sKEG rEPAIRS
Our Process vs Our Competitors
When fixing a skeg, we leave as much of the original as we can. We weld on skeg patterns that have been cut to match up to what is left on your boat. By doing this, we are able to create the strongest weld with the most penetration we can to ensure that your skeg doesn't just fall off.
Some of our competitors cut the skeg off right up near the gear case and only do surface welds on each side. This does not get full penetration through the entire skeg and essentially leaves a crack or gap in the center of the attaching point. This causes the entire skeg to fall of as soon as bump something under the water. Unfortunately, we are unable to fix these when they have been cut off so close to the gear case because we are not able to "V" out the remaining skeg on the housing to ensure a fully penetrative weld.
Some of our other competitors use simple plate aluminum and cut them into what they believe is the correct pattern. This causes multiple issues.
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If the plate isn't as thick as the original skeg, they will have to use large amounts of bondo to fill in the thickness.
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Plate aluminum is much softer then cast aluminum. Bumping something such as a log may cause your skeg to bend at up to a 90 degree angle, causing performance issues and look horrible.
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We have seen some of the skegs cut and shaped to be very drastically different then what they are supposed to be. Having a skeg several inches longer then what it's supposed to be just reduces your clearance level in the water and increases your chance of hitting something with it.
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The reshaping of the skeg when they do this can also cause it to be very difficult to impossible for us to fix it and make it look the way it did originally. When they grind to much off the original shape and change the angle of both the leading and trailing edge of the skeg, we can't fit the proper skeg pattern onto the skeg correctly and have to modify the way your skeg looks permanently. We do what we can to make it look as good as we can in these instances, but sometimes it can't be helped very much.
What is a Skeg Pattern?
A skeg pattern is a piece of cast aluminum that is in the same shape and thickness as the original skeg on your motor. We use these to ensure the best quality, appearance, and performance of your skeg after we fix it.
How to get your skeg fixed.
We can do the repair right on your boat! All you have to do is schedule an appointment, drop the boat off the morning of your appointment, and we call you later that day when we have it done!
Skeg Guards
Please Don't Use These!
When installing a skeg guard, most designs require you to drill holes into the skeg. The skeg and the entire housing are made of a single cast of aluminum. You will then be required to put stainless steel bolts through the holes to hold the skeg guard on and in place. When you hit something, the stainless steel will not give, the cast aluminum of the housing will. We have seen people destroy their housings using these. They also end up rattling if they don't fit right and cause a lot of noise. We take several of these off every year due to customers not liking them and being dissatisfied with them. Please, if you damage your skeg, have patience and make an appointment for it to be fixed correctly.