Damage to skeg on motor

[groomer1a]

Well there is nothing like going out for the first time in a while and messing the motor up! I was out Sunday and coming back in when I I felt a thunk...shutter (best way I can describe it) from the motor. Slowed but kept going and never saw anything in the water. I was in 20 ft. so it was not the bottom. Ran throttle back up and was no problem. Got to the ramp....loaded onto the trailer and was strapping everything down when I saw a chunk out of the front of the skeg about the size of a quarter. The prop is not bent but looks like it ground something like a garbage disposal would. Best I can figure I hit something that was submerged but floating. The dealer says that I should not worry about the skeg but it looks like crap. My question is has anyone used the covers that are sold in Bass Pro and other places or should I just smooth it off and paint it or should I go to the cost of having it welded? It does seem to still run OK. I could turn this in on insurance and go through all the hassles but I would rather not. emoBawl

 

[beetlespin]

Call Billy at Performance Propellers. He will fix you skeg for you and its not expensive at all. They can fix your prop too. Very good people. 842-7767

 

[dragfish]

beetlespin - 2/23/2010 6:47 PM

Call Billy at Performance Propellers. He will fix you skeg for you and its not expensive at all. They can fix your prop too. Very good people. 842-7767

Great advice-all you need to know!

 

[kickinbass35]

Yeah Billy is the best around you will be very happy with the work he does and also the price

 

[wrechin2]

emoThumbsup emoThumbsup That is some good advice.

 

[TheFisherman]

Good advice - take it to Tim - also this might be covered by your insurance. My answer to your question is - DEPENDS!
If your boat is a high performance boat then the integrity of the skeg gets a lot more important. Broke one off at near 80 mph one time and totally lost control of the boat. Bounced all over the river until finally stopping sideways. It wasn't hitting the log that was under the water, it was the lack of the skeg all of a sudden. I could barely plane off to get home. Second, how big is the skeg on your gear case? If you have a Mercury SPortmaster then the skeg is large enough you might can trim some off without harm (done that too). Tim can judge that.

 

[wrechin2]

That is a good point TheFisherman.......

He stated it was a small area about the size of a quarter. Where you get into dangerous situations is when you have to replace a large part of the skeg, say 3 or 4 inches of lower portion of the skeg. The weld going all the way across the skeg causes a weak spot, and can result in a accident like what you had. Simple repairs of small chunks missing does not effect the integrity of the skeg. I will NOT run a welded skeg on any thing that runs over 40 and especially not on High performance application. The one on mine now I welded up 2 places, a chunk about the size of a quarter and one the size of a dime and reshaped the skeg. Then I welded on a hi performance torque tamer that also adds structure to the skeg. It is perfectly safe. Just my .02

 

[Guest]

Bondo or jb weld it, file and sand it down smooth and paint to match.

 

[wrechin2]

Gary,
Depends on the speed of the boat. It may stay in on a slower boat.

 

[Guest]

One other material, is that stuff , that you break off and kneed together like dough....I have used it on skegs, and I filled the holes on a prop once. If it held on the prop spinning at 6000K..............a small spot should be ok.</p>

I would not suggest running a high performance application , with 1/2 skeg or a welded one............my .02</p>