bent skeg

[JayZ]

hey folks,

anyone ever straighten a bent skeg?

how hard is the job?

what is the process?

Thanks !

[Tidbart]

I'll let you next week.

I plan to use a dead-blow hammer backed up by wood. Heating could have dire issues, such as melted seals, so I am going cold. Keep in mind, it not that bad, just planning to have it straight before I paint it.

Don't use wrenches or pliers.

B

[BUIZILLA]

don't be surprised if you snap it off...

not to worry, the weld on skegs are MUCH stronger than the original cast stuff

[Mckillop]

I have broke 1 skeg on the 18 and 1.5 on the 25.lol Its really not as big of deal as you would think to have a new one welded on. Another option, depending on where it is bent is to cut above the bend with a grinder and install a stainless steel skeg gaurd. That is what I did on the 25. I really like the way it looks too and you only need 1 inch of remaining skeg to install. You can kind of see it in the pic below. Some people dont like them , but I do.

[JayZ]

Do I need to pull any of the internals? Prop shaft, gears or whatever else I find in there... yeah I know but I'll figure this stuff out. I figure if I get lucky and with a little heat and a hammer it shouldn't be too big of a deal but if I have to weld on it I'd worry a bit about distorting something or causing rippling in the housing.

THanks,

[99-28zx]

You can not beat going with a Skeg Guard i am in the Marine Business we put them on many boats. They are in the 100 dollar range. Just straighten it enough to get the guard on on hell even cut off the bent part just leave enough to bolt the skeg guard to. It also will of coarse prevent any future bending.

[Tidbart]

Update.

I tried to straighten mine using some heat and light hammering. It cracked. This was really of no concern as one way or another, it was going to be straightened.

The crack was about two inches from the bottom back edge and curved toward the bottom of the skeg. Keep in mind that the skeg was only twisted at near the bottom.

So, I had a couple of choices. Have it welded or replace the whole skeg. I found a local welder who, after a quick interview, I determined could do a good job. This guy knew his chit. He tried finding a reasonably priced skeg for me, but came up empty. So, I told him that I would look around and see what I could find.

I found a replacement skeg, Merc, went for $82. Really?? It is just a piece of aluminum. I looked some more and found an aftermarket that went for about $25, but I couldn't easily find one pre-made for a Bravo. The one I bought was from a OMC.

I brought it to welder and we looked at the new one and determined that it wasn't close enough. So, we decided to do a repair on the existing one. Evidently, it is much easier for the welder to replace the whole skeg than weld, grind and straighten the old one.

Any ways, I got it back the other day and he did a fantastic job. Straight as an arrow and couldn't tell that it was ever welded. Cost me $125 for his effort. Would have cost me $80 + the skeg if I had gone that route.

Onward to painting.

B

99-28zx. Skeg guards are an option, but putting on bandaid on something that I have spent several years working on just wasn't an option.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

The welder I use is 72 years old and has rebuilt at least 4 skegs on various outdrives for me (usually it is a break at the bottom). I usually pay him around $100 each time. When he is done, the profile and strength is like new. I then fill the skeg, primer it, and shoot the entire lower foot with Imron. Here is a Bravo lower foot after the work was done. Bill