Pontoon Hydrofoil

[tomklein04@gmail.com]

Pontoon Hydrofoil Kit

Pontoon Hydrofoil, pontoon hydrofoil kit made to give your pontoon a better , quieter, faster , and more fuel efficient ride.

www.pontoonhydrofoil.com

Has anyone had any information on adding a Hydrofoil to a Bennington Tritoon? I have attached the video from the inventor. I is supposed to increase topend speed a lot.

 

[BigKahuna]

Going to have a hell of a time getting that thing on the trailer!!!

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Pontoon Hydrofoil Kit

Pontoon Hydrofoil, pontoon hydrofoil kit made to give your pontoon a better , quieter, faster , and more fuel efficient ride.

www.pontoonhydrofoil.com

Has anyone had any information on adding a Hydrofoil to a Bennington Tritoon? I have attached the video from the inventor. I is supposed to increase topend speed a lot.

I read the details - designed for a Pontoon, not a tri toon.

 

[jcr159]

Looks like it does work with a Tri, just a little different design. Seems new to market though. I also saw a similar product on boat buyers secret weapon youtube channel.

super curious about them and the effectiveness... Not so much for top speed for me, but saving some gas, lol... i wonder though how they affect watersports... positive/negative/meh...

If i was wishing for things, it'd be a nice foil setup with a sharrow prop... lol

Santa, are you listening?

 

[DVW]

This is the second manufacture in the market for pontoon application. They both lift the tubes somewhat out of the water to reduce drag. They need some hull in the water for pitch stability. Weeds might be a problem in some locations. I know that the other manufacture Hydrofin - HydroFinhttps://shophydrofin.com
glues the foil to the tubes to improve failure mode when impacting rocks. In the middle of the last century it was thought that all runabouts would soon be flying above the water. It would be a wonderful thing not to slam on top of the waves but there are issues like the cost of pitch stability, weeds, rocks and trailers. Finally at extremely high speeds a planning hull will probably have less drag than a wing in the water.

 

[jcr159]

This is the second manufacture in the market for pontoon application. They both lift the tubes somewhat out of the water to reduce drag. They need some hull in the water for pitch stability. Weeds might be a problem in some locations. I know that the other manufacture Hydrofin - HydroFinhttps://shophydrofin.com
glues the foil to the tubes to improve failure mode when impacting rocks. In the middle of the last century it was thought that all runabouts would soon be flying above the water. It would be a wonderful thing not to slam on top of the waves but there are issues like the cost of pitch stability, weeds, rocks and trailers. Finally at extremely high speeds a planning hull will probably have less drag than a wing in the water.

Seems like an expensive (and probably warranty voiding) thing to try out just to see... I think to your point, if it was universally better for all use cases on a boat, all boats would be flying above the water these days. Not exactly new tech.

I found it interesting that the original mfg posted, also requires a modified anti-cav plate... essentially it is enlarging the surface to get pitch control. Since the foil is a fixed pitch and in a fixed location, changes in balance (center of gravity), can actually make the foil dive the hull, or lift too much... so, rather than building an adjustable foil, you just fight it with trim control on the motor and a horizontal stabilizer... That seems like a counter-intuitive solution that saps efficiency gains... unless you can convince everyone on your boat to sit on each other's laps at the helm?

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Yep - void the warranty on your hull and potentially your engine since it appears you have to drill the larger anti-cav plate/whale tail into the existing one.

I like the creativity and effort they put into this, but it just doesn't make sense to me. You are spending likely thousands and losing any warranties to pick up a little soeed and efficiency. At the same time you potentially create more problems for yourself:

1) As stated by the owner in one of his vids, if there is any floating grass in the water it will get wrapped around the foil and struts

2) Potential damage from striking logs, crab pots, or even the ground as the foil presumably is well below the pontoons. You are basically a waterborne cheese grater

3) Loss of functionality - can you beach your pontoon on the sandbar with one of these? Trailer no longer can have center guides. How is turning or watersports impacted?

4) Long term stress on the deck. The foil distributes the load over a few (4 IIRC) cross members, and if this truly provides that amount of lift to get a 3,000 lb boat out of the water then these members will be applying a ton of force on those bolts/screws.

