Anyone tried a Stingray on their pontoon?

[dlettow]

Has anyone experimented with one of those Stingray type devices on their pontoon. There are several different "fin" type devices that mount on the outdrive of your motor. I understand that their biggest effect on boats is to get them up on plane while decreasing bow rise, obviously this isn't an issue with pontoons. But, they also purport that they decrease cavitation and increase a props "bite" in the water and I am wondering if this might help eliminate cavitation when carving sharp turns in a performance 'toon. I am especially interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the Stingray XR III which has a curved shape to more accurately match the snap of the prop wash/thrust.

[Bamaman]

I had one of these on my old pontoon boat. I ran much better with it, and didn't ventilate as often.

My new tritoon doesn't need one, however. It does great.

[lakerunner]

I had one of these on my old pontoon boat. I ran much better with it, and didn't ventilate as often.

My new tritoon doesn't need one, however. It does great.

+1

[Bryden24shp]

I used to run them on my lower HP outboards on my 1st few runabouts. Seemed to plane out better at slower speeds and the bowrise on take off was reduced when water skiing. I never gained any speed, though. Usually lost a few MPH. Never tried one on my big boats or the pontoons. Give one a go, and let us know how it works. If it doesn't work, toss it on Ebay and fill in your holes on the cav plate.

[badmoonrising]

Used one on my PC and it cured the occasional cavitation issue. When Bass Pro Shops replaced my drive, they would not put it back on and said drilling holes to put it back on voids the drive warranty, so check with your motor's warranty to make sure it isn't the case with yours too.

[HandymanHerb]

Had one on mine when I got it ,it got better when I took it off, then my problem when away when I got my prop guard

[dlettow]

Stingray has come out with a new model that installs without drilling any holes and it has a curved shaped to better match the shape of the prop wash. I am hoping to install one in the next week or so and test it, I'll post photos and results.

[dlettow]

I just installed the Stingray XR III on my toon. It took about 2 minutes and a 1/2" socket. No drilling required. I don't know how it works yet, but I think my boat will go at least 10 mph faster just by how "racy" it looks!!! I'll post results after this weekend.

[Redneck_Randy]

When I did research on the Stingray XR III I read several reports of people stating they lost theirs. In other words, they came loose and fell off. I would check the tightness after each day at the lake.

[dlettow]

Yeah, I read similar reports and apparently they used to "snap" on to the cavitation plate and that was a problem. Now you must remove the torque tab, slide the stingray onto the cav plate and the replace the torque tab thru a hole in th stingray back into the cav plate in essence bolting it to your drive. But, that doesn't mean the torque tab couldn't loosen and fall out and then you lose the tab and the stingray. I guess time will tell. More importantly is does it actually have any positive effects on pontoon performance.

[Bryden24shp]

dlettow, In the bottom picture it looks like your prop has a folded blade, is it? Or is it just the picture? Let us know how the Stingray works. Looks like its gonna create alot of drag and slow you down some. Let ua know!

[dlettow]

No, there isn't any blades that fold. Must just be a seam or something. I'll post results.

[Redneck_Randy]

Yeah, I read similar reports and apparently they used to "snap" on to the cavitation plate and that was a problem. Now you must remove the torque tab, slide the stingray onto the cav plate and the replace the torque tab thru a hole in th stingray back into the cav plate in essence bolting it to your drive.

Ahhhh Good to know that because I didn't buy one cause of the reports of people loosing them. I think I may have to buy one now.

Thanks

[dlettow]

Test results are in on the Stingray XR III. My top end speed seemed to be unaffected, 46mph with 40 gallons of fuel (81 gallon tank) and 275 lbs of gear including my body weight. Optimum cruising speed was the same, 11.8 mph at 2000 rpm using 3.7gph. I only noticed performance changes in two ways. When I made rather aggressive turns at speed (20-30mph) to starboard I noticed a fair amount of ventilation WITHOUT the Stingray, and the Stingray seemed to improve on that considerably. The other thing I noticed was that trimming the motor seemed to have very little effect. Without the Stingray, when I would trim the motor up at WOT I could gain 3-4mph in flat water. With the Stingray I only managed to gain 1 mph on my gps.