upgrading the tiller with a foil or trim tabs?

[saskyangler]

after scouring the inter-web for info on trim tabs and hydrofoils I still don’t have a definitive answer as too which is the way to go. the boat I have is a Lund fury 1600 tiller with a 40hp 4 stroke. fairly heavy motor plus with myself at the back being over 200lbs, full fuel tank and a battery it can be a bit of a dog on hole shot. it will never be a speed demon I know that, just always looking to upgrade something

looking for real life experience with comparable boat set ups.

also any one ever put a bimini top on a tiller? would be nice to get out of the scorching sun on long days. how tall would you go with one? just worried it would get in the way for casting and trolling

[TROLLER]

I put a hydrofoil on my 16 and it made a huge difference getting up to plane much faster

Not that expensive and very easy to install. Unless you get someone to make you a bimimi to order they will get in the way either when casting or even using a rod holder.

One thing I wished I had done was pay the extra and get one custom fit to my boat. While I use it often it does become a pain more ways than one.

[Freedom55]

Replace your 3 blade with a 4 blade SpitFire prop from Mercury Marine. I put a Quicksilver 4 blade on a 40 horse 4 stroke; got a much better hole shot time but I lost 2 mph on the top end. Go with the Spitfire and gain on both ends. Well, no gain in speed but no loss either.

My advice would be to drop the hydrofoil idea and always have a spare prop besides.

Free

[EZM]

The number of blades, themselves, make very little difference in performance, it is the prop pitch (and torque) that provides bow lift ( to get you on plane faster ).

If you are running a 21 pitch, for example, put on a 17 or 19 pitch and you will find much better hole shot and control, although, you will loose some top speed.

At that point you can see if you need to add a hydrofoil or trim tabs.

I am always surprised how many people don't correct the root cause of the issue in the first place (the prop) and the position of the motor ( cavitation plate in relation to the bottom of the boat), prior to spending all sorts of money to correct a problem a $180 prop, or an adjustment to another bolt hole, can fix in 5 minutes.

Trust me on this one - give it a try prior to making the same mistake many guys make.

I fixed many issues with a different pitch propeller and an adjustment to the cavitation plate depth and ended up stripping off all the trim tabs, hydrofoils etc....

[TROLLER]

While prop pitch is a factor on 115hp and up on a 40 it would be a total waste of money.

Changing the prop pitch or going to 4 blades is not gonna bring the boat to plane any quicker if at all. What would be helpful besides going with a hydrofoil would be if you could move the gas tank forward, also consider getting an extension to the handle so you could sit further forward in the boat.

[Freedom55]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

While prop pitch is a factor on 115hp and up on a 40 it would be a total waste of money.

Changing the prop pitch or going to 4 blades is not gonna bring the boat to plane any quicker if at all. What would be helpful besides going with a hydrofoil would be if you could move the gas tank forward, also consider getting an extension to the handle so you could sit further forward in the boat.

Are you suggesting that I lied? Let me put it in simpler language "I put a $125.00 four blade prop on a Merc 40 on a 16' Lund and I came out of the hole a lot faster than previously experienced." Plain enough Dick??

The SpitFire does not retard top end speed at max. rpm.

Further, a good boat shop will loan you a prop to try before you buy.

Free

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

Are you suggesting that I lied? Let me put it in simpler language "I put a $125.00 four blade prop on a Merc 40 on a 16' Lund and I came out of the hole a lot faster than previously experienced." Plain enough Dick??

The SpitFire does not retard top end speed at max. rpm.

Further, a good boat shop will loan you a prop to try before you buy.

Free

Take it easy/chill/relax. Get out of bed on the wrong side?

or

[recce43]

sit further foreward i used a pvc pipe over the tiller handle and sat on the next bench

[TROLLER]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

Are you suggesting that I lied? Let me put it in simpler language "I put a $125.00 four blade prop on a Merc 40 on a 16' Lund and I came out of the hole a lot faster than previously experienced." Plain enough Dick??

The SpitFire does not retard top end speed at max. rpm.

Further, a good boat shop will loan you a prop to try before you buy.

Free

CHILL OUT THERE FELLA

You stay up too late last night or what. Believe what you want about prop size or pitch. I have the 4 blade prop on my kicker and do not see any difference from when I had a similar motor with a 3. The boat and motor sellers try and tell you that the 9.9 high thrust 4 blade is equal to a 15 hp but it ain't so. That is based on my experience.

