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Topic:   More musings on the effect of a Stingray Hydrofoil

Salmon Tub

posted 06-28-2004 01:28 PM ET (US)         Well, I have now had a chance to use the boat with the Hydrofoil. I am completely pleased with the effect it has produced. On the down side, It seems that I have lost some fuel economy, approximately, 10%, but I have yet to determine how much of that is due to the fact that I had went down a notch in prop pitch recently, and did not do any tests on ecomnomy before installing the foil. Once salmon season is over, I will reinstall the 17" pitch prop and do a comparison test then. Other than that, the foil has proven to be worth it's weight in gold. Last week, I went out on a 4x13 day (4' swell every 13 seconds) and was able to head straight into it the whole ride out at 25-26 mph without so much as a single jump, thud, or bounce. Coming back was the same. This last friday was a different matter. Conditions were 5x8 with a windwave of 2-3 feet on top at every 5-6 seconds from the northwest. We headed out at a west southwest heading, and I was amazed at the fact that I was able to go 20-21 mph without pounding. At one point later in the day, I needed to head straight into the waves for 3 miles, and was able to do so at 15-16 mph without any jumps or bouncing. This was an improvement since preivously, in such conditions, I would have been limited to 12-13 mph, and still would have been getting the ocational hard bow-drop. As expected, the foil has little or no effect at troll speed. When out on the calm day, I was able to have my father drive the boat on the way in, and I sat in back, observing the engine and foil in the water. the foil runs just under the surface most of the time, but does ocassionally come up to skim the surface when cresting a swell. The next test will be to see how it handles the waters outside the Golden Gate.

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