Bent skeg- how bad and still use

[sharps45]

When pulling my boat through a dip in the road the skeg hit and bent. It bent to one side about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. It is not a replaceable skeg, but part of the whole lower unit. What will this do to handling, vibrations, etc? thanks guys

23 ft chriscraft deck boat
250 hp volvo penta

 

[GrindKore]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

I'm missing about 2/3 of my skeg. The previous owner had ran in to some rocks as I have inherited a horribly disfigured prop on to of it. However, after grinding off jagged edges and painting it, my "mini" skeg seem to not affect anything. I guess my only advice, is to straight whatever remains you have back out.

I also heard you can have skeg rebuild, I guess they can weld on some metal and then shape it back in to its original form. I may do just that after this season, take the lower unit off and take it to the shop.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

there are millions of motors with bent skegs, with no adverse effects. all you can do is try it. suggest you get a transom saver, actually should be called lower unit saver. tilt the motor when towing.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

As stated run the boat and see if it handles differently, if not no worries.

I have tapped those back before(tap as in slightly harder than you would hit your finger) you need a heavy backer like a small sledge hammer or anything heavy and a plastic mallet, the mallet for tapping and the heavy one placed on the center back side of the bend.

If it doesn't run different leave it alone, you could break it and then you have different problems.

 

[nlain]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

What everyone said plus, it can be replaced, maybe repaired, I broke mine and found the piece and had it welded back on, I recently broke mine and now will take it to the local prop shop and have a new one put on. They can cut off the old and put on a complete new one or cut at a point that is straight and use only part of the new. When they get thru it will be as good as new.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

the problem with welding, is the lower unit has to be taken apart, and rebuilt, and welding heat, melts the seals.

 

[levittownnick]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Is the primary purpose of the skeg to protect the prop?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

purpose of skeg in protect the prop, YES.

 

[GrindKore]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

the problem with welding, is the lower unit has to be taken apart, and rebuilt, and welding heat, melts the seals.

I intend to reseal the lower unit during the winter season anyhow, in fact I may end up buying second motor for spare parts.

 

[jeffnick]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Welding is not to be feared. The heat is VERY localized and can be done with the motor tilted up and the exhaust cavity filled with water.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

I've had a local welding shop replace a good sized chunk I took out of it a few weeks ago . . . $75

As luck would have it, this past Sunday I hit an unmarked row of rocks at about 3-5 mph and had to bring it back to the welder for another touch up on Monday . . . $50

That nicked up my new lower pitch prop too, so had to send that out to Soderblooms.com for repair . . . $28 plus $10 return shipping.

I've put the welder on a "retainer" for the rest of the season

Good tip though to watch out for excess heat on the seals.

If you go the welding route make sure you alert the welder to heat ruining your seals. They do it in a tilted up position anyway for easy access, so if you can pour some water in there, that sounds like a good idea from the other poster too!

 

[fishmen111]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Put a Skeg-Gaurd on it. Looks nice (stainless steel), easy to install and costs about $100.

 

[gstanton]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Been there! The Skeg is mainly there to protect the prop from logs, wood chunks, rocks in the sand bar you just went over... etc... It does not affect trim or steering in any way. You DO have to be careful welding this aluminum part as the heat will damage interior parts and fluids. Bending it back is do-able, but be very careful. Skeg-Gard is a viable fix and you'll find them (the company)very helpful.
The only real advice is to have your (also aluminum) prop re-finished professionally and be done with it. Should cost ~ $ 100.00

 

[Expidia]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

I've had my skeg welded twice already. Had another touch-up past Monday for $50 due to a rock bar I brushed over.

Good idea from the above posters to inform the welder that the stuff inside above the skeg contains heat sensitive components though. They do it in the raised position anyway for ease of welding so if you can get some water in there all the better as another poster said.

I wish I knew of that before I had it done. But the bottom of the skeg is pretty far from the prop shaft anyway.

I would think a decent welder is going to know if he heats it too much the paint above the area he's working on will melt.

Mine seemed to come out fine. Just sent in my second prop repair to Soderblooms.com

They did a good job on the first prop I sent in two weeks ago where I sliced off half of one of the blades hitting a submerged stump. $28 plus $10 for shipping back to me.

