HydroFin Released

While pontoon boats have come a long way in performance, there are still those pontoons that drag through the water at slower speeds, while offering a wet ride with poor fuel economy. Jason Minor has developed the HydroFin system to battle buyer’s remorse with an aftermarket add-on like nothing you’ve seen before.

“I’ve been a boater my entire life and saving on fuel is something I started thinking more and more about three years ago with my own pontoon,” recalls Minor. “Sailboats use a hydrofoil, but I couldn’t find anything equal in the pontoon market so I started playing around with my own design.”

What the Texas native eventually came up with was patented technology that is proven to increase pontoon boat speeds by up to 40 percent and reduce fuel costs by up to 50 percent. Just as wings lift an airplane, the HydroFin wings lift the boat to reduce drag and improve performance.

Minor began by creating his own prototypes that, in his own words, were successful enough to prove the concept could work. He then took his statistics and approached Morrelli & Melvin, but he wasn’t even sure if he’d get a response.

“Morrelli & Melvin are arguably the best foil design firm in the US and maybe the world,” says Minor. “To my surprise I got a call back from the CEO and he was fascinated. He was impressed with what I was doing and wanted to be involved.”

This lead to a partnership that launched Minor’s idea into a proven finished product, but because of the tight tolerances it took awhile to get through the process. Now with the development stages behind him, it is being released to the pontoon industry through select dealers.

“HydroFin is an engineering masterpiece designed by world-renowned naval architects Morrelli & Melvin and designed to carry approximately 40 percent of the total weight of the pontoon boat,” said Minor. The HydroFin wings lift the front of the boat an incredible 4 to 8 inches. “Our customers aren’t just set for the summer, they’re set for life.”

The Hydrofin is available for both twin and triple pontoon models. When talking with potential customers, Minor wants to know about the performance and capabilities of their pontoon.

“If it already planes quickly and comes out of the water well it’s not a great candidate,” says Minor. “Twin pontoons are usually best, but we do cover triple pontoons as well. At over 55mph the foil starts to cavitate so the sweet spot is when the pontoon runs at less than 50mph at full throttle.”

For more information on the HydroFin and to see how it works, visit www.shophydrofin.com.