DEEP SOUTH Diva

Kevin likes the boat.
..And his mama. 😁

New upholstery in the works!

Shout out to Boogey Lights, who made these awesome LED light strips. They're impressively built and self-adhesive and super bright. They're also completely sealed and waterproof!

All of my connections ate inside the pipes and will never actually be submerged. Nonetheless, I heat-shrinked all of them, so they should last a good long while.

The mains are mounted high enough to never see submersion... But for the center and side lights, I have great confidence in the fact that they're sealed well and will probably never leak.

Thank you !

DEEP SOUTH Diva loves her new trailer lights!

That's a great day!

DEEP SOUTH Diva got some new lighting today.

PRODUCT REVIEW: HYDRO-SHIELD OUTDRIVE FIN

Short story: Solved my planing issue - and increased my performance and fuel efficiency - which is a huge deal at these fuel prices! A very affordable modification that'll pay for itself quickly. Very happy - and highly recommended!

Long version:

It had been coming up on my Facebook feed as an advertisement for some time; apparently Facebook's algorithym had been listening in on me on the weekends... "Hydro-shield."

The problem we'd been experiencimg with DEEP SOUTH Diva was an interesting one. She's a good 30+ feet in length and rather heavy with both an indoor and outdoor shower, hot and cold running water, full bathroom, stove, microwave, etc... Not to mention a 150 gallon fuel tank, a 50 gallon water tank, and a 30 gallon wastewater tank. She's also got room for up to eight people, and makes a nice overnight camper for four.

Yet... She's still trailerable and will run up to 45 mph flat-out. She cruises quite nicely at 32.
..If she can get on plane.

The stainless props (Volvo Duoprop) are powered by a single Chevy 350 rated at 350 horsepower. The props are rather long, which makes higher speeds very comfortable and cruising very efficient. The problem is - with six people or so mostly in the back of the boat (the open area), she can have a tough time getting up and on plane so that the speed and efficiency can be enjoyed.

Our solution to the problem has been to take less people, or less fuel and water - neither of which is what we bought and built the Diva to do.

Another "fix" - and one that we commonly used - was to move people forward in the boat while trying to get up on plane. Needless to say, it was laughable and embarassing... Especially after having spent so much time and money. As the day progressed and fuel and water was used, it became less of a problem... But it was always a "thing."

The Diva IS equipped with trim tabs... So when trying to get on plane, I'd trim the engine all the way down and both trim tabs all the way down. The thing is - at those lower speeds , they simply weren't much help and the issue persisted. "Getting on plane" always involved a bow so high that the boat couldn't climb up on plane. The trim tabs also created additional drag, which worked against getting on plane - so finding the right balance of trim tab application to plane out was a difficult and acquired skill for the driver - and rarely practiced successfully. It was even trickier to retract the engine and each trim tab angle once on plane, frequently making the driver and passengers uncomfortable and unconfident in their ride with quick jerks and odd, harsh ride angles.

I had decided to reprop the Diva to a lower pitch - which would effectively lower the gear that it's in. This would help to increase lower-speed torque to help it get on plane... At a cost of higher speeds and cruising efficiency - which in boating terms means less distance that we can go on a given weekend day - which is the whole point of the Diva.

Enter: Hydro-shield.

As has anyone that has been a boater for the last few decades, I was familiar with "whale tails" or "dolphin tails" that bolt to the cavitation plate above the propeller. I had heard that they'd get boats on plane faster, but had never owned one and frankly viewed them as a solution to boats that had existing hull design issues. Since I'd never had any problems getting on plane before, I'd never seen the need for one. Apparently Yamaha, Johnson, Evinrude, and Mercury hadn't either since they'd never included one on any marine motor I'd had.

The Hydro-shield is significantly different from these existing designs in that the Hydro-shield attaches UNDER the propeller rather than OVER it. This would increase it's lifting efficiency substantially, as it would always be fully submerged at any speed - and in cleaner, smoother water than on top of the prop. It can therefore be designed smaller and produce less drag while keeping the same amount of lift.

I was very concered about it's subjectivity to underwater strikes with sandbars and shallow waters... But after seeing it and installing it, I can honestly say that the Hydro-shield has DECREASED the outdrive's susceptibility to submerged strikes; the bracket is quite stout and serves to reinforce the existing skeg very nicely. The wing itself is made of a very solid resin material that protects the prop well and looks very resistant to submerged strikes while being sacrificial to the lower unit should a catastrophe happen.

Performance: Here's where the Hydro-shield really seems to shine... And based on our all-day outing yesterday using it, seems to pretty much have adderssed the Diva's issues by lowering the bow during acceleration to get on plane. It worked so well that I was able to reduce my dependency on the trim tabs - which means that they can be relegated to use as roll-trim only. This reduces the driver's workload tremendously - and always results in getting on plane... Without the unpredicability of needing to retract three different trim surfaces simultaneously. Before the Hydro-shield, it wasn't a 100% guarantee that she'd achieve plane using the trim tabs and engine trim only. Now I generally don't need to seek trim tab assistance to get on plane - but if I did, they're there and available as even more rear lift.

On plane, the Hydro-shield proved to be an excellent accessory as it made engine trim much more effective at producing bow-up or bow-down situations. It improved the ride in choppy water because I could easily drive the bow's deep vee into the chop, and it improved the ride in smooth water because I could get the bow higher and make the boat faster and smoother. Effectively the wing acted like a hydrofoil and much of the boat's weight sat on that wing - which meant for a faster cruise and easier planing. It was quite noticeable and felt very high-performance... Which made for a much more fun boating day.

It's too early for me to be able to tell how the wing has affected fuel economy. Due to the easier cruise, I am.confident it will be a fairly significant improvement - and any concern about the additional drag of having the accessory in the water is more than made up for by the additional hull surface that is lifted out of the water by the wing.

In all, the Hydro-shield appears to do exactly what it says it will do and I am very pleased. It'd be a good deal at two or three times it's price and will probably pay for itself in two or three outings in fuel savings alone... And the additional confidence of being more able to get up on plane anytime - regardless of tank fill levels or people placement - is just about priceless to me as soneone who has spent a lot of money and even more time and effort on creating this machine.

Who knew a $170 accessory could create such a great result!

Recommended? You bet - especially if you've ever had an issue getitng up on plane due to uneven loading or whatever.

You can get yours at hydro-shield.com.

...Just some photos of the Diva's trailer bunks for a manufacturer's inquiry.

Gonna be another great weekend!

Christy Bayne massaging her pride and joy! 😁

More pics from our shakedown cruise (number 438 lol) in Savannah today!

The Diva rides again!

"Chillin' the most."

DEEP SOUTH Diva at home, safe and sound after a great weekend of play. 😁

A good day today! 81° and sunny in Savannah GA a week before Christmas