broken skeg question

66mstgfsbk · Oct 11, 2009

i have a omc stringer on my malibu and broke the skeg off completley. there is about 1 inch of alum left under the bullet portion of the lower. can this be fixed, is there enough material to add a skegguard? i hit a tractor...yes a tractor, in the ca delta i guess there is a place where everyone but me knew of sunken tractors in the water. well i hit it blew off the skeg and took an inch off the prop. needless to say i need to fix it. the drive shook on the way back but when i gave it more throttle it went away so i think its just the prop, i hope. does the skeg do anything else but protect the prop from damage? i read mixed feelings but couldnt bet a solid answer. thanks for any help

SeanT · Oct 11, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

Got a picture? The skeg protects the prop, bottom of the leg, and acts a little bit like a rudder. If everything else was okay, you can operate with a reduced skeg. It doesn't sound like you have enough to properly hold on a skeg guard.

I'd be worried about your prop shaft being bent, I'd check that when you replace your prop. I had a bent prop shaft in my old boat that did not vibrate at all, but it was letting water in to the leg.

justchange · Oct 11, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

If you feel adventurous, you could get another piece of aluminum and weld it on. You'd have to be careful to not overheat the "bullet part" of the lower unit. That's where your shift coils are.

a70eliminator · Oct 11, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

The way I understand it the skeg does nothing but protect the prop, it will hit and divert a submerged objects away from the prop, except tractors lol.
An inch of material is enough to work with, the best option would be to have a repair skeg welded on, I seem to recall one of those bolt on repair skegs stating the minimum material needed and I think it is an inch.

WAVENBYE2 · Oct 11, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

a70eliminator said:
An inch of material is enough to work with, the best option would be to have a repair skeg welded on, I seem to recall one of those bolt on repair skegs stating the minimum material needed and I think it is an inch.

I have a guy here locally who Can weld on skegs, he does it all the time, The only I am saying is that it can be done. If it wasn't for a cracked housing, it would have been the route that I would have taken. Call around locally and you just might find someone who is skilled and can do it. He wanted $125, I thought that sounded fair.

nlain · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

You can have a new one welded on.

I went from this

to this that way

SeanT · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

Wow very nice - looks brand new. Did the guy who did the welding also repaint it for you?

nlain · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

I took off what he had put on and sanded, filled some blemishes, sanded again then painted before reinstalling lower unit.

scbackpacker · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

Did you have to disassemble the lower before it was welded? I was wondering about heat transfer while it was being welded.

nlain · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

No, just drain, drop, pull prop, wrap and tape shafts to keep clean and protect, took to local prop shop and they weld on new skeg. As long as the welder knows what he is doing all is good. Any good aluminum welder shoud be able to do this.

grahamh · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

Man, where are these tractors?

I boat in the same area, and I haven't heard about that either. Yikes!

scbackpacker · Oct 12, 2009

Re: broken skeg question

Thanks. Mine is little beat up and I've been thinking of a skeggard or a replacement. I think I'll try some Devcon first. It'll be more cosmetic than anything else.

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