Do wings on outboards work?

[Nostrodamus]

I have seen plenty of outboards with those wings you can add.
They are supposed to get you on the plane quicker and make it more manoeuvrable.
I don't know if they are a gimmick or not as why didn't the engine manufacturer add them in the first place?
Do they work?

 

[Mrnotming]

Did I hear you say they were handy for getting back on board having fallen in with the engine off or was it an OP?

 

[geem]

We have run a large plate on our tohatsu 9.8 2 stroke for about 10 years. This is on a Caribe rib. We made our plate from marine ply rather than buying one. Our plate is larger than the commercially available ones. The plate gets the rib on the plane faster and allows you to back the throttle off and still stay on the plane. in a choppy sea it holds the stern up and resists the tendency to flip the rib as you hit a wave at speed.
We also had a 6 hp 4 stroke for a while and a fitted a plate to this engine. This was on a very light 2.7m air deck dink. The plate made a huge difference to keeping the dink on the plane. Without the plate the dink would fall off the plane very easiliy if you backed the throttle off too much. It also reduced cavitation greatly. We wouldnt be without a plate. I dont know how they would perform on smaller engines.

 

[FulmarJeddo]

My father in law has a Hardy 20 Pilot with a 70hp Suzuki with wings. It still won't plane. I guess they were added to try and get it up on the plane, but didn't work on this set up. I suspect the prop pitch is too high or it needs trim tabs, but he is reluctant to spend any money on it.

So what I am saying, they aren't going to miraculously solve a badly set up boat. They may assist a boat to plane quicker if it is sluggish to get out of the water.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Thank you for your replies. It is a 8 hp 4 stroke which can get our dinghy on the plane with 2 of us (it means getting the weight forward sometimes).
It looks like they may be worth investing in.

 

[geem]

This is our plate made from 1/4 marine ply and painted. Its also a handy step for dog to climb back on board rib when she has been for a swim!

 

[prv]

Did I hear you say they were handy for getting back on board having fallen in with the engine off or was it an OP?

You might be thinking of me. I use the outboard as a step when I get a little too energetic as Supacat (knockoff ZapCat) crew and find myself flying off in the bends.

I just stand on the anti-ventilation plate that's part of the engine, though, we don't have any add-on wings.

Pete

 

[Beyondhelp]

I came to the conclusion with back to back testing of NO. They don't work, they don't increase speed and they don't increase efficiency. *for me only who knows?

What I found was that the angle I wanted the prop to be at was different to what the angle of the fins would have wanted to be at. This caused a weird kind of dragging sensation and the lack of the ability to get the trim angle I wanted. So for me they are nonsense. I have 2 or three sets now sitting in my shed that will never go near a boat of mine again. Trim tabs were far more effective in getting my boat to behave how I wanted.

 

[geem]

I came to the conclusion with back to back testing of NO. They don't work, they don't increase speed and they don't increase efficiency. *for me only who knows?

What I found was that the angle I wanted the prop to be at was different to what the angle of the fins would have wanted to be at. This caused a weird kind of dragging sensation and the lack of the ability to get the trim angle I wanted. So for me they are nonsense. I have 2 or three sets now sitting in my shed that will never go near a boat of mine again. Trim tabs were far more effective in getting my boat to behave how I wanted.

guess you are not talking about a dinghy as the OP clarified in post 5? not seen trim tabs on an inflatable dinghy!

 

[Nostrodamus]

Just to clarify.. I am talking about a dingy and the type as in the photo. Amazing dog..

 

[C08]

My main engine is an outboard (cat) and the boat squats badly under power. I should really take off the engine and reshape the mounting pad to set the engine prop further forward and give the stern a little lift but this is a substantial job so i had planned to fit fins in the belief that a little of the thrust wi;ll lift the bat stern. What do peeps think?

 

[Davy_S]

http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/Hydro-Stabilizer
I fitted one of the above to a 15 ft stepped hull open fishing , the engine was a Honda 3 cylinder 25 hp. When I first bought the boat it did get up onto the plane, but very lazy, it soon got knocked off the plane if hitting waves, then the process started all over again. My first step was to check the cavitation plate depth, I raised the transom height by 2 inches, this had a marked improvement on acceleration and top speed, but the stern still seemed to squat, I moved the fuel tank and battery forward to try give a bit more lift, again a slight improvement. Then I fitted the atwood fin, It worked a treat! the boat rose easily onto the plane and stayed there, I could back off the throttle without any problem, in a following sea the boat felt more stable. It was a success as far as I was concerned, but I think the set up has to be spot on before you fit one, it will certainly help, but not cure a badly fitted engine.

 

[Spirit of Glenans]

When I saw the header, I thought - "Oh no! He's gone and put Red Bull in the tank

 

[TQA]

Yup they do work esp, when the dink is marginal as far as planing is concerned.

I had a soft bottom dink with an inflatable keel. An 8hp Yam would JUST get us on the plane two up but any slight drag and it would come off. With a big DIY set of fins it was transformed and would plane into wind with our big load of shopping.

 

[duncan99210]

My father in law has a Hardy 20 Pilot with a 70hp Suzuki with wings. It still won't plane. I guess they were added to try and get it up on the plane, but didn't work on this set up. I suspect the prop pitch is too high or it needs trim tabs, but he is reluctant to spend any money on it.

So what I am saying, they aren't going to miraculously solve a badly set up boat. They may assist a boat to plane quicker if it is sluggish to get out of the water.

We had a Hardy Pilot (20 foot) with a Tohatsu 70 up that planed very nicely with IIRC a 15 inch pitch propeller. We fitted wings to the engine and found that it was easier to get her onto the plane and took less to keep her there. I also fitted a water tank in the bow (120 litres) and that helped the trim no end.

Bit of thread drift there but the wings did make a difference.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Thank you all.. so it seems they would be worth fitting.. just pleased to know I am not wasting money, after all, I am a Northerner.

 

[GrahamM376]

Put some on our 6hp 4 stroke Suzuki on 2.9m dinghy and they made a noticeable difference. Now use a 9.8 2 stroke which will plane at 17 kts 2 up so haven't bothered fitting them to that.

 

[Scillyboy]

We had a Hardy Pilot (20 foot) with a Tohatsu 70 up that planed very nicely with IIRC a 15 inch pitch propeller. We fitted wings to the engine and found that it was easier to get her onto the plane and took less to keep her there. I also fitted a water tank in the bow (120 litres) and that helped the trim no end.

Bit of thread drift there but the wings did make a difference.

I've a 75hp Mariner on a Pilot. It was fitted with wings when I bought it, and it got upon the plane very easily. However, it was susceptible to bow steering in any kind of chop, seemingly as all the 'lift' was in the centre. I eventually fitted Bennett tabs, which give more control. For a very brief while, I had both - the boat became almost lethally unstable, so the wings came off pronto....

 

[Mrnotming]

You might be thinking of me. I use the outboard as a step when I get a little too energetic as Supacat (knockoff ZapCat) crew and find myself flying off in the bends.

I just stand on the anti-ventilation plate that's part of the engine, though, we don't have any add-on wings.

Pete

ha! knew someone had the right idea!Sorry Pete!

 

[geem]

Put some on our 6hp 4 stroke Suzuki on 2.9m dinghy and they made a noticeable difference. Now use a 9.8 2 stroke which will plane at 17 kts 2 up so haven't bothered fitting them to that.

We also plane at 17 kts two up but plate gets us on plane faster and we use less fuel riding about as we use less throttle. Passenger doesn't have to sit forward to get on plane either. In fact, when it is choppy we both sit as far back as possible and its far more comfy