Advice on broken fin

[paulhlee]

Had a bit of a mishap this past weekend and busted the fin on my 5.0 Alpha One Gen 2. The fin completely gone, and the prop in a bit of a shambles. Question is, should I try and bolt on a skeg gard, or have a new fin welded? Attached are photos.

If I go the welding route, I can have my buddy do the welding (he's more than qualified) but I just need to know which fin to buy. SS or aluminum? I do take the boat into the salt water frequently, for 6-8 hours and then flush/rinse it off as soon as I put back on the trailer.

I think the prop is salvagable - I'll take that to the prop shop and have it repaired.

 

[thumpar]

The drive is aluminium so you would want a new aluminium skeg. If you have your friend do it make sure he knows what he is doing with drives. It is easy to get the drive hot enough to melt the seals inside when welding plus aluminium is harder to weld from what I have heard.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have had a few skegs welded over the past many years. agreed with Thumpar, if you get the drive too hot, you will toast the seals. also, when welding it, keep the vent plug out, it prevents popping the seals due to the thermal expansion.

as for the prop, it doesnt look too bad (I have had much worse)

 

[gm280]

I don't see a huge issue myself. Of course have a new one welded on. But My opinion is to remove the unit and disassembly it and even de-paint it so that the welder is dealing only with the aluminum. And it has to be totally and completely CLEAN. I can't stress that enough! It has to be totally free from any and all oils, dirt and paint for it to weld properly. As for the prop, a little file and some sanding will take care of that. maybe even some new paint too... Here is a before and after on my OB...

 

[tpenfield]

+1 to the welding recommendations. I do not see that you have enough of the skeg remaining to go the skegguard route . . . plus every time someone sees a skeg guard, they know the skeg is busted.

If the prop is not too expensive, you way want to consider a new one and keep that old one as a spare.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... I agree that weldin' a new piece of aluminum on would be the Best fix,....

I weld aluminum, 'n ya don't go buy a new skeg, 'n weld it on,...
Ya start with a piece of 1/4" aluminum plate, 'n cut it to fit however, wherever ya decide to put the joint,....
Same as Prop Shops do it,....
After it's welded on, ya shape it, 'n smooth it out to how ya want it,.... with an angle grinder, 'n flap-wheels,....

As noted above,... This is all done on an empty gear case, not fully assembled,....

To be Honest,....
Ya ain't gotta fix it at All,....... It provides very little rudder effect,... Steerin' comes from prop thrust, not the skeg,....

It's there, Only to protect the prop,...

 

[achris]

Here's the part number for a new weld-on skeg. -90185A1. The online price is about $68.

I've done the job a few times. It's best to pull the gear housing off and strip the propshaft and bearing carrier out first.

 

[RCAnderson]

Well you certainly can't weld stainless to aluminum, so I would do what Bondo said.

 

[achris]

Well you certainly can't weld stainless to aluminum, so I would do what Bondo said.

Well, actually, you can. But it's more a braze than a weld.

 

[gm280]

I would like to add that someone stated that you really don't need to weld on another piece because is doesn't offer any steering ability. And while that is true, if you look at a side profile, now the prop is not protected from anything head on anymore. That means when you get into shallower waters the prop will hit everything with no protection from the skeg. The skeg isn't a cure all, but it does take some of the hits and allows the prop to go over things. So I personally I would not let it go if it were my engine. It was designed to be there for a reason. But again this is just my opinion...

 

[achris]

Had a friend who ran like this.... for around 12 years. Never had a problem. I only put the new skeg on because he needed an insurance assessment and preferred the drive to look as good as possible.

 

[Bondo]

And while that is true, if you look at a side profile, now the prop is not protected from anything head on anymore. .

Ayuh,..... That's cleaner water, no disturbance from the skeg,...... Better bite for the prop,....

 

[batman99]

I would simply remove the lower end, take to welding shop and ask them to weld new skeg on. This can be done using a butt joint (which is weak) or sider aluminum skeg plates over the existing skeg stub. Or, buy "store bought" skeg kit, and attach it. It's that simple...

 

[Megaware KeelGuard]

It looks like a SkegGuard still might work in your application. If you'd like I can send you a pdf rendering of the SkegGuard Model 27031. It shows the measurements and location of the drill holes. If there is still remaining skeg where the drill holes would match up, I'd say your in luck. Here's a link to our product available from iboats.
http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind..._search_15030=Mercruiser&session_id=284914085