K planes on a SS
 

Has anyone ever swapped in a set of K-planes on a sunsport/supersport Formula?

I am going back and forth about what to do about my boat and its rough water ride. Its crappy!

On one hand I would love a 370ss but I am worried about furture fuel prices and the price of used boats dropping like a rock. I may stay with what I have now and try to modify it to ride better.

Was thinking that a set of K-planes would help in that it effectively extends the hull length 1.5- 2 feet.

I had 280S K-Planes installed on my 292 Fastech and it made a huge difference in the rough water handling. The more hours I have behind the wheel in rough water conditions and getting used to the optimum trim and tab settings, the more I like them. The best thing with the K-Planes is it give additional stern lift which allows the boat to stay on plane at a slower speed while also keeping the entire hull glued to the water to knife through all the slop. Not to mention in my case when running 70 mph in the rough it keeps the hull from getting too flighty.:drink:

I don't have any issues running in the rough LOTO water with the Bennets on the 350SS.

Mentalpause, from what I understand yours is a much improved hull design from mine. My boat rides hard in moderate chop in the Chesapeake bay and when coming off a boat wake or a bigger wave "lands" very hard.

I put that in parantheses because my boat has never launched out of the water.

I've never taken the 330 out so I can't comment on any comparison. Although I came off from a Sunsation F4 - so the very first weekend with the 350 I did launch it well out of the water - and my friend looked at me and laughed - saying you better get used to the fact you are not driving the F4 anymore.

Since then I have learned some limitations - primarily that the hull is made for more like 25-30 mph in rough conditions, not 55mph. But the 350 cruises quite outstanding at 25 to 30 mph in very rough conditions with the appropriate tab and drive settings, and no need for K-planes. After having K-planes on several boats, I wouldn't want them on the 350. I love them, but I would not want something that long and responsive on this boat.

4mulafastech, did you\could you have used the pumps that ran your orignal Bennet trim tabs? Or are the pump rates\pressure different than what you need for the bigger K-Planes.

Likely going to buy the Diamond Performance or Eddie Marine K-Planes, and wondering if I can use my existing pump assmblies.

No and I seriously doubt it. I had the pumps from Mercury for K-Planes installed. Each tab has its own pump and these pumps are as big as the outdrive trim pumps. They make the Bennett pumps look like toys. The whole package installed ran me around $5000, but worth every penny. Good luck!:ernaehrung004: