Hi all…thought I’d offer up a DIY repair success story on a bent skeg. Picked up my boat yesterday from winter storage and saw my skeg was “realigned”…not in a good way! I store it in a pole barn winter months at a former work associates place nearby. Typically, I leave it with him with the motor down and he moves it to its final spot until spring when he moves it out for pick up. I noticed mud on the skeg after getting it home and then saw the full picture…the skeg was bent, not horribly but enough that it needed attention. My guess is he lifted the trailer tongue too high while moving it and made a ripper blade out of my motor! It’s a 50 Honda tiller and my fix was actually fairly easy. I grabbed two small pieces of 1/2″ plywood about 3″ x 4” and used a spring clamp to pinch the plywood on both sides of the skeg to hold them in place. I used a large Channelock pliers and bit by bit bent the skeg back to proper shape/alignment. I honestly don’t think anyone could tell it had been bent by looking at it. The wood kept me from hacking up the aluminum and kept pressure on the high and low points as I worked the bending process. Next year I’ll be leaving it jacked up higher when dropping it off. Anyway, thought at some point someone is going to do a search on bent skegs here…maybe this will be of some help.
April 10, 2022 at 9:56 am
#2115205
