Funny you should mention this. I have both a Allison skidplate and a foil on my boat. My Allison skidplate is mounted exactly as Allison reccomends but it is 20 inches long. WHen I put it on I was wary of how long it was.
Anyhow, last nite I was out fishing and the water was perfect for a high speed suicide run. Normally , prior to the skidplate, my boat would run 97to 99 at any given time and have touched 100.
The best I could muster was 95. There is no reason why the boat should not have been in the 99 to 100 range. Water was perfect, gas level was low, relatively new plugs in it, and I had the high speed prop on it.
Sooo, next time out I am taking the skidplate off and not changing anything else except the fuel level. I have to or I'll be paddeling it in. I think the back edge of the skidplate it creating some drag. I will find out and report .
I should add that after the high speed run when doing normal fishing runs the boat is better with the skidplate on because you never have to worry about water coming over the transom no matter how fast you shut it down.
If the boat runs faster with it off I am going to start experimenting by shorting the skidplate an inch at a time until I get the best of both worlds.
I will report on results.
Bob Anthony