ridefast77

iTrader: (5)

was wanting to put a pad on a boat , wanted to see what you guys thoughts are on it, i hear it will make you a lot faster but the boat will ride like ass and handle bad how true is this??? .... good, bad any info is good thanks

Too Stroked

The word “pad” is actually a pretty general term when applied to a boat hull. There are actually a number of different things that are called “pads” by various manufacturers. I’ve seen flat pads, convex pads, pads with a small amount of deadrise to them, etc. What the term does refer to is an area that is right down the keel of a boat and is designed to get the hull (generally) up and riding on it.

Why would you do this? Properly designed pads raise the hull up out of the water at speed to decrease wetted area and drag to increase speed. Does it work? Yes – if done correctly. Does it cause a boat to ride like a floor jack? Sometimes, but not always. A well designed hull takes many things into account and if you work a pad, steps, notched transoms, etc. into account properly, it’s a great feature.

So can you add a pad to a hull? Well, I’ve always said that with enough time and money, you can do almost anything. Would I recommend it? No way. There are simply too many variables to take into account for most folks to add one.

boatfreak

Great explanation and I completely agree. I have one on my 37 Thunder and it works very well but I would never tear into a boat to "add" a pad.

Too Stroked

Thanks for the kind words. My Progression 22 has a pad too and it really climbs up and rides on it. In rough water though, the variable deadrise 24 degree hull cuts through snot quite nicely. I simply cannot imagine attempting to add one without a degree in Hydrodynamics.

Dave M

My old boat had a v-shaped pad. Look at pic2 and you can see that when up on the pad, the chines where out of the water at speed. It took a proper setup and some seat time to make it work. The boat was fast for size/power and handled great.

Would I try to build my own pad.....NO.

Keith Atlanta

I am just curious but, wouldn't it be possible and more feasible to bring the strakes down 1/2 inch which thereby increases the width by 3/4 to 1 inch?

jeffswav

What boat are you talking about? You may see some gains from raising your x dim. I would not attempt to add a pad, unless you are a boat designer you may do more harm than good.

Knot 4 Me

+1.

Too Stroked

Remember, a pad and lifting strakes are there for related, but different reasons. ALso remeber that a hull has many different features designed to work in unison to provide a desired result. Seemingly small changes can have major effects (positive and negative) on performance and handling. Manufacturers (and racers) spend many long hours fine tuning the numerous variables. For most high performance boats, there's very little the average owner is going to do to a hull that's going to significantly improve performance. Power and setup, that's another story.

ridefast77

iTrader: (5)

a buddy of mine just put one on his 34 Fountain race boat and he says it awesome. my boat is strip so i was thinking i could just get the same guy that did his to do mine, i heard it makes a heavy boat feel light in the water.