Whale Tail XL!

piranha580 · 13 October 2010, 14:13

Hi all, this is a subject that has probably been discussed before in relation to dole fins and the like.. But saw an ad there recently in 'ribmagazine' for a 'whale tail xl' .. It bolts onto the cavitation plate... Supposed to increase speed, decrease fuel consumption.. Was lookin at it on their website and it's 60 dollars or thereabouts! Has anyone got one installed? Or does anyone know are there any reports about it/advantages/disadvantages??
Thanks all..
Pirahna580

Jizm · 13 October 2010, 14:22

been discussed quite a bit on here...

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...light=doelfins

piranha580 · 13 October 2010, 14:31

Ah lovely I'll have a read! Just wondering is there a difference between dole fons and that whale tail or are the effectively the same thing? They look a little different...

Jizm · 13 October 2010, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by piranha580

Ah lovely I'll have a read! Just wondering is there a difference between dole fons and that whale tail or are the effectively the same thing? They look a little different...

They are all fundamentally the same I think.

jyasaki · 13 October 2010, 15:18

If I was to replace mine, I'd go for one of these (all aluminum, and seemingly much stronger than the plastic ones):

http://www.permatrims.com/

Currently, I have one of these guys which came with the build (so I have no idea if it makes a difference or not):

http://www.sesport.com/5_29.asp

jky

piranha580 · 13 October 2010, 18:12

Thanks guys... Those Permatrim fins look pretty good alright... Still a little nervous about drilling the cav plate but hey, what's the worst that could happen( don't answer that!! ) :-)

BogMonster · 13 October 2010, 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by piranha580

what's the worst that could happen( don't answer that!! ) :-)

I think it goes something like Brrrrrrrmmmmmmmcracksplash<silence>

9D280 · 14 October 2010, 09:37

There be a time & a place for these things, but with a 90 on a (guess) 5.5- 6 M boat you shouldn't have any lift problems. Any lift you get at speed will be nicely countered by the drag, which will increase the bigger the fins are.

My boat had a set (not the ones you are talking about) on when I got it. They had bent up with use, so I have to ask just how much lift they were actually giving when shown some movement though the water...... If they were permanently bent up at 10 degrees (ish) out the water they must have gone a lot further "in action".

Ironically, the boat then handled fine without them.

piranha580 · 14 October 2010, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

There be a time & a place for these things, but with a 90 on a (guess) 5.5- 6 M boat you shouldn't have any lift problems. Any lift you get at speed will be nicely countered by the drag, which will increase the bigger the fins are.

My boat had a set (not the ones you are talking about) on when I got it. They had bent up with use, so I have to ask just how much lift they were actually giving when shown some movement though the water...... If they were permanently bent up at 10 degrees (ish) out the water they must have gone a lot further "in action".

Ironically, the boat then handled fine without them.

Yeah I see your point there alright, I reckon the new boat should handle just fine without them.. I haven't even got it yet and already I'm looking at gadgets!!  ...I had a set of dole fins on a Shetland of mine about 10 years ago and they were horendous.. If I did decide to go for them though the whale fin seems to be one of the better finished sets...I think tough for the standard boat with 2 or 3 up it should be perfect as it stands!!

Jizm · 14 October 2010, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by piranha580

...I had a set of dole fins on a Shetland of mine about 10 years ago and they were horendous.. If I did decide to go for them though the whale fin seems to be one of the better finished sets...I think tough for the standard boat with 2 or 3 up it should be perfect as it stands!!

You rarely see them fitted to modern RIBs.

jyasaki · 14 October 2010, 15:21

Well, a buddy of mine put a hydrofoil on his 16' Zodiac/60 Merc, and he raves about it. Don't know a whole lot of people who claim that adding one did wonders for handling, but he does.

jky

C-NUMB · 15 October 2010, 20:18

Had DoelFins fitted on the 90 yam/5.4 sr when received. Removed them, and in my opinion the boat handles slightly better without. Can trim the engine more now, won't put them back. Impact on speed was not significant.

On the bombard SIB have smart tabs, and during water sports there was a huge positive difference. Instant plane on very low speeds and only minimum bow lifts. But so far no plans to put smart tabs on the SR. Might consider a manual jack plate but thats another story.