Fin damaged

[Supertaz]

Hi,

I made a big booboo this summer by damaging my Volvo Penta SX fin....:facepalm:

I want to know if I can fix that myself and if so, how ?

I'm no expert in metallurgy though !!




View attachment 114001

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Fin damaged

Hi,

I made a big booboo this summer by damaging my Volvo Penta SX fin....:facepalm:

I want to know if I can fix that myself and if so, how ?

I'm no expert in metallurgy though !!

Welcome to Iboats.

The damage to your skeg wouldn't keep me up at night. Fairly minimal.

IMHO you have a few options.
1. Leave it be, like I said fairly minimal damage.
2. Conservatively dress the edge up with an angle grinder, and paint it.
3. Install a skeg guard to cover it up all together.
4. See if there is a welder or possibly a prop shop that would be willing to try to fix it with out damaging the internals.
5. Take the drive off, remove the internals, then have the welding/prop shop fix the damage. Getting expensive, but less likely to cook the internals.
6. Get a whole new lower housing, and have a shop swap all the internals over. This would be expensive.
7. Get a whole new complete lower housing. This would probably be really expensive.

Your choice on how you want to proceed. If It were me, I would probably be doing options 2 or 3.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Fin damaged

You can buy a skeg guard fairly cheap and they are usually chrome and look pretty good. Or just take a file and clean it up a little and paint like rodgersjetboat said. I doubt that the damage you have will make one or two mph on your speed. I think the guards are right around $100.00. Good luck.

 

[oops!]

Re: Fin damaged

a welder will do that for 40 bux. there is nothing there that it can hurt (unless the welder is just plain bad)

 

[Supertaz]

Re: Fin damaged

It's always a big drama when it's your first boat but at least I was able to sleep OK but few bad words came out before closing my eyes....

Can putty be used to repair the skeg ?

Like Epoxy putty (for water application)

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST%2Fbrowse%2F6%2FTools%2FSpecialtyTools%2FTapeGlueSealants%2FPRD~0671440P%2FMastic%2BRepair%2BExpress%2BLePage%2C%2B57%2Bg.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443329337&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396673105&bmForm=form_locale_change&bmFormID=1316172906450&bmUID=1316172906450&bmLocale=fr_CA

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Fin damaged

Can putty be used to repair the skeg ?

Like Epoxy putty (for water application)

I suppose you could try it. But don't be shocked if the repair "disappears" after a while. You would be expecting the epoxy to bond to a leading edge that it probably wouldn't have a great amount of bite on. Plus all the water pressure pushing against it at speed won't help.

 

[Star]

Re: Fin damaged

Dear Super,
As long as tere are no cracks going up to the gear housing you are good to go! There is nothing sacred about the angle on the fin other than your pride. Grind out the dings, feather it to a smooth edge and etch, prime and paint. Don't worry about it until the next one. If you use your boat there will be a next one belive me. Good luck!

 

[Supertaz]

Re: Fin damaged

I suppose you could try it. But don't be shocked if the repair "disappears" after a while. You would be expecting the epoxy to bond to a leading edge that it probably wouldn't have a great amount of bite on. Plus all the water pressure pushing against it at speed won't help.

After few hours at cruising speed after I performed the repair, I can say that my "epoxy coated skeg" is still there.... Less than $10 ...not too bad !!
We'll see in the long run !!

 

[aspeck]

Re: Fin damaged

When the epoxy disappears, grind the skeg smooth and move on. It's all good ... nothing to worry.