I didn't like the idea of adding a $100 skeg guard for the repair because I'm sure the extra width and added bolts will add extra drag. costs me $75 my first repair two weeks ago, when I took a big chunk out of my skeg on the stump. I was happy with the welding repair.

I've put my welder on a retainer for the rest of the season

 

[jaywiz]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

so a missing chunk out of the back won't screw up anything??and tell me about this cheap prop repair place.(new to boating,so cheap repair places are gonna be my friends i'm afraid)

 

[Expidia]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

so a missing chunk out of the back won't screw up anything??and tell me about this cheap prop repair place.(new to boating,so cheap repair places are gonna be my friends i'm afraid)

Like I said. Banged prop twice in two weeks
I put a lot more hours on than the average boater and mostly on waters I'm not that familiar with. I get bored real quick driving around in circles each week on the same lake, so I like to explore new lakes and places with the boat.

If you chase bass, you're going bang a prop or two.
If your boat is always on the same lake or in the marina or in your garage most of the season, than your prop is probably pristine.

Most people go to Stainless Steel, so their prop always looks great because it doesn't show the occasional bump, but I prefer the softer aluminum prop which takes the hit, rather than chance damage to my lower unit or prop shaft.

Most good repair shops that I saw in the forums for aluminum get about $69-$89. If you have a local boat shop send it out for you, they are going to need to understandably need to tack on some profit for themselves too.

The last "new" (higher pitch prop than my OEM one) I bought was a Michigan Wheel Vortex prop for only $69 at a local boat shop yet. So it does not make sense to me to pay too much for a repair.

Soderbloom.com, just called me yesterday for the prop they received last Fri and they repaired it in one day! $28 plus $10 return shipping.

Their normal turn around time for the first one was still less than 2 weeks. I did call them last week and said I was leaving for a boating/camping trip on Fri. and would have more people on board so needed this higher pitch prop back by this coming Thurs if possible without having to spring for a $30 two day shipping charge.

Nice people to work with as they repaired the prop in one day for me at no extra charge and mailed it back to me by 3 day UPS yesterday.

They are in MN and I'm in NY, so it might make it back in time.

You can boat around with a broken skeg with no effect. But if you trailer, you're advertising to every other boater that passes you on the highway that you are as crummy a captain as I am (even with a combo GPS/Depthfinder on board) . So I always try and hide that fact and choose to get the needed repairs ASAP. To me, it's just another cost of boating.

Fixing the prop and skeg after you damage them, can hide our navigating shortcomings

 

[Mark42]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

I hit a rock at wot and bent the skeg into a crescent moon shape. I really thought it was going to break off if I tried to straighten it out. But it didnt. I used two pieces of 2x4 about 18" long. One behind the skeg, the other to pound on it. Took about 20 minutes, but it is now straight. No cracks, and no paint flaking! That was two years ago.

So don't be afraid to straighten a bent skeg that is only out of alignment by an inch or so.

Also, you may not realize it, but a bent/twisted skeg is affecting the motor's performance.

 

[dave11]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

I hit a rock at wot and bent the skeg into a crescent moon shape. I really thought it was going to break off if I tried to straighten it out. But it didnt. I used two pieces of 2x4 about 18" long. One behind the skeg, the other to pound on it. Took about 20 minutes, but it is now straight. No cracks, and no paint flaking! That was two years ago.

So don't be afraid to straighten a bent skeg that is only out of alignment by an inch or so.

Also, you may not realize it, but a bent/twisted skeg is affecting the motor's performance.

Good advice. Instead of beating it, you could use an adjuatable clamp.

 

[nuttyboater]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Its actually

www.soderbloom.com

You had the website address plural like their actual company name. They are in Cromwell MN. Being in the same state as them i could send a prop on Monday and have it back for the following weekend, provided they were not too busy that is.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Bent skeg- how bad and still use

Its actually

www.soderbloom.com

You had the website address plural like their actual company name. They are in Cromwell MN. Being in the same state as them i could send a prop on Monday and have it back for the following weekend, provided they were not too busy that is.

Oops sorry. When one opens their site up there are big blue letters spelling out SODERBLOOM's so I thought their website was plural. Glad you found it though.