Bent Skeg

[catchersrock]

Do I need to Worry? Can it be fixed? 

[985crabs]

That's a shame.

I bought my motor used from a dealer who took it as a trade on an upgrade. Firmly believe previous owner dragged it on road because the skeg is worn down and bent a little. I heated it and tried to beat it with a mallet, etc. Didn't help any. I ground it smooth and put a prosthetic skeg over the stump.

It doesn't seem to effect my ability to steer. If yours still holds a steady course, I wouldn't worry about it unless it drives you crazy. There are prop shops around here who claim to straighten skegs and/or rebuild them when folks chip/break them. You could look for someone like that.

[Juan]

Jun 19, 2020 7:17:14 GMT -6 985crabs said:

That's a shame.

It doesn't seem to effect my ability to steer. If yours still holds a steady course, I wouldn't worry about it unless it drives you crazy.

Crabs is right.. nothing to worry about unless it drives you crazy. My problem is I'm a perfectionist so it drives me crazy. I think I've either bent or broken the skeg on just about every motor I've ever owned. I've straightened a couple with a rubber mallet while using a piece of 4x4 on the opposite side as a backing... I've also broken the skeg off using that same process. I've learned the hard way, it's best to just leave it alone and buy a chrome Skeg guard to make it look better than new. If it doesn't bother you, leave it as is.. the skeg really doesn't do much but protect the prop and assist in direction at idle speeds during docking, etc. and yours doesn't look bent enough to hurt anything.

btw: Have you checked your PMs lately?

[gnrphil]

As said above, don't worry about it.

[WaterDog]

I had this issue on my Robalo with twin 200 Mercs. The starboard engine skeg was bent just a bit but under the right conditions would cause the prop to cavitate under load and the RPM's would take off. A mechanic friend said he had a fix and explained it. I was a bit skeptical but we went and did it and never had the issue again.

The fix is rather simple. We took a flat piece of steel and held it on one side of the skeg and another on the striking side. The one on the striking side is so you don't put hammer marks in the aluminum. We taped this one on with gorilla tape but the other side needs to be held. Four or five decent blows later with a heavy hammer the skeg was true without any hammer marks. I'm still not exactly sure what the steal on the non strike side did but was told this is done all the time with soft metals.

[fishkisser99]

Good big wooden clamp (or 2x4s) and a couple taps should do. Your skeg is a virgin compared to the hag that is my wife.

www.iboats.com/shop/skeggard-skeg-protector-with-skid-plate.html?opt=IB00067350&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjZG5p8qC8gIVVsmUCR2Y4g8-EAQYBCABEgJvGfD_BwE#ib_color=Infant+Size+-+Pink