Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

[sje0123]

Long story short.

Went out fishing Sunday. All went well. No issues while on the water, or so it seemed. I have a 1978 Mercury 800 and didn't even notice anything wrong until I got home and was lowering the motor. At some point during the day I must have hit something. No idea when or what.:facepalm: All I know is my prop has a few new dings and my skeg is all jagged.

From what I recall the skeg looking like originally I don't think I lost much material at all. My question is, is this a problem? Something I should even worry about fixing? I'd imagine the best/cheapest repair is to just grind it down smooth again.

The prop will be getting repaired/repainted over the off season by a local shop so I'm not to heart broken about that. Just sucks, this lower unit was in perfect shape for its age and I somehow hit or drifted into something.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

wish i could type the theme music from "JAWS".....it looks like the skeg was bitten off!
id be looking at pricing up having a piece welded on, looks like the prop is now below the skeg, so the next time you have an encounter, the prop is gunna take the brunt.

 

[sje0123]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE FISH IN MD? THEY BIT SKEGS CLEAN OFF!!!

That's just the angle of the picture. Estimating it judging by where the skeg sits in relation to the ground when sitting bow up, I'd say i lost 1" of skeg. I've got a good 2" of skeg below the prop. Not really sure why it would matter anyway as after the skeg rides over whatever I hit the motor will just fall right down slamming the prop into it anyway.

Could have been a lot worse I guess but still sucks. Going thru the trouble of tearing the whole lower unit down just to weld is not worth it to me. A skeg guard is an option, but I think at this point with just about 1" lost I'm not sure I should sweat it too much. Then again, I'm no expert.

I just can't believe I don't know when it happened. I figured that's something you'd notice.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

i want to fish in MD! lol! imo....if you have 2" of skeg below the prop it should be ok at speed, but as you say , going slow the prop will hit too. a skeg guard is an option, just to help save a beating on the lu moving parts.

 

[RandyJ]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

I've used fusion rods for aluminum prop repair. As long as it's not a major ding or bent blade they work great for filling in small chunks knocked out of a prop. I'd bet they'd work on skegs too. As for it affecting performance... probably not much. Looks to me like you dragged the foot of the motor on pavement or concrete. I'm guilty of that a time or two... I have read that the purpose of a skeg is only to protect the prop. I had always assumed that it had more to do with acting like a rudder for steering and stability. Also, there are replacement skegs available for lots of outboards. Not sure if there's one for that motor or not.

 

[sje0123]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

Looks to me like you dragged the foot of the motor on pavement or concrete. I'm guilty of that a time or two..

My thoughts too, but I didn't drag the skeg at the ramp. I put the motor up and floated it over to the trailer. I think while fishing I may have drifted into a rock or something. The horizontal scratches weren't there before either so it looks like I drug it thru mud and hit a rock or something. Oh well. Hopefully this is the end of my bad luck.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

Can anyone say skeg guard! Skegs and rocks have a love hate relationship,skegs hate rocks and rocks love skegs.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

No more than you lost I would just grind it down and be done with it, dings in the prop are minor, smooth those out to.

I would say no long term damage, lowers really don't like shoch loads like that but you hit it so light I wouldn't worry.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

It's not an unusual occurance.

first, I'd simply smooth it down and forget it. The only reason to rebuild it is if you want to restore the motor to "show" quality--and then you wouldn't want to use it.

To me, painting a prop or skeg is a waste of time. Around here, if you have paint, you aren't boating.

Hitting something hard enough to break the skeg seldom if ever does any other damage. My motors tilt up when I hit something, even against the PTT and for this reason I never lock them down.

Some people in extreme situations weld rebar on to the front and bottom of the skeg, but that's not typical.

Go back to boating!

 

[partskenn]

Re: Hit something. Is this a problem? Skeg Damage

Mine had similar damage when I bought it 15 years ago. Never did anything about it, never had any problems.