imq707s

I'm not sure what the correct name for them, but I'm talking about those plastic or metal whale tale plates that eveyone is selling for low powered I/O's. They are supposed to make the boat plane off faster and stay on plane at lower speeds. I've seen one brand that is a flat plate made out of stainless.

Here is my question.

Would one of the flat s.s plates mounted underneath the cavitaion plate on an alpha or bravo drive provide extra bow lift when the drive is trimmed up when running at high speeds? Would the water flowing over it create any down force on the drive that would translate into bow lift? My boat is really bow heavy and I was just wondering if this would work or not.


What do you think?

mcollinstn

unless your drive height is really low, then water won't be flowing over the top of the ventilation plate. Usually the plate is mounted "even with" to a couple of inches above the bottom of the hull. At speed, you probably don't get much more than some spray "over" the plate. For this reason I wouldn't expect any bow lift from the extension. Those are usually more helpful in aiding the boat in getting the bow DOWN for quick planing when trimmed in.

For bow lift you need to first use the right prop (a Mirage gives good bow lift). Second is you should store your heaviest gear as far aft as possible and try to store nothing in or near the bow.

Next step would be to install a L&S Stern Jack, which gives good leverage to lift the bow.

Good luck.