Printable View
Bought my first boat last year, because of gas prices, I've been mainly putting in and trolling right from there. But, when I do want to get up and go, the boat ,a nitro 750sc with a merc 90 optimax, takes quite a while to get up on plane. I was wondering about putting on a hydrofoil.....any comments, suggestions, or straight out answers would be greatly appreciated.... thanks
My brother had one on has Hydra Sport. He has played with it on and off. He gets on plane a lot faster but you lose top end speed and gas milage. But if your main problem is getting on plane faster it works well.
Go over to Bass Boat Central and do a search for Bryan's Foil. It seems to be one of the better ones for bass boats.
i have a dynatrak 150 (15' long or so) with a johnson 60hp. i bought a hydrafoil down at stokely's a few years ago. HUGE difference in hole shot.
I have a Tracker PT175 with a 50HP 2-Stroke Merc on it...my hole shot kinda ***** as well, but I've always been under the theory that anything else sticking down in the water will cause more drag and cost you (1) speed and (2) gas mileage. I don't want to trade a better hole shot for slower top end speed and more money at the Shell station, so I have stayed away from the Hydrofoils.
i had a 06 ranger 175 vs with an optimax 115 on it and it took forever to get onplane especially if you had someone big in the boat plus a full live well so dad put a stingray hydrofoil or whale tail on it and it got on plane great... plus man u have a optimax and those things get great gas mileage i upgradedto a 188 vx with a 175 pro xs on it now but i dont have no trouble getting on plane with it and i get great gas mileage with it.... look at your mercury specs a merc burns more fuel at 2000 rpm than it does at 5000 rpm.....
[QUOTE=nitro90;330574]Bought my first boat last year, because of gas prices, I've been mainly putting in and trolling right from there. But, when I do want to get up and go, the boat ,a nitro 750sc with a merc 90 optimax, takes quite a while to get up on plane. I was wondering about putting on a hydrofoil.....any comments, suggestions, or straight out answers would be greatly appreciated.... thanks[/QUOTE]
What pitch prop you running, you may just need to drop down one size or if your running a 3 blade try going to a 4 blade. I have a 20' Procraft 225 Pro XS, I was running a 25P 3 blade, dropped to a 24P 4 blade Trophy Plus and it shoots out of the hole now and still running 5800RPMs @ 71mph on GPS. I just bought a 25P 4 blade Trophy Plus to see if I can drop the RPMs alittle and pickup some top end speed, mainly for KY Lake long runs. Just my 2 cents.:)
Have you considered a lower pitch prop? That would probably get you out of the hole faster but like almost everything else, you will loose top end speed. Maybe a 4 blade prop instead of 3?
In a past life, I had a friend that had a prop that changed pitch as it ran. I recall that it was about a 16 until it hit 3 or 4 thousand RPM and then it switched to about a 23 for top end. It worked really well for the summer he ran it. He sold it the next winter but I can't recall why.
I had a 15-1/2 foot Astroglass with a 115 Johnson. Hydrofoil was a plus. Better hole shot, no porpising (up and down like a dolphin) and I got better top end speed cause I was able to lift the front of the boat out of the water and run on the pad. That boat would run 55+. That was plenty fast for a small boat. Good luck.
I like you had the same problem with a 97 Nitro 700DC with the exact 90 hp motor. I dropped down in prop size and got the hole shot I was after, but lost about 3 mph on top end. But the getting up on plane faster was well worth the lost mph, since I wasn't in no hurry in getting anywhere anyway. Good Luck
Yea, I would definitely check the prop and try something different. Also, make sure your weight distribution is balanced in the boat. Try putting a heavier piece of weight (cooler or something) up toward the front as well.
I have a 17'6" Cajun with two casting decks with a 115 Evinrude. i have a great hole shot and get about 46-47mph top end @ 5100 rpm (5500 max). I currently run a 19 inch prop and may be able to turn one with a slightly bigger pitch, but I am at about the optimal balance in my opinion.
It does make a huge difference though how your weight is distributed.
I have a 98 Nitro 700lx with the 90 Merc Tracker, I have a four blade Turbo prop on it and it gives me great hole shot, I lost a few mph but I get up on plane a lot quicker and the four also seems to help in rough water some.