Hydrofoils/Stabilizing plate

I put a plate on my 150 Mariner. I was inpressed with it. I got 3 mph on top end, but the best results was being much more stable at high speed. I dont get any wabble anymore. I would not run any boat without one.

WOW!!! definitely a difference with the 17P prop. My hole shot took less than 5 sec. Also had a slight speed increase. didn't get to drive it much tonight......The Fish were calling me. LOL

I will keep you posted on my progress. Thanks for you time and patience Tuffy.

I may just keep bending your ear on this subject for awhile

A boat will run faster on water with a little chop. The chop allows the hull to get a little more air under it and this will help to reduce the drag of the hull. A boat always runs slower in the heat of the summer too. With that 25" transom you may be running your motor too high, but I doubt that,if you are only turning that 19 pitch prop at 5500 rpm's. My guess is that you will wind up with your motor 1" up on the transom and a four blade prop. You will see low forties for speed, but you will have a nice overall performing boat. Your boat is not that under-powered and it should turn out ok.

I had a Triton TR176 Bass boat with a 115 Optimax. Mine had a 21 pitch Lazer II prop that was running 5850 rpm's and ran 54 mph on a GPS. The hull weighed 1350#, but a bass boat is much different than an aluminum hull. Keep us posted on how you turn out.

Im currently useing a 19P prop. I just switched to a 17P today and will be on the water tonight. My hole shot takes 10-12 sec to plane. At lower speeds it wants to drop out of plane. At 5500rpm my top GPS speed was 40 on glass water. It hovered around 38-39 most of the time.

Now with adding a stainless prop and some work Im sure I will see better results. Just disapointed at the moment.

So will a 4 blade prop of the correct pitch and cup.

All good points, but.... they will get you on plane faster and let you run your boat at a lower speed and still stay on plane. That said, one will most likely reduce your top speed unless you are grossly underpowered.

I researched your boat and see that it weighs 1380#. I'm not real clear on what you are trying to achieve, but a "Whale Tail" is not going to increase your speed. My guess is with that 125 Optimax your will only see 40-42 mph with a perfect set-up.

What pitch prop and what rpm's are you turning? Performance is a word that covers several different situations. How is your hole shot, what is your GPS top speed, how is your mid-range speed, does the boat have good weight carrying ability, or does it fall down under power, does it porpoise?

There is a guy "Propman" on Walleye Central that helps a lot of people with these kinds of problems, so that may be a good place to start. A dealer that sold you a motor that is too small for your boat, might not be.

Thanks for all the info guys. I will be calling my dealer tomorrow. The story: Basically got this boat for nothing. The problem was no engine. Went to a local dealer and took his advice. Not knowing much I went with his sugestion. Either a 115 or 125. These he had in stock. I chose the 125 optimax.

He assured me it would be more than enough to push this boat. With speeds of 45-47. In regular water my max is 37. With flat water I got 40 out of it.

So now I have to question him on if im underpowered. It was the one thing I didnt want and the extra cost is chump change at this level.

...A hydrofoil is simply a cheap fix to a propping, an engine height issue or if the boat is underpowered....

As Mossy Horns said, his boat is underpowered.

I agree with Musky and Tuffy. It sounds like there's something wrong with your boat's setup. A hydrofoil is simply a cheap fix to a propping, an engine height issue or if the boat is underpowered....

Formerly Steve @ G & S

Before you go that route you may want to talk to a good prop guy. You are Within 71% of the maximum HP and that is not that far off from the recommended 80%. I'm not sure where you are from, but there is a good one in Burlington and another in Princeton. I also think there is another one near Caledonia. I don't have the names of them, but maybe someone else can chime in on that. I would only go with a whale tail when everything else has been exhausted. You could have a prop issue, engine height issue, or a weight distribution issue.

The boats max hp is 175. So I am under by a bit. Lol. My trouble is that it won't stay on plane at slower speeds. So I guess your telling me that this might help with that issue. As far as speed gos. The dealer told me that I could hit 45-47mph no problem. Ha Ha the joke is on me. I cant break 40 yet. So if I lose some top speed that shouldn't be a problem.

What is the maximum horsepower your boat is rated for? If your boat has a motor smaller than the maximum as mine is, a hydrofoil will get the boat on plane quicker and keep it on plane at slower speeds. It did wonders for the performance of my boat. It may take a little bit off your top end speed though.

In my opinion these are just a band-aid for a boat that is set up wrong. They lift the back of the boat up and push the front end down. Many people put them on to try to correct a hull that porpoises, or is slow out of the hole. Proper engine height and prop will do the same thing.

if you need one of these..your engine isn't mounted right