HookedOnFishingBoats.com

Just how much of a performance boost do powercats get from foils? Not much, from what I’ve seen. Sorry to burst the bubble, but after testing a pair of identical cats with and without foils I have to wonder about all those stories of increased speed and reduce fuel burn – at least, most of the time. Here’s the scoop.

I tested a pair of 3660 Pro Sports Pro Cats rigged with F-250 four strokes swinging 16” x 20” three-bladed stainless-steel props, one foil-equipped, the other not. The foil boat had two hydrofoils, one aft and one amidships. The amidships foil was of the reversed “stealth wing” design. (It looks like a V if you’re looking down on centerline of boat.) The aft foil was straight across between the two hulls, mounted on a two-degree downward angle to increase lift. The system was designed by Hoppie Hydro-Engineering, a South African company. Both wings were constructed from 1 ¼” thick 316-grade stainless-steel. Total additional weight to the boat due to wing and installation materials was approximately 600 pounds. Cost was approximately $50,000 in R & D and $15,000 per boat for materials and installation.

When we ran them side by side while taking fuel flow readings and GPS speed readings at 3500 RPM, the foil boat cruised at 21.2 MPH while getting 1.2 MPG. The non-foil boat was significantly slower at 17.7 MPH, but it posted slightly better fuel economy at 1.3 MPG. At a 4500 RPM cruise, the two boat’s speeds and fuel burns were nearly identical at a foil-equipped 28.8 MPH/1.0 MPG versus 28.7 MPH/1.1 MPG. And at WOT the difference was again minimal, with the foil boat showing 43.1 MPH/1.0 MPG versus 42.1 MPH/1.0 MPG.

Sure, at a slow cruising speed the foil boat had a real advantage. It did go notably faster – but it also had worse economy. And this was at a speed most of us will rarely cruise at, and at commonly used cruising speeds and faster the difference was minimal or non-existent. What about seaworthiness? After riding each boat for several hours, I could discern no significant difference in the way these two boats took the waves. There’s a safety catch, too: if a foil-equipped boat runs over a marker or flotsam, it may snag the foil and rip it out of the boat. In at least one documented accident this nearly led to the sinking of a 64’ powercat, when the foil’s mounting bolts were ripped out of the hulls by a channel marker.

Remember: this testing included only one model of boat, and one foil design. No one should think that all foils are a waste of time on all cats because of these results. But before shelling out big bucks to try an option like this you may want to get a guarantee in writing, because fooling with a foil could be a losing proposition.