Skeg repair

[JRalston]

I have a skeg that is very obviously warped. Anyone know the best way to straighten it?

[DAREDEVIL]

I have a skeg that is very obviously warped. Anyone know the best way to straighten it?

Cut it off and weld a new on !!!!

Have a maschine shop do it if your not able to..any time u try to straighten them,,they kind of get weak and later break !!!!

[JRalston]

seriously?!?

[drpete3]

yes seriously. its about a $70 job. but have some one do it thats does them all the time. Like your marina if they do that work

[HiZ]

Cut and Paste!
Don't bend it back otherwise it could fail when under power and cause prop damage!
Cut and paste, Merc sells replacement weld on skegs!

[JRalston]

Will do. Thanks guys!

[goldeneyee]

I straightened two of mine recently with a large metal clamp. Put the clamps on and gave it a little turn every few days, Worked perfectly!

[Chris]

I guess it depends on the drive and the boat's usage. If it were something fairly low-performance it would be OK. But keep in mind that the skeg is a very highly stressed part- when turning. It is how it is right now for some reason. Now if you hit something with your cruiser and bent/broke it that's one thing. But if you bent it by turning hard, it's telling you something.

It's not uncommon for raceboats to bend or even snap skegs off. Lowers don't last forever. It's a highly stressed item. And welding repairs have issues. The weld isn't going to be as strong as the original. And often you get warpage in the case.

What you really need to consider is what's going to happen if you get a failure in a hard turn. Do you really want to chance a spin or roll at speed with a boat full of passengers?

[fixxxer22]

saw a guy spin out once in a cat. he was screwing around doing sharp turns and just being cocky. dont know if the skeg broke off before or after but when it tossed him out and the boat kept going the skeg was for sure broken once it was stopped bu the shoreline.

[TCEd]

If you're not racing or doing a lot of high speed sharp turning find a very good reputable welder. I've damaged skegs by hitting rocks with both my outdrives over the years. Both skegs were replaced by a very good welder and I've run the boat a lot of hours since without a failure.

There is a replacement skeg which requires the complete old skeg to be removed plus the the lower gear set removed and the housing is kept cool to prevent warpage during the welding.

[YoungPerformance]

If you have a new one welded on, just make sure they tig weld. Mig welding the skeg on is not good enough. It doesn't make enough heat and the weld will usually fail. You really should disassemble the lower to properly weld the skeg on. If you don't, be careful to keep the seal area cool so as not to damage the seal.
Eddie