Putting Fins on a Lake Boat

patoinsf

I am having problems with keeping the front of my 19ft Burke boat down when driving at any speed.
I use a Honda 9.9 engine and find that I have to go at maximum half speed or drive blind when I am on my own in the boat.
I used to place two 30ltr containers of water in the front of the boat when going out alone but this is a pain.
I was thinking of installing fins and was wondering if anyone else had fins installed on an anglers fancy lake boat.
Thanks in advance for any help/information.

Pat..

viper123

Dont have the answer for you unfortunately but am interested in the responses you get. There's also the option of putting fins on the outboard itself but I'm also not sure what effect this has on getting the boat on a plane.

patoinsf

The outboard would work however it apparently makes it difficult to steer.

TomOnBoard

Either option (but not both together) make a huge difference on getting a boat to plane. However, with a lower powered engine (9.9 on a lake boat would be considered quite low these days) there's often not enough power to get the boat onto the plane.

Doel fins (thats what they're called AFAIK) fit onto the side wings of the engine above the prop. They do make the engine rise up and bring the nose down and also do affect the ease of steering when flat out. However theyre a quick and relatively cheap solution. The fins on the boat itself are more expensive to put in place and if they're not done exactly right, they might need re- working.

There's also usually an adjustment of the transom angle of the engine vs the boat's transom. This adjustment can make a big difference to the extent to which the nose will rise at speed.

So, my advice would be:

1. Check the transom angle adjustment
2. Put Doel fins on engine for a quick result (say €20-40 if you can use a drill)
3. Put fins on the boat if you can get a reliable fella to do them.

HTH and Tight Lines...

patoinsf

Thanks a million for the advice. (and the manuals)

I will get a set of fins for the engine and adjust it's angle and see how that works out.

Are there a particular brand of fin to avoid or are they pretty much the same.

Cheers Pat..

TomOnBoard

patoinsf wrote: »

Thanks a million for the advice. (and the manuals)

I will get a set of fins for the engine and adjust it's angle and see how that works out.

Are there a particular brand of fin to avoid or are they pretty much the same.

Cheers Pat..

They're all more or less the same at this stage. Some will have better performance characteristics than others at higher speeds on bigger motors, but I doubt that you'd notice much difference on yer 9.9.

If you buy local you'll pay more than online but you'll have someone to talk to about installing them. Also, the local lads need us to support them with a bit of profit if possible.

patoinsf

Thanks a million

I always buy local when possible.

Pat.

TomOnBoard

patoinsf wrote: »

Thanks a million

I always buy local when possible.

Pat.

What part of the country are you? PM me if you prefer not to say here.

patoinsf

I am in west Galway and fish the Corrib

TomOnBoard

patoinsf wrote: »

I am in west Galway and fish the Corrib

OK. If you were in the Midlands I could have given more info. However I don't know Galway well enough to offer anything.

Is the Corrib still suffering from the weed problem of a few years ago? Also what was the Mayfly like this year? Very poor in the Midlands... :-(

Zzippy

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Either option (but not both together) make a huge difference on getting a boat to plane. However, with a lower powered engine (9.9 on a lake boat would be considered quite low these days) there's often not enough power to get the boat onto the plane.

AFAIK Burke Anglers Fancy boats are only rated for up to 10hp, and this is printed on the CE plate. If you use a bigger engine you risk being considered liable if there is an accident, and/or insurance being voided. Just something to bear in mind when considering what engine to put on a boat.

TomOnBoard

Zzippy wrote: »

AFAIK Burke Anglers Fancy boats are only rated for up to 10hp, and this is printed on the CE plate. If you use a bigger engine you risk being considered liable if there is an accident, and/or insurance being voided. Just something to bear in mind when considering what engine to put on a boat.

I don't believe OP is considering putting a bigger engine on...

However, that's interesting information... Although it probably won't register as important to most folks. I've seen many a Fancy with 15 horses on the back when I used to fish Corrib, Mask and Conn. And if its anything like the recent trend in the Midlands, lads seem to love even bigger engines nowadays..

viper123

Zzippy wrote: »

AFAIK Burke Anglers Fancy boats are only rated for up to 10hp, and this is printed on the CE plate. If you use a bigger engine you risk being considered liable if there is an accident, and/or insurance being voided. Just something to bear in mind when considering what engine to put on a boat.

Yea mine is Anglers Fancy and it's limited to 10hp on the signage on the boat.

Zzippy

TomOnBoard wrote: »

I don't believe OP is considering putting a bigger engine on...

However, that's interesting information... Although it probably won't register as important to most folks. I've seen many a Fancy with 15 horses on the back when I used to fish Corrib, Mask and Conn. And if its anything like the recent trend in the Midlands, lads seem to love even bigger engines nowadays..

I've seen them with 25s on the back!

demanufactured

A word of advice.
Doel fins fitted to the engine in an Irish clicker style lake boat is lethally dangerous... For a few reasons.

Lake boats are a built on a displacement hill, not a planing hill.
They are not designed to plane, they are designed to cut down into the water and displace the water around the boat as they move forward.

By using Doel fins on the engine, yes you will get the lift at the stern with the engine trimmed all the way down , but you also have less of the stern in the water, which then causes giddyness and can actually lead to capsizing if steering at soeed(I have had thus exact scenario happen)
Its all down to hydrodynamics.

Fitting fins to the Hull would be a safer option.
But bear in mind the stern of an Anglers Fancy is quite narrow, so the lift from fins will not be all that great with a 9.9hp engine, it certainly won't plane, but it will help.

I'd advise doing nothing to be honest, if you want a boat that will plane, then buy a planing Hull.
But then your getting into aluminium boats with bigger engines and more expense.

Just my 2c.

decdon

I have been through exactly going through now.
I have a 15 hp 4 stroke on the back of my Burke boat (the older build which is heavier than the newer hulls) along with a trolling motor and 12 v battery. After having a fin fitted at the back of boat the difference is remarkable.
Front keeps down and am going a few km/hr faster while using less fuel. The handling has increased in difficulty slightly in a bigger wave but over all the pros out weigh the cons. I no longer have to put all the gear at the top of the boat when heading out or going back home when I'm on my own.

Got it fitted by Ganley boats outside Athlone which i would highly recommend.

Ps : I am based around the Midlands #wink, wink

fergal.b

If you have a new engine your warranty will not be valid if you drill holes in it, outboard companies spend millions designing their engines if it was meant to have big fins on it to make it better it would play around with your tilt and trim and the weight in the boat you should be able to sort it out.





.

demanufactured

fergal.b wrote: »

If you have a new engine your warranty will not be valid if you drill holes in it, outboard companies spend millions designing their engines if it was meant to have big fins on it to make it better it would play around with your tilt and trim and the weight in the boat you should be able to sort it out.



.

Unfortunately tilt and trim won't work in that style of boat, but yes weight distribution will.

fergal.b

demanufactured wrote: »

Unfortunately tilt and trim won't work in that style of boat, but yes weight distribution will.

There should be a few holes in the transom bracket that will allow the engine to be set in or out allowing the aim of the prop to push the bow up or down it might not be much in this style of hull but should help.

demanufactured

fergal.b wrote: »

There should be a few holes in the transom bracket that will allow the engine to be set in or out allowing the aim of the prop to push the bow up or down it might not be much in this style of hull but should help.

That diagram.is perfect, for a flat bottom or V hull.

Lake boats will naturally cut into the water.. So the trim of the engine will have little affect.