Hydro Foils-gctid806284

[gazza25]

Can anyone tell me if they work. I have a 3055 with twin 350 mercruisers and thinking of putting some of the moulded fins on but don't know if they work

[wgander]

They work on little boats, don't know about yours. Seems to me that there would be too much stress on the outdrive and they'd cause the surface they mount on to crack/break.

Little boats use 'em cause they're so inexpensive. Next step up is Smart Tabs, still pretty inexpensive. Then real trim tabs that can compensate for port/starboard balance as well as bow rise.

[ken51k]

I would not put them on a 3055 with twin 350 mercruisers. A boat that size is way to heavy. Hydro Foils lift the stern of the boat up by the

outdrive this would put way to much stress on your outdrived and something is going to break.

Why are you even asking about putting Hydro Foils on this boat? A 3055 should have trim tabs on it already. If they don't work

get them fixed.

[SprinterX]

Trim tabs on our 3055s are small for the size of the boat as I'm told. This is more a result of available space to put them. You can improve the efficiency on the oem ones by adding 2" drop down fins. The fins help capture and contain the water as it travels across the tab, thus increasing its efficiency, rather than it blowing out the sides. I did this on mine and noticed a difference. The following year I added 2" to the length and realized more benefits. NOTE; One might think if a little is good more must be better but the single actuator can only handle so much. I'm happy with the results my mods have made and see no reason to challenge the reliability of the single actuator system.



this shows the drop down fin mod. don't have a pic of the 2" length addition but it is simply added between the fins and extend 2" aft. works great.

[Solandri]

They work, but they basically do the same thing as a planing hull. If your boat is small (light) enough that most of its weight can be supported by whatever the foils are mounted to thus lifting a significant fraction of your planing hull out of the water, they will work very well. If your boat is big (heavy) enough that most of the planing hull will still be in contact with the water (the hull is supporting most of the weight), they're not going to make any difference or may even slow you down (both top and bottom of the foil add friction with the water, whereas only the bottom of your planing hull adds friction).

Trim tabs function by adjusting the angle of your planing hull against the water. The idea is to find the optimum angle where you're planing with the least surface area contacting the water. That will minimize friction. (They can also be used to help you get on plane faster, kinda like flaps on an airplane wing.)

[Pcpete]

I tried them on my 2950 Encounter to no noticeable improvement. That's an 11k pound boat. I got more out of going to four blade propellers.