I bought my boat early this year, and the PO installed a hydrofoil (whale tail). I have been told by at least two members that I trust very much on this forum that it should be removed immediately.

(Boat is an 18ft 150hp bass boat.)

My question is, are they beneficial at all to anyone or just gimmicks? I just took mine off last night and am excited about trying it out on the lake this weekend without the hydrofoil.

Anything I should specifically pay attention to?

Thanks,
Dustin

They are for the most part a bandaid for a bad setup. I've rigged hundreds of boats and one time it actually was needed. Tracker Avalanche with a 125 and a hooked hull.

Makes sense, reminds me of the old saying "if it needed one, it would have come on it from the manufacturer".

I don't like them because they make the outboard do something it was not designed to do. That is to provide upward force to the stern of the boat. An outboard (our outdrive on an I/O) is designed to push a boat. The mounting system is designed for this, not to also provide an upward force to lift the back end of the boat.

and when people with these trim out the motor, it puts a lot of additional force on the transom via the extra leverage the hydrofoil provides.

They are bandaids, put trim tabs on if you have to have one.

I took mine off and headed to Lavon yesterday, man what a difference! Not any speed gain or loss, but significant gain in control of the boat, especially while steering!

Boat feels fantastic to drive now, does a lot less unpredictable movements in the water and somehow feels more nimble.

Taking that thing off has made me a happy camper man

yep, like I told you those things definitely have no business on a V6 on a bass boat. Probably other boats and motors too.

Absolutely... it's like night and day. The boat just feels much better. Thanks for the tip man, it has really helped.

As a side note as well, when we took that bolt out to allow the trim to go down the whole way, this has certainly, certainly improved my starts when I tuck it full under.

I have much more confidence in my rig now, for sure. Thanks to you!

I've had one on every boat I've owned for the last 25 years, and have total confidence in them, so I will have to disagree with the above statement that they do not belong on any V6. These are used to aid in plaining the boat. Once on plain they are for the most part out of the water. The big gull wing foils will help to prevent porpoising as well. Now, if the prop on any boat is "under-sized" they get on plain without any problem. These are usually on boats where the owner does not care for Top-Performance. Another plus you get from a foil is less stress on your motor. Getting on plain is where the motor is subjected to the highest torque factors, and highest fuel consumption. Common sense tells me that a foil will lessen this stress and decrease fuel consumption. If you pull skiers is another time when a foil will help in planing and lessen motor torque. There are a couple of boat manufacturers that not only recommend a foil but they make and sell their own brand. Bad for a boat I don't think so. If properly installed and a motor properly rigged, a boat can only benefit from them!!

Same with me I installed one and now it pops out for a very fast plain and no more porpoising I love mine.

They make a lot of hulls handle funny, as in bow-hooking in midrange speeds.

I'll stand by original statement, if you've got the right prop, set at the right height, wing thingys are just a waste of time and money. If you've got such a dog meat hull that it actually needs help, then trim tabs will work way better than than a foil.

Spot on, that's been my experience over the years.