing, rough water bite, slow speed planing, speed, turning etc. Nothing i have ever done has helped my boats performance as much. If you want the name of the guy i sent mine too i can post the number when i get home tonight.

 
Me, I sure have and its not a good fit on the 882. On takeof it ventilates way too much even with the pvs holes fully closed. i think to make it work it would need to have a anti-ventilation ring welded on then the pvs holes could be opened a little to get it to work right. It just seems with the over the hub exhaust its just too much. My boat actually was way slower out of the hole with the trophy then it was with a stock tempest. If i filled the livewells at times i wondered if it would ever get on plane with the trophy. With my current worked tempest i can get on plane in under 5 sec with a full well, full gas and two guys on a normal day. By myself with not water and a full tank of gas it planes as fast as i can push the hot foot to the floor. If its really hot and humid it suffers a little bit but its still not too bad and much better then stock.
 
My bow comes up quit a bit on take of before it planes out.If you have never been in a bass boat that size on a hole shot maybe your not use to it. I know when I first got the 901 it was a surprise to me at first.

Are you throttling all the way down on take off.
 
Fellows I appreciate all of the input.I did call

Genes Marine here in Montgomery,Alabama (Roll Tide)

and they said a foil would void the warrenty.I think

Gross may be right,that I am not used to it.Jim B said

his 901 would plan out in about 5 seconds.My boat will

plane out and be moving 40 in about 5 to 6 seconds.
 
Lloyd, probably a good idea....give it some seat time before you go drilling the lower unit area! I have a 115 on my 882 and while no rocketship it will plane out in about 8 seconds so your 150 should be plendy of motor once you are used to it.



--Corey
 
Lloyd -



Your Dealer is wrong.



If you put an aftermarket stereo in your car, it doesn't void the warranty on the transmission. Same thing.



The only part voided would be the cavitation plate and surrounding casting.



Starter goes out - still covered.

Head blows - still covered.



Find yourself a Dealer who knows his stuff.



me!
 
Pat Goff??? I wonder if you can shed a little light on this...I don't think it got resolved the last time I saw it posted either. I'm afraid it is not as simple as the stereo comparison. Better would be you put an aftermarket transmission cooler on your Camry and the tranny goes out. Toyota Dealer claims you didn't need it in the first palce and denies claim.....kapeeesh?



TOXIC
 
My 901 will plane in 3to4 seconds. Had the prop tuned .it was the best money I ever spent on the boat.Unbelievable the difference in the hole shot.Try it , you'll love it !!

I had them add just a little cup and the put a knife edge on the leading edge then polished it to a high gloss shine as smooth as glass !
 
like i said before a foil should not be needed. I dont like foils for one reason, they tend to kill bow lift and every boat i have ever ridden in that has one tends to ride hard because of it.



After i had my prop work done my 882 flies out of the hole. When i said above that i get up in under 5 seconds thats with 2 guys, 40 gallons of fuel, 33 gallons of water and a tournment load full ot tackle. Both me and my partner weigh about 230 so add that too. that 5 sec is getting on plane and accellerating hard and trimming up. By myself i cant even get the throttle all the way burried and its gone without the aid of a foil. Its all about the proper setup and tweaking. I personally think a foil is an easy to mask a setup/proping problem.



Keep in mind a factory merc prop is a one size fits all affair with many compromises to make the prop work on a varity of different hull designs. Having a prop blueprinted sets up the prop to better fit the hull that its running on. With my worked prop my boat is 100% better then with the stock prop, its quicker, faster on top, turns better, dosent slip in rough water, it even does a little better on gas. I never understood the benifit until i had mine done, now i will never run a stock prop again.
 
I know I am late into this discussion but I just got my 2001 882DC with a 175Optimax from a friend of mine late last season. I have been on the boat since day 1 and we can do 62 on a calm day and 65 in a light chop. The hole shot is 4-5 seconds. Not much to complain about there.



The motor is never run WOT except to get up on plane because of chine walk. We have lifted the motor to the best position on the jack plate, added a torque tab to the skeg, and put in solid motor mounts. The prop was fixed when joy riders stole the boat.



The 175 Optimax appears to be rare on the 882 from what I have read. I have not read that anyone has put trim tabs to correct hole shot or chine walking. Is this something worth considering? If not, why not?



Thank you in advance for your help.



Mike.
 
As has been discussed, give it some 'seat time' before worrying about a foil. I was going to put one on my Stratos when I got it (having the same problems that you are), and just learned how to drive it. Took time in the saddle.



Most of the Merc dealers will tell you it voids the warranty on the motor. You can argue one way or the other that driling holes in the cavitation plate shouldn't do that, but it's their nickel.



Tex
 

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