straightening bottom fin on alpha one leg

[duggs]

can someone advise me how to straighten the very bottom part of the leg. It's just a slight gradual curve on the bottom 5 inches of the fin. I've been told you need to apply heat. help appreciated. sorry if this request is answered elsewhere on the forum , but i couldn't find it

 

[Fishermark]

Re: straightening bottom fin on alpha one leg

Do you want to straighten it because it looks odd, or because it is affecting the handling of the boat? If the boat handles well as is, I would leave it alone. You certainly stand a good chance of breaking it off otherwise.

If you need to straighten it for handling reasons... then I would guess heat would be needed... but someone else who has actually straightened one will need to chime in here. Most of the posts concerning this start with "I broke the skeg off, what do I do now?"

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: straightening bottom fin on alpha one leg

Most of the time when you try to straighten one it will crack or break off.The local prop shop here will just cut it off and weld a new one on.If the boat handles ok just leave it alone

 

[ziggy]

Re: straightening bottom fin on alpha one leg

mines got a bend in it too. a slight bend. a little chunk out of it on the back side of the fin. i'm leaving well enough alone. i don't think it effects the handling of my boat and i've read to many stories about them breaking off while trying to straighten them...

 

[livin4real]

Re: straightening bottom fin on alpha one leg

You can also look into cutting off the bent part and putting a skeggard on. (skeggard.com) I managed to knock a couple inches off our skeg last summer and used the skeggard to replace it. It looks great and adds protection to boot.