skeg damage

[assinippi]

Last fall I hit a gravel bar at low moon tide. I have a number of relatively small dings along the leading edge and bottom of my skeg, the biggest of which is about as big as a half dime, the rest smaller but extending from the bottom up about 3" and about an 1 1/2" along the bottom with the front/bottom corner rounded over. It is as if 1/16"-1/4" were roughly ground off that area.

I'd like some input as to how much this might affect the performance if left alone or if I simply grind the skeg down to eliminate the digs and smooth up the leading edge. The skeg would still be full height and 95%+ intact. I've also been thinking of having it welded and then ground to original shape and painted. Anyone have recomendations on the South Shore for welders who will do small welding jobs? Third option is to fill the digs with epoxy and repaint.

Any and all recomendations or comments would be appreciated.

[saltydancindave]

Maybe you should look at Skeggard products or similar products that have bolt on skeg protection :cool:

[SamRiley]

Two, maybe three years back I sheared off a good chunk of my skek while navigating an unmarked water. Prop was dumped but the skeg was left as is. If you do not notice an issue I would not go looking for one. Otheres here know way more than I though.

[assinippi]

I thought about the Skeg Guard but don't think the damage is extensive enough to warrant it. Plus drilling holes and adding more disimilar metals below the water has got to increase electrolysis/corrosion. I keep the boat clean and would like to keep the engine original as well. The damage to the skeg may be mostly cosmetic. What I am trying to determine is does the chewed up front/bottom edges of the skeg create enough drag or other issues to warrant being concerned. Particularly with $3+ fuel, drag could be a factor. I haven't tried it with a new prop yet to see if the top end has changed (I bent the stainless prop that was on the boat and my aluminum backup is not pristine).

Sam, How much skeg did you lose and how did it affect performance? Does something like that increase vibration?

[SamRiley]

about an inch maybe. no issues that I can tell

[saltydancindave]

The damage has to affect optimum outboard performance to a certain extent, but how to measure the decrease is subjective. You would have to have statistics on the outboards perfomance before the damage occured to compare current perfomance to. If you lived where there are sand flats, you could just run where it's a bit shallower and have the skeg "sandblasted" smooth to get out the dings & indentations or just sand them out as if you were getting ready to primer, repaint, clear coat & wax !:cool:

[assinippi]

I run through sand flats inside cape cod bay a lot when fishing the flats anyway. I end up repainting the skeg once or twice a season. That may be the way I'll go. I was never shure how critical shape and condition of the edge would be, particularly since this is an area that feeds water to the prop. I was particulaly concerned with any cavitation that the ragged edge might create.

[DaleH]

If it were me (said without seeing it), I'd just grind it out using a cutting bit designed for use on aluminum, like a crocus cloth wheel in a Dremel tool. For handwork, the same cloth backed by a wood block is fine and that is ALL I use to dress 'blips' even in SS wheels [fancy mariner's term for props ;) ].

I recommend you do NOT take a file to it. Filing SS or aluminum with any metal file that was used on steel can embed steel filing into the aluminum that can impede any future welding in that area. That's also why I wouldn't fill it with any epoxy goop at this time. As long as the features are smooth, you will not notice any performance impacts IMHO.

Also, the skeg cannot cavitate per se, as true cavitation is actually an 'explosion' of air bubbles, where the low pressure side under the swing of the prop blade causes the water to boil at a significantly reduced temperature. Those 'explosions' from the boiling water, also under compression, can pit the prop.

What causes cavitation is air getting to the prop. Again, per my experience, as long as you retain smooth features cutting into the flow of the water (regardles of what it may look like from the side profile) you should be OK. Make sure to really smooth it out.