Foils...on a Pontoon? Can it be done?

[DMAN1968]

I often find myself reading the threads on this forum even if they have nothing to do with any boat that I have. I came across a few having to do with hydrofoils and find them very interesting. So before putting to much thought energy into it I just wanted to ask:

24 foot pontoon boat, approximately 2000 lbs lightly loaded
115 horspower outboard that will push it to 24 mph (gps speed)

any thoughts on some form of foil assembly that would give significant gains in speed or less fuel consumption. I'm thinking realistically, not thinking to lift the whole thing out of the water.

Plus, wouldn't that be cool to see. :)

[Village_Idiot]

Many pontoons already have lifting strakes on them for increased performance. Each mfr. has their own version, and each claims their's is best (although they usually don't say what they're best for).

To get significantly better performance than the strakes provide, you will need to go to a third 'toon running down the middle of the boat. There are some mfrs. that specialize in third "add-on" aftermarket toons. You might also contact the mfr. of your pontoon and see if they offer a third pontoon for your particular model.

Larger-diameter pontoons will probably get you up out of the water higher and give you better performance.

It may be possible to add hydrofoils toward the rear of the pontoon (e.g. - HYSUCAT), but then you are getting into the radical mods that you didn't want to do...

[PAR]

If you mounted a well shaped foil towards the forward end of midship, bridging the pontoons, at say a 3 degree angle and an aft foil, mounted the same way, but at 2 degrees, you'd probably push it fast enough for the foils to offer some benefits. Considering the depth of the pontoons, it wouldn't be much lift, before the foils were sucking air and losing their effectiveness. Of course we're talking some pretty high loading here so you want some fancy engineering to keep them attached and capable of supporting the boat.