I think if speed or efficiency are the goal there are many more cheaper and better options out there IMO. Wave shield, better prop, raising the engine, larger engine, etc. Again it's a good idea and might be a solution for a small subset of boaters, but I don't see it making sense for most.

 

[jcr159]

yeah, the hydrofin seems like a better engineered solution (attached to the toons vs deck, and doesn't require the whale tail plate)...

but in all cases i'm not too keen on cutting up my hull and lifting strakes and voiding warranty.

maybe that'll change in time, but until it's a dealer option, i'm out...

 

[DVW]

This forum is very supportive for Bennington owners but it is a tough crowd for new ideas. I modified my hull configuration to go 46% faster with the original motor and the response was similar to what we see above. Just because a product idea has not taken hold in the past does not mean it will not be in our future. I do believe that a majority of the recreational boats in the future will fly above the water. Some of the issues stated above will be addressed and some will not because they are of little consequence. Try to imagine a 40 mph low powered boat that flies high above the waves. All the other boats on the lake would become archaic. Rough riding planing hills like I developed will seem like a buck board from the horse and buggy days. Overpowered displacement hulls will be viewed as brut force and ignorance. Just my opinion.

 

[Potomacbassin’]

I'm definitely skeptical of all the unproven ideas out there. You can appreciate the creativity while at the same time waiting for larger adoption to see how it performs in the real world under all conditions, not some carefully selected scenario. To be called horse and buggy types doesn't make friends either (you guys might not have seen the hydrofoil guy's response before it got pulled).

Sharrow Prop is a perfect example. Seemingly a great idea backed by a few test reviews, but when actual buyers have been waiting over a year to receive their prop I start to have doubts. No one has actually said they bought one, put it through its paces, hit a rock, had it repaired, etc etc and are huge fans. Many that are watching closely WANT it to be the next best thing - who wouldn't want more top speed and better fuel efficiency?? But where are the throngs of actual user reviews? The early adopters will prove out the claims of the zealous inventors, but until then the skepticism is warranted. As the saying goes if it's too good to be true...

 

[Timdelta]

I agree with you about future days. I also agree that all who poo poo’d the hydrofoil saying it will collect grass and be a hazard to itself, plus cause damage to frame of boat are right. The hydrofoil would need to be deployable so that once at speed and clear it could come down and raise the boat. All of this would be complicated and expensive. The naysayers only improve products not stop them. I think the future boats won’t be in the water at speed, they will be flying in ground effect above the water. The hull will be for slower speeds in the water.

 

[DVW]

I'm definitely skeptical of all the unproven ideas out there. You can appreciate the creativity while at the same time waiting for larger adoption to see how it performs in the real world under all conditions, not some carefully selected scenario. To be called horse and buggy types doesn't make friends either (you guys might not have seen the hydrofoil guy's response before it got pulled).

Sharrow Prop is a perfect example. Seemingly a great idea backed by a few test reviews, but when actual buyers have been waiting over a year to receive their prop I start to have doubts. No one has actually said they bought one, put it through its paces, hit a rock, had it repaired, etc etc and are huge fans. Many that are watching closely WANT it to be the next best thing - who wouldn't want more top speed and better fuel efficiency?? But where are the throngs of actual user reviews? The early adopters will prove out the claims of the zealous inventors, but until then the skepticism is warranted. As the saying goes if it's too good to be true...

I did not call members of this forum “horse and buggy types”. I did say “Rough riding planing hulls like I developed will seem like a buck board from the horse and buggy days”.

 

[Potomacbassin’]

I did not call members of this forum “horse and buggy types”. I did say “Rough riding planing hulls like I developed will seem like a buck board from the horse and buggy days”.

I was referring to the hydrofoil owner who posted last night and has since been deleted.

 

[DVW]

I agree with you about future days. I also agree that all who poo poo’d the hydrofoil saying it will collect grass and be a hazard to itself, plus cause damage to frame of boat are right. The hydrofoil would need to be deployable so that once at speed and clear it could come down and raise the boat. All of this would be complicated and expensive. The naysayers only improve products not stop them. I think the future boats won’t be in the water at speed, they will be flying in ground effect above the water. The hull will be for slower speeds in the water.

