[1971Crestliner115]

Hi, my dad has a 1971 Crestliner with a 115 Mercury Motor on it. Recently we caught a rock and screwd up our skeg. We got a chunk missing out of it. We were wondering if the is possibly a way to fill in the chunk somehow. Any feed back is greatly appreciated!ThanksMatt

[greasemonkeyozi]

I have a crazy question. What is a skeg? Always remember, someone can build it, someone can fix it.

[Gold Bear]

1971Crestliner115 Contact your local prop shop, they can probably fix it.PS - a skeg is the fin at the bottom end of the lower unit. It helps protect the propeller, and it aids steering.Good Luck,Gold Bear

[mellowyellow]

install a skeggard over the broken skeg. http://www.skeggard.com/Pictures.html

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Have you ever seen the infomercial for "Alumalloy"? They fix a prop with it and it supposedly adheres to all aluminum, pot metal, and similar alloys. Some people say it's BS. I have never tried it. I would think you might have a problem keeping the heat on that large a chunk of aluminum...I was thinking of using a similar product on my prop to fix some small areas where it mist have hit a rock and torn off some AL.

[1971Crestliner115]

Thanks everyone youve been a great help, i have a new ?, since our boat is so old we are afriad to tow with the motor tilted up, so does anyone have any ideas on wat to use. ive seen Transom Savers but we dont have a middle roler and the closest crossbeam from the trailer is like 4 feet away from the back of the boat any help would be great!

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Are you sure the motor doesn't have a built in bar that holds the motor up? I found one hiding in the motor bracket, you just trim all the way up and then flip the bar up, then trim down a bit to let the engine rest on the bar.

[1971Crestliner115]

No, our boat does have a lock to hold the motor up, but we are afriad to have it up because it is a 1971 and our transom dosent take to well to the bumps in the road. So we are trying to find something to hold the weight of the motor off the trasom while towing

[Merc90HPnewbie]

I guess I'm confused about the purpose of that bar then. Is it to take pressure off the trim pump for storage of the motor tilted up? Or is it to stop the see-sawing action of the motor on the transom when tilted up?Thanks!

[daritzzz]

Crestliner,Your skeg can be fixed by an alu-welder(tig),I had the same problem but with the anti-cavitation plate.A welder of my work fixed it, and it's still hanging on. Your next problem I don't understandSo you are afraid of hurding your transom while towing your trailer Do you know that when you use your 115 HP on such little square(transom), there is coming much more friction on the transom than while driving(on the trailer) the biggest bumps on the road.If you only use the engine at trolling speed, you'd better buy a smaller engine(consume less gass and is better for your transom )Gtzz tirett

[Skinsk]

Don't use a skeg guard. If I'm thinking of the right thing, it's one of those bolt on stainless skegs. It'll work, but probably a little too well. All things being equal, stainless is a bit sturdier than aluminum, and the next time you hit something chances are you'll tear off what remains of your skeg, and maybe damage your gear case. Have it welded. Prop shops can weld an aluminum plate in place to fill the hole.Scott.

[Bob Kimber]

Hi 1971crestliner,A lot of the new boat trailers in Australia are also now coming without any rear bar on the trailer, a friend of mine recently bought a new outfit and had the same problem except he already had the support bar (transom saver) from his old rig.In his case the trailer frame has two RHS steel sections down each side as the main structure of the trailer and open at the rear end to drain water from inside the RHS channels, I made up a crossbar to fit into these channels with an bracket welded to the centre to fit the base of his transom saver. He simply slips the crossbar in, fits the transom saver to the bracket, lowers motor and ties it back to the main trailer frame (look for best location). He tows his boat all over the place, on and off road without any problems, maybe if your trailer is similar you could get something similar done for yours.Bob

[RVAHA]

I had good luck on my skeg with JB Weld. It takes a couple of days to build it up. After you build it up, then you can grind/file it and then sand it smooth.This will probably only work if the damage is small, but it's worth try and is cheap. My repair is good enough that it cannot be told from the rest of the skeg. (Usually my repairs are not this good!!)Best of luck

[al9981]

This is what I put on my skeg the other day and it works fine. http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...ID=1008&r=view
About your transom, go ahead with a new transom. I did it for my 69 Starcraft and it was fun to do it. Your boat will feel like brand new.