Chipped Skeg... What to do?

[BigCountryx]

Yup, :idiot hit something subsurface and ended up with this wound... What should I do, this is a low to mid 90 mph rig. I hope the answer isn't to get a new LU :help

 

[GotMyAlly]

Get it cut to a 200 profile. That should clear the bad spot. Sportmaster has a huge skeg in comparison anyway. You may gain a little handling and/or speed when you do that too.

 

[BigCountryx]

I've heard good and bad things about modifying the skeg on a sporty. Guess maybe it depends on the craftsman that does the cut.

 

[JOEALLY]

I'd have it cut.

 

[hullbilly]

+2 for cutting it. If you're a do-it-yourself kinda guy, you can just grind the bad spot out and retain the same skeg angle. Won't hurt a thing and will probably help a little. As long as it didn't crack, you are good to go IMO.

 

[racerx]

weld it,if yoyu dont want to cut it

 

[M.ALEXIE]

Get it cut to a 200 profile. That should clear the bad spot. Sportmaster has a huge skeg in comparison anyway. You may gain a little handling and/or speed when you do that too.

Ditto

 

[patches]

Like Jeff said, you could weld it. Not a stressed part of the case. Won't hurt a thing so that gives you two options

 

[catfish123]

I had one a few years ago that had a much larger chunk knocked out of it and it was cut to the 200 profile.........it has performed perfectly now for a long time. I would go that route rather than welding it.

 

[JaySmithRacing]

Take a fine line marker , measure at the bottom of the skeg from the REAR of the skeg forward to 3" 3/4"- 4" and make a mark. Put a straight edge from the bottom mark to the beginning of the skeg where its attached to the housing , draw a line from these two points that will be your cut mark. I use a roto band saw , what the spoil or the part that fall from the cut will be a hypotenuse triangle. After cut use a coarse then to a finer file and then sand paper to blend and shape. Should take you no more than an hour, and the plus from the job will be straight skeg as well as more MPH.....

Good luck,
Jay

 

[whipper]

Like a so. You could probably go in even more at the case before ya start the line down. But i would just retain as much as possable who knows you might need to shave some more again?:big grin

 

[BigCountryx]

Thanks guys, looks like I've got a weekend project...

Jay, what you think about Whippers drawing? Makes since to me.

 

[JaySmithRacing]

Looks like the ticket !!!!!!

Jay

 

[whipper]

Keep the front part you cut away as a referance and when you grind then file the front of the skeg try and copy the roundness of the stock shape best you can {lesding edge}. Remember, to blunt and the water will {deflect} farther back of the skeg and to sharp the water will {stick} to the skeg and creat more drag. Start with it the same rundness and one day when you want to experament more you can play with that shape of the leading edge. Just get it close enough and that will work. Ive sharpened them like a knife and tryed blund and have mine pretty good now. Best judge will be when your back in the water with a familier prop and see if your speed is same as before,higher or lower. If higher leave it. If lower you can try to round it a little more but not much. Always do this a little bit at a time when testing. I take a nice bastard to the lake with me and fine tune there on the spot.

Back to back runs is the best way to test anthing you do. I sand my case below the water line wet sanded 400 grit. Thats a proven method of reducing drag on the gearcase. Primed and wet sanded 400 is the fastest many racers will tell you. Just nip it off close the ding as you can. But I wouldnt take off any more than you need . When you see primed SM cases on the bottom half they are most likely wet sanded 400 Grit. Its not just for looks.:big grin Also try and Copy the bottoms rounded contour. You could accually use the cut off piece and trace the bottom part were its rounded to get the same shape. Just be carfull because you dont want to cut to far at the top into the gearcase and you want to cut straight so not hungover.:big grin Happy shaping.

 

[Jr in Jax]

Cut the skeg like most everyone recommended and give it a little crescent curve at the bottom if you are like me and frequently hit logs and sandbars. The slight curve allows it to climb over obstructions instead of break off. My crescent cut with the Allison curve to replace the torque tab was faster and handled better than my new stock sporty. My first one lasted over 1500 hours before the bearing rollers dropped into the gearset....

 

[BigCountryx]

Would the heat by a cutoff wheel be damaging to the case? If so, I'll check into borrowing a bandsaw.

 

[Thomas H]

Having done lots of them on older Mercs I can tell you it is faster to just cut with a fresh hacksaw blade than it is to go find a bandsaw. Only takes a minute or two. Have fun!

 

[BigCountryx]

Hope to get a chance to try it out this week. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[BigCountryx]

Almost forgot. When I hit whatever I hit, I started having temp issues. On the water I found nothing, pulled stats got flow, but pressure was fluctuating. Wonder if this driftwood could have had something to do with it, lol. This was all fished out through the intake holes.

 

[whipper]

Skegs looks like new!! Great Job. How long did it take ya? Its all scary till ya start geten at it eh. Then its like,hey I can do this..:beer: Ill bet you gain a mph or two with that shape. Imagine when your trimmed out the bottom of the skeg running level or slightly back like it looks like yours will. Handling will be a little different probably to the good though. When your counter steering the skeg is whats doing all the corrections basically. So when your flying just remember that and you'll feel whats happening back there more. Looks really Fast!! The smaller the skeg the sharper you can go on the leading edge just a FYI for fine tunning if necessary. Hence the speedmasters more arrow than bullet shape and smaller skeg. The aspect ratio is much smaller allowing sharper bullet and leading edges as theres not much there to begin with in comparison to the SM and other cases like CLE,s etc..

If your the same speed or faster just leave it as is. If your slower you might need a little blunter leading edge. Its a fine line so make sure your just not slower because your holding back testing. Take a few outings to be sure before you decide. Oh and be safe!!:beer:

Cant wait to hear how she works .