The best thing saskyangle can do is move forward in the boat and put on a hydrofoil. That will get him to plane and that is what he is after.

[Bobby B.]

Last year, I purchased a new 14 ft Naden Canadian Laker then mounted a new 30 hp Merc on the back. My fuel tank was always positioned in the center of the boat whether I was alone or carrying a passenger. The hole shot was fine if there was a passenger up front but there was still some porpoising. With just me in the boat, the hole shot was LABOROUS and the porpoising was worse. The dealer offered me a different pitch prop to try, but it made no detectable difference.

Next, I purchased some Smart Tabs and installed them as per instructions. Very easy and quick. Voila, all problems solved. Great hole shot, no detectable change in top speed, and my boat stayed on plane at slower speeds.

Bobby B.

[TROLLER]

Now ya know. Smart tabs or in my case hydrofoil. But it sounds like on a smaller motor the Smart tabs are the answer.

[javlin101]

I have a hydrofoil on my 140 Nissan on a 16ft Crestliner. The hole shot is great and planes pretty quick.

[jim summit]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

While prop pitch is a factor on 115hp and up on a 40 it would be a total waste of money.

Changing the prop pitch or going to 4 blades is not gonna bring the boat to plane any quicker if at all. What would be helpful besides going with a hydrofoil would be if you could move the gas tank forward, also consider getting an extension to the handle so you could sit further forward in the boat.

Prop pitch is very important on any size prop. It's your transmission, higher pitch=high gear. Lower pitch = lower gear. 9.9 hp run 10" pitch, 115hp run 19" pitch, 150 hp runs 21" pitch. make sense?

Lower the pitch on that 40 hp and you will shoot out of the hole , but have less top speed. It's like taking off in 1st gear instead of 3rd.

[Kokanee9]

I had a 16' with a 50 2stroke, console steering. I put the hydrofoil on and in hindsight, I should have went with changing the prop instead.

[catnthehat]

I've had hydrafoils on boats with motors ranging from 20 to 90 horse, and would not put another outboard in the water without first putting on a hydrafoil, Stingray, etc!
One one particuar was a 16 foor Glascon that bucked really bad even with extra weight up front and the motor trimmed as far as it could go.
We put the hydrafoil on it and with two guys in the back it came up and behaved perfectly!
Stuck a 90 Johnson on it that came with a Stingray , the owner had installed it for the same reasons.
Cat

[benamen]

I have a 16 ft with a 60 hp Johnson two stroke on it. It was always a dog off the line. Put on a stainless prop with a 2" lower pitch and you would think I put a bigger motor on it.

[saskyangler]

good info for sure guys, but this is clearly a hot topic among boaters.

[QIsley]

Smart Tabs Rule!
Have them on a Crestliner with a 115 Honda 4 stroke..
Without them could not get on step with three people, unless one was sitting on the bow. It was a dog.. Ok with two guys but motor had to be trimmed right down and was slow getting on plane.

Got Smart Tabs, boat jumps up on Step in a boat length, don't have to touch the trim on the motor, stays on plane at slower speed, seams to be smoother on light chop.

They are great!

[Freedom55]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Take it easy/chill/relax. Get out of bed on the wrong side?

or

Seems to me that the OP was asking for a considered response from a knowledgeable and experienced Lund owner about hole shots.

Not, as was your read, an opinion on another member.

Then there is that other contributor who thinks that the throttle response is the same for a 3 hp eggbeater as it is for a 40 hp fuel injected four stroke on a seriously sized fishing boat. What was he thinking?? And no one said that adding a fan to an outboard was going to increase hp by 50%, except him.

Or how anyone on here has more engineering skills than the people employed by the manufacturer of both Lund and Mercury who probably never thought about adding a length of plastic pipe to the tiller handle on a hugely expensive outboard. Likely because it is a hillbilly approach to a serious problem.

Free

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Freedom55

Seems to me that the OP was asking for a considered response from a knowledgeable and experienced Lund owner about hole shots.

Not, as was your read, an opinion on another member.

Then there is that other contributor who thinks that the throttle response is the same for a 3 hp eggbeater as it is for a 40 hp fuel injected four stroke on a seriously sized fishing boat. What was he thinking?? And no one said that adding a fan to an outboard was going to increase hp by 50%, except him.

Or how anyone on here has more engineering skills than the people employed by the manufacturer of both Lund and Mercury who probably never thought about adding a length of plastic pipe to the tiller handle on a hugely expensive outboard. Likely because it is a hillbilly approach to a serious problem.

Free