The hydrofoil will come of age with elegant solutions to the various problems. The problem that seems to be the most perplexing is active pitch control. Current solutions to this problem are costly and limit hydrofoil application to big boats. I made a living inventing product. What I learned is the birth of all elegant solutions come in the absence of negative thought. The other 99% of the process is dependent on critical evaluation.

 

[Tomc]

I don’t believe it can be done well without both a hull design change for weight distribution and more importantly a motor change. The shaft needs to be extended to get the prop further in the water (Unless I suppose you are in always calm water (which I never am)). I think it is an exciting idea, but don’t see the market to cause the manufactures to play along.

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

This forum is very supportive for Bennington owners but it is a tough crowd for new ideas. I modified my hull configuration to go 46% faster with the original motor and the response was similar to what we see above. Just because a product idea has not taken hold in the past does not mean it will not be in our future. I do believe that a majority of the recreational boats in the future will fly above the water. Some of the issues stated above will be addressed and some will not because they are of little consequence. Try to imagine a 40 mph low powered boat that flies high above the waves. All the other boats on the lake would become archaic. Rough riding planing hills like I developed will seem like a buck board from the horse and buggy days. Overpowered displacement hulls will be viewed as brut force and ignorance. Just my opinion.

46% faster TriToon Hull design....please post pictures!!!!! Wowza.

 

[Dino]

Just installed hydrofoil from www.pontoonhydrofoil.com
We have our 2016 Bennington 22 SSX with a 2016 Suzuki 115 on our dock, (no trailer) so we had to install it in the water, about 2.5 hours.
We didn't change anything else just installed the foil. Before the 115 pushed the boat 22 mph at 5800 rpm with a 17 pitch prop. After the hydrofoil installation the boat went 30 mph hammering the rev limiter at 6250 rpm. We did not change motor height. We definitely need to change props. The manufacture has suggested 21 pitch. The boat doesn't ride out of the water, just a few inches higher. The wife couldn't believe how quite and smooth the ride is. She calls it the magic carpet ride. If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[jcr159]

Just installed hydrofoil from www.pontoonhydrofoil.com
We have our 2016 Bennington 22 SSX with a 2016 Suzuki 115 on our dock, (no trailer) so we had to install it in the water, about 2.5 hours.
We didn't change anything else just installed the foil. Before the 115 pushed the boat 22 mph at 5800 rpm with a 17 pitch prop. After the hydrofoil installation the boat went 30 mph hammering the rev limiter at 6250 rpm. We did not change motor height. We definitely need to change props. The manufacture has suggested 21 pitch. The boat doesn't ride out of the water, just a few inches higher. The wife couldn't believe how quite and smooth the ride is. She calls it the magic carpet ride. If you have any questions, just ask.

thanks for posting experiences...

What are your thoughts on warranty from Bennington? Did you decide you are ok forgoing coverage? Or did you work something out somehow? Are you "testing" for the foil mfg?

Other than ride and speed, any other observations? How does it handle for watersports? The same or different? How about during aggressive maneuvers like hard turns, etc? What differences do you notice? I think this second set of questions is the biggest gap I find. I think we all get it that ride will likely improve, as will top speed and fuel efficiency... but the other handling characteristics are important too...

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Thanks Dino, looks like your first post, welcome.

Can you let the community know how this impacted your Bennington warranty? Also noticed grass on your lake from the background photos, any issues with it getting caught on the foil?

 

[Dino]

I don't know anything about the warranty, I'm the second owner of the boat. I bought the hydrofoil. We just got it installed and I haven't tried it with watersports. If you keep the motor trimmed down the foil doesn't come into play. It turns mostly the same, as the pontoons are still in the water. I haven't had any issues with weeds, I do steer around them. I think you could just back up, like you do to clear weeds off you engine. We got it on the same day that we left the lake house, so not a lot of hours on it yet. We will be back late July, will know more then. The wife is used to my different crazy ideas about things, but she said I did good on this one! Lol. It has lots of adjustment and if you wanted to take it off it's only 4 bolts. I don't see us ever taking it off.