Went fishing today with my dad and after he pulled the boat on the trailer, he told me to go but forgot the raise the motor. Well it hit the ground and is a little bent and damaged. See attached pictures. I was wondering if this would cause any problems or a vibrations if I continue to go, until I am able to get it fix?
Yes it will. I did same thing but right at tip end of mine. I just cut it off above the bend. Your bend looks too far up to do that. MIGHT can bend back if careful but best to ask mechanic or wait on more replies from here.
From the picture, looks like you can dress it up a bit and run it as is. If you notice handling issuses get it fixed. I had one bent and didn’t notice anything under 40mph after that it seemed to want to “dart” and had a noticable pull that the torque tab would not take out maxed out.
You may try a good chunk of wood and a dead blow hammer, just remember that cast aluminum tends to break easier than bending back into shape. May even put a little heat on it (key being a little) and beat it back into shape
I bent one one time and used a large crescent wrench and broke it off about 3" up… I bought this brand skeg repair and it stayed on until I sold the boat 3 years later.
Also there are several places in the lowcountry that can weld a replacement skeg on for you. Skip’s Prop shop being one.
If you go slow and easy, you should be able to straighten that out. I would use a large hammer like a sledge hammer as a back side support and then strike the fin with a dead-blow hammer. Get someone else to hold the sledge hammer against the fin right on the apex of the bend. They will need to apply pressure to keep the area from flexing as you bring the lower area back in alignment. Don’t strike the lower area too hard, just enough to flex it slightly. The entire process should only take about 2 minutes from the first strike. Just go slow and easy and you will be fine.
Like Fred said, You are working with cast aluminum and it will break if you put too much stress on it.
BTW, I’ve successfully straightened several like yours from the exact action that caused yours to bend. Actually yours looks real good compared to some I’ve seen.
the skeg being bent will not cause a vibration in the lower unit
it may cause a slight pull to one side on the steering wheel while on plane
Mike over at skips propeller can easily fix that, but its very minor, and if its not affecting on plane performance, it would be fine to leave it alone