I know, a teaser headline.

We have had this motor for a long time. I have never seen a motor with a curved skeg until this motor. They don?t make motors like this do they? It seems over time it has become more pronounced.

If it doesn?t come this way, how did it get curved? I believe these are cast, not forged and I would think of cast this skeg would have cracked and not curved. And if this happened over time, can it be ?bent? back into place or repaired another way?

They are indeed cast and therefore prone to cracking when bent, or bent back. I'd only attempt straightening with the foot off and some heat applied and hammering on a hard surface, like an anvil or some other metal base. If it that doesn't work they typically cut off the damage area and weld a new piece on. A lot of prop shops will tackle this. It takes someone skilled at welding cast aluminum. A lot of marinas will repair it by taking the foot off and sending to a prop shop...

Eric

Rotation of the prop, run the motor at high RPM in reverse for 2000 hours, that will straighten it right out. :)

Voice of experience here....that bend happens one of two ways: 1. The motor gets smashed/twisted against the bottom at the launch when waves hit the boat, or 2. It's a trailering screwup, the skeg bottoms out when backing up. The motor will rotate all the way to one side and presto! Having done both more than once, making me an unhappy expert in such things, I'd guess it's #2, you backed into something. Even lawn turf will do it. Or shallow water at the launch if the motor isn't tilted. Yes, I've tested and confirmed each particular theory, look for the telltale trench.

As far as straightening, that one looks pretty bad. I agree with Eric. I'd live with it or replace it, chances are it'll fail if you try to straighten it.

Looking closer at the photo, there is minor damage to the bottom rear of the skeg. Almost certainly contact with ground somewhere. That is some well shined hardware BTW.

I've seen skegs on well used commercial outboards which were worn almost completely down to the base, still chugging along with no apparent issues.

Cheap "fix", cut it off and grind a new shape to it.

The skeg protects the lower unit gears and driveshaft. It strikes an object and prevents the prop from doing the same. Running a motor with a skeg that is not as low as the prop is inviting costly damage and downtime.

Eric

Mark

One other comment from your picture. That prop has seen better days. It has worn significantly. Time for a new one. If you are running muddy/sandy shallows you might consider a stainless prop. I switched to stainless and have never looked back.

Eric

All very true, but theres' the right way, and what you can get away with..

Next best fix, weld a replacement skeg on,

You did mention commercial rigs. I can only imagine the condition some of them are in when the bills have to get paid.

Running shallow in sometimes sandy, sometimes rocky waters with my boat I went with a stainless SkegGuard to add some protection to my motor keels.
Had one on my 150 and one now on my 115. My motor repairman suggested it. Easy to install yourself.

My cheap advise. lol
Steve

I had a mishap this past Thursday. I blew a bearing which caused the trailer to shift violently causing the bow strap to snap. The safety chain came loose and since my trailer is a roller trailer sent the bow in the air dragging the skeg down the payment. Somehow got slowed down and stopped before the prop became collateral damaged as well. I have no idea how I didn't lose the whole boat. Quote to fix the skeg was $79 for material and $200 labor and no guarantee I would get the boat back before season end. Fix the spindle, new hub and bearings, new strap and new safety chain. I decided to trim the skeg myself and installed a Skeg Guard from Keelguard. We will see how this works and at least finish out the season.

Take care,

Ed L.
East Moline,
Illinois
_________________________________________
If I'd had asked what they wanted they would have said faster horses" - Henry Ford

Scary stuff. Glad it wasn?t worse.

---

Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

Yeah, me two. Could have been so much worse.

Take care,

Ed L.
East Moline,
Illinois
_________________________________________
If I'd had asked what they wanted they would have said faster horses" - Henry Ford

How about this?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
***Phil (Chesapeake Boy) Nowack***


Nothing like the north wind pushing snow at your back, a bird in your hand, and chessie with ice on his coat at your side.

Birds brought to you courtesy of Nikon, Benelli, Kodi, and Otter

---------------------------------------------------------------------
***Phil (Chesapeake Boy) Nowack***


Nothing like the north wind pushing snow at your back, a bird in your hand, and chessie with ice on his coat at your side.

Birds brought to you courtesy of Nikon, Benelli, Kodi, and Otter

Wow, you about ran out of real estate!

Take care,

Ed L.
East Moline,
Illinois
_________________________________________
If I'd had asked what they wanted they would have said faster horses" - Henry Ford

Yes, this skeg has seen every type of abuse you can imagine. I?m not surprised it is curved, but am surprised it hasn?t broken off.

The motor is a 1999 and it has not been well maintained. Change plugs and lower unit gear oil and that is about it since we have owned it. This season the recoil started wouldn?t recoil. I tried to get it off. It there was a connector that I couldn?t figure out how to remove and I was afraid if I got it off I couldn?t get it back on. Squirted some PB Blasted into the mechanism and it has worked fine ever since. Point of all this, the motor is going in early next year to have some work done and I?ll be seeing what they want to do about the skeg.

Regarding the prop, the only environment it sees is mid and sand so yeah, it is quite worn. How do I determine what size prop is on it now and what size stainless prop should I go with? Motor is a 1999 (of 1996) Evinrude 15hp.

And yeah, not proud of the condition of this motor as it is not how I take care of my stuff.

Thanks for all the help

Mark

Should be some numbers on the hub. The numbers may be on the face towards the thrust washer at the front of the prop. Ther prop needs to be removed to revel any numbers on that face.

---

Take care, Huntindave McCann SHELL ROCK IA. ,,,,,, "As sailors grow older, the wiser ones move to smaller boats." Thomas Firth Jones, Multihull Voyaging

Check the hub. I had both a 1983 9.9hp and a 1997 15hp. Both motors had stock props which were 10 pitch.





Take care,

Ed L.
East Moline,
Illinois
_________________________________________
If I'd had asked what they wanted they would have said faster horses" - Henry Ford

I'm a cheap motor guy. Check with your motor guy, see if he has a used lower unit. Easy to find out here. I also like the bolt on skeg. I have a piece of wood tied under the motor bracket when trailering so it won't drop down, happened once.

I've got a '95 115 Johnson that looked just like yours. It was backed into in my driveway.

Repair shop suggested trying to beat it back into alignment - "Most likely break, but worth a shot". I used a hand mall as a buck and whacked the other side with a rubber mallet. Worked great. Still have that skeg 25 years later though the bottom inch or so broke off on a ramp 10 years ago.


Pete


MOLON LABE [mo 'lon la 've]

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Life's a blink, never have to say ....... "I should have"!

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