Correct installation of hydrofoil

[eterry]

Hey all, against the advice of several I am not goin to get smart tabs and instead use a foil. The reason is COST; the smart tabs cost almost as much as I payed for the boat and I am not able to afford it. I used a foil on my 20 hp and was very happy with it.

Now the question; the stearns foil for over 35 hp has one flat side with a small "C" cutout at the back, and the other side has slots and is sloped like the wing on an aircraft. The instructions are vague and dont help. I looked at the stearns website, no help. Called them and they are closed on saturday. Called Cabelas and a local marine center and got opposing advise. Its a 2 piece kit so they can fit either way. Any advise?
Eterry

 

[Nandy]

Re: Correct installation of hydrofoil

Sorry, what is the question? Do you want advise on the entire installation or just a portion of it?

 

[old-gubbins]

Re: Correct installation of hydrofoil

I reckon the flat surface should go down, and the curved/convex leading edge surface should face up. As you say, the foil is effectively a wing, and will provide lift if it is installed the right way up. The last thing you want is down force!


hth

O-G

 

[guy74]

Re: Correct installation of hydrofoil

Do you still have the package? All of the ones I looked at online had a picture of it installed on the package. I personally would never use a 2 piece foil, but to each his own. I wish I could've found a better picture online, but they were all too small to see the details. I really like the way my Se Sport foil works on my boat, no bad handling or excessive loss of top speed. I haven't use any other designs of foils. I hope you enjoy yours.

 

[eterry]

Re: Correct installation of hydrofoil

I went to wykipedia and looked up foils, they show the thicker/curved side up, on an airfoil or hydrofoil. It gave a pretty thorough explanation of how they work and the algabraic fomula for building/testing a foil. I just got back inside from installing them, curved side up. I am gonna wait til tomorrow to try them out, I just need it to plane out at lower speed, I got a real scare last time fishing; hit one tree so hard I went to the dock and trailered the boat and checked for holes!!
Thanks all,
Eterry