Stupid question...yeah, probably!

(o2binvallarta) · (o2binvallarta) **Join Date: Jul 2006** 09-11-2006, 4:08 PM

Has anyone installed a stabilizer hydrofoil on their I/O (Sting Ray, Doel-Fin, etc.) upside down to get a similar effect of the Malibu Wedge? I'm thinking about trying it with 1,000 lbs in the bow, but wanted to see if anyone else had pioneered that idea.

(greenpinky) · (greenpinky) **Join Date: Apr 2004** 09-12-2006, 5:16 AM

Never heard of anyone doing it, but I'm surprised I've never heard of the idea. I wonder if the composite would even hold up?

(hal2814) · (hal2814) **Join Date: Feb 2006** 09-12-2006, 5:48 AM

The wedge is attached to a reinforced section of the hull. The stabilizer is attached to a 70 pound, $1200 outdrive that's held on by six bolts. You can be the guneia pig for this if you'd like but I personally wouldn't put my outdrive through the strain.

(rodmcinnis) · (rodmcinnis) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 09-12-2006, 12:53 PM

A "wing" creates lift by a combination of Newton laws and Bernoulli's law.

Bernoulli effect is from the shape of the wing, which causes the fluid (can be air or water) to travel farther over the top than it does the bottom. This allows a wing to produce lift with minimal drag.

The Newton effect creates lift my deflecting the air/fluid, which requires the wing to have an "angle of attack". This creates a lof of drag.

The hydrofoil on an I/O would develop so little force from the Bernoulli effect that it wouldn't be worth messing with. It needs to have a signficant angle of attack to generate a signficant force.

You want your wedge on an I/O? Just trim the outdrive up a little. Even without the fin the trim will force the stern down

(froese) · (froese) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 09-12-2006, 1:11 PM

McInnis is right. You are controlling the angle of attack with trim on an outdrive or outboard. One other factor to consider, though, is that as you adjust that angle, you are also pointing the propeller in that direction as well. With the propeller trimmed up, you have no bite in the water, with more resistance from the foil...good luck getting on plane.

Also, the foil is typically attached to the cavitation plate - the horizontal fin that the boat is actually riding on. So, no matter if you attache the foil right side up or up side down, it will always be at the angle that is the cavitation plate.

(Message edited by froese on September 12, 2006)