Customer Reviews
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I own a 17'4" Tide Craft (bass boat) with a 135hp Mariner and a 26 pitch Mercury Tempest prop. Top speed 55mph with a cruising speed of 30mph or I come down off plane. Hole shots were slower than I liked and I'd struggle to get up on plane with a full tank of gas and two people. Until I installed Hydro-Shield!! To be honest I was skeptical and was hoping for a small improvement. The difference is hard to articulate!! My boat leaps out of the water. I can cruise at a much more comfortable 15-20 mph. I did not find top speed and I'll need to practice as my boat operates differently as far as trim goes but I'm sure going to love practice!! It's truly a new boat. The improvement is more dramatic than I can believe. Amazing, amazing product. Stop wondering and buy it. Install is easy but can be challenging so having a buddy to help is wise. Tech support is great. Call with any questions, text pictures, they can talk you through whatever you need. In the attached picture I had not trimmed the bolts yet. I did do that before putting it in the water.
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For anyone curious, installed the L35 on our 190hp MerCruiser Stern drive on our 18.5ft/5.6m 3000lb/1350kg bow rider. Improved time to plane noticeably, especially with full 500kg load (8 people) on board, still planing in under 3 seconds when running a Solas Rubex HR4 prop, 4 blade 14x21 with high rake and high cupping.
Improved cruising on choppy water dramatically by holding the rear of the boat much more stable (not bouncing), like adding shock absorbers (as much as it lifts the rear it also stops it being lifted by outside forces, that's how a hydrofoil works).
No noticeable change in top speed for us keeping at around 47mph, not used long enough to have fuel usage figures, but appears to be using less and has reduced RPMs at set cruising speeds.
Mount and bolts are all 316 stainless steel, brackets are 4.7mm thick and whilst I have not modified them, I did feel the leading edge could have been shaped a little and I still may trim the outside corners on the leading edge, bolts through teh skeg were trimmed down tot he edge of the nuts, foil looks like HPDE Thermoplastic (think white chopping boards but a bit stiffer), about 25mm thick in the middle and well shaped like a wing tapering off in both chord and thickness. Have hit some rocks at low speed, a few small scratches underneath and a couple of nicks in the front edge but no major damage and more importantly no damage to the prop.
Over all very happy with the result and very happy to recommend.
👍👍👍👍👍👍