Page 1 of 2

Lifting strakes

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 4:03 pm
by wvdbtminer
I have a 2008 south bay 722CR with 115HP and I am interested in adding lifting strakes. Dose anyone know where I can get lifting strakes made, and some kind of drawings for placement?

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 4:46 pm
by dockholiday
Welcome
Don't have an answer, but can tell by the wording in your question, you realize they have to be installed properly and placement is critical.
Seems even manufacturers have different ideas,even on sizing some use 2 some use 4 and think Tracker uses 6 inch ones. Mine are 2 inch an are on either side of each log. They lift the boat really well but being on the outside of the logs they bite when you are attempting to turn sharply at high speed. Not an issue to me but someone doing a lot of skiing an constantly whipping around to pick up a down skier it might get old. Think I would check with the dealers and then maybe a good fab shop. Good Luck
doc

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:26 pm
by rrhodes
Strakes are actually an option for your boat new. I would contact a dealer and have them contact the manufacturer, they should be able to order the strakes and provide details on where to install them on the logs. I am sure that they have spent a lot of time and money developing them for your boat.

Installed correctly your 115hp should be enough on your 22' toon but get the install wrong and they can actually slow you down. My manufacturer advised me not to add them to mine unless I upgrade the motor but I have a bigger toon.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:33 pm
by Bmac
I'll probably get some hate'n for this,but for discussion sake this is my opinion and mine only.

I don't think adding lifting strakes to a pontoon is rocket science. You don't need an engineering degree,skill and common sense yes. I done some research before adding mine,also discovering that the manufactures are all over the spectrum. You'll find different sizes,shapes,angles,lengths,numbers,and mounting locations. Some even dabbling with combinations across 3 tubes. I'm sure everyone of them think they have the answer. If one method used so far was far superior they'd all be copying it by now. There's just not enough difference in them so far with the speeds and weight of a pontoon. This could change soon with the bigger hp ratings.

Making something plane isn't hard,hell a metal shop door with an outboard mounted on it will plane. Getting it to handle right takes trial and error though. That's where all the different styles of strakes being used come into play. Area of the planing surface determines lift. If you loose speed with strakes either they're mounted way out of wack,your bow is too heavy,or you don't have the power to jump it up on plane. Without the power you have the drag of the strakes trying to lift the hull actually slowing you down. As long as you stay parallel with the centerlines of the tube (mine are straighter than the factory center tube),and your not setting with your bow lower than the stern it's gonna climb with enough power.

Next you need to worry about the stresses it places on the tube and it's mounting brackets. Spread the load. If you plan on gaining a lot more speed look into beefing up the deck frame. With any modification there is risk. Stay within the relm of what the manufactures have done instead of re-inventing the wheel. Duplicating or exceeding them isn't difficult. These pontoons are just a big erector set on tubes. Welding on the tubes is the hardest part about it. As far as giving advice,not until I've run mine through the mill for a while. The strakes I bought from a guy in Missouri,but you have to pay cash and pick them up yourself.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 6:28 am
by The_Hellbilly
FWIW, here are some pics of my strakes and I agree with BMAC:
Strake set up.jpg
Strake set up.jpg (73.83 KiB) Viewed 9179 times
Strakes 1.jpg
Strakes 1.jpg (67.41 KiB) Viewed 9175 times
strakes 2.jpg
strakes 2.jpg (79.48 KiB) Viewed 9166 times
IMG00587-20101019-1834.jpg
IMG00587-20101019-1834.jpg (71.7 KiB) Viewed 9177 times

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:07 am
by spurhunter
[quote="The_Hellbilly"]FWIW, here are some pics of my strakes and I agree with BMAC:

Are these factory strakes or did you have them added aftermarket? I really appreciate you putting these pics on here for us!

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:29 am
by The_Hellbilly
Spurhunter: those are factory from Voyager. IMO they don't seem to be too complicated. I took the pics last year when this topic came up, but was too lazy to dig up the old post.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:39 am
by playcat
BMAC is right on. Planing strakes are all about adding flat area to lift the boat. Less area needs more horsepower. Tracker had these NV logs that would plane a 2 log toon with a 90 hp outboard, but they used 6 inch wide strakes on both sides of the pontoon. The result was a toon that went fine in a straight line but turning it stayed flat or maybe leaned to the outside in a turn. Folks wanted the turning more than the lift I guess since Tracker does not offer them any longer.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:49 am
by ToonGuy
Factory installed...

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:49 am
by spurhunter
I am really wanting to get this done now. Any suggestions on where to start? I have access to the material, but I dont have a break to fashion it, or a welder to do it.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:57 am
by spurhunter
ToonGuy wrote:Factory installed...
What brand of boat is that?

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 8:59 am
by wvdbtminer
Thanks everyone for the input, I'm waiting on southbay to call me back with some info.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:11 am
by wvdbtminer
Ok, so I finally got an answer from south bay and they told me that the lifting strakes would not be that much of an improvement(Kinda disagree but hey) They told me to go with the under skinning, they said that the water hitting the smooth surface under the boat would actually give me more lift than the strakes.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:16 am
by STEVEBRENDA
I would start with the under skinning. This is a relatively cheap start. It may add a mile or two, but more importantly, you will get a smoother ride.

I think lifting strakes will help.

Re: Lifting strakes

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:26 am
by rrhodes
wvdbtminer wrote:Ok, so I finally got an answer from south bay and they told me that the lifting strakes would not be that much of an improvement(Kinda disagree but hey) They told me to go with the under skinning, they said that the water hitting the smooth surface under the boat would actually give me more lift than the strakes.
LOL... Okay, I agree that skinning helps but I would not say it provides lift. It simply stops the surging you get from the water hitting your cross members. But lift??? I would say the guy you talked too was an idiot. Anyway, I am not sure that strakes will do any good with your HP vs weight. If your motor can't get you on plane then it will actually slow you down however I tend to disagree with my manufacturer when they told me I don't have enough HP to get on plane but I am not willing to spend the money only to find out they were right and I actually end up slowing my boat down.