Rough Riding 16' Cruiser in Chesapeake Bay chop

DoryLvr":1plb2yf4 said:
O M G!!! I installed the Sport SE Hydrofoil on the engine yesterday. It is a shorter hydrofoil that extends out beyond the boat more than most. Kind of a combo between the permatrim and a dolefin. (See pics I am posting under DoryLvr) Took the boat out today. Wow what a difference in the chop. It planed so fast and at a low speed. The speed to RPM ratio was wild, I picked up a lot of speed per RPMs and was cruising at 14.7 knots with only 3000 rpm. And smooth, hardly a bump at all. Thank you to all for your input. Problem solved! :D
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Great! I bet you noticed some improved handling also - e.g. did it feel like it tracked better in turns?
 
I know this is re-openning a can of worms, but my dealer checked: Suzuki will void the balance of the manufacturer's warranty on my motor if I install any hydrofoil on the lower unit. Please note that this is for the entire motor -- not just the lower unit. I have 5 years left on a 6-year warranty, and will not take that risk, particularly given the problems I had with the motor's wiring harness last year. To Suzuki's credit, they honored their warranty, and the repair cost me nothing.

I'll just have to live with the problem of keeping the bow down in rough water.
 
The Yamaha dealer was willing to do the installation, has a selection of hydrofoils, and gave me tons of advice on doing it myself. No problems with warranty, this is my second engine and boat with him. My advice, dump the Suzuki, get a Yamaha or Honda.
 
Suzuki makes an excellent motor, and as I have witnessed -- they honor their warranty agreements. However, if I had a choice for the CD 16, it would not be a Suzuki for the following two reasons: 1) it is a heavy engine, which weighs down the stern I believe more than its competitors, and 2) they won't let you install a hydrofoil on the lower unit. My 4 HP Yamaha kicker (which is a vital safety hedge) adds another 50 lbs. to the stern. Believe me -- if it would cost me less than $1,000 to swap my Suzuki for a Yamaha, I would do so today. However, it's not worth the thousand's of dollars in replacement cost. I'll wait for my warranty to end in 5 years, and then re-assess the situation.

On the other hand -- if I had a CD22 or bigger boat, I would prefer the Suzuki. I've read, and have been told of cases where Suzuki's have 4000+ hours on their engine without major overhaul. Do you know that they don't use a timing belt? They use a timing chain with an automatic, hydraulic tension mechanism. Try to get than many hours on a Honda or Yamaha!

Thanks!

Rich
 
Rich,

Different on the best coast --Hondas with over 7 or 8000 hours not uncommon. BUT, the high hour motors are usually commercial (charter/fishing) operations where they are run often and get good maintenance. Brands don't make much difference IMO. I have Honda on one boat and Yamaha on the other. Both are great. Suzy is good too.

OMG! I looked outside and the sun is shining!!!!! :hot :hot

Dusty
 
C-Nile, the other option might be the SE Sport Hydrofoil that I installed. It has an optional kit that allows it to be installed WITHOUT drilling. This is a bolt on application that hugs the cavitation plate and has a clamp that hooks up under the anode on the underside of the cavitation plate. Easy to put on and take off if you have to go get service. That way you get the performance with the worry of the warranty voiding.

Check with West Marine, they carry the bolt on kit and the hydrofoil. I bought both, then opted for a drilled on application after talking to my dealer. I am cheap too and wanted to save my $40. Both together cost about $100. However, the bolt on kit is very easy, it looked like it would add only about a half hour to forty minutes to the overall installation process. And the SE Sport works great so far.
 
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