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Bent Skeg on 1997 Malibu Sunsetter


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As the topic says, my front skeg is bent a little to the right from an underwater collision I had about 4 years ago. My dealer and I missed it when it came time to tally everything up for insurnace. There is not a leak or any glass damage but I would like to replace the bent skeg myself if it not too difficult.

Has anyone done this before?

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As the topic says, my front skeg is bent a little to the right from an underwater collision I had about 4 years ago. My dealer and I missed it when it came time to tally everything up for insurnace. There is not a leak or any glass damage but I would like to replace the bent skeg myself if it not too difficult.

Has anyone done this before?

Attack it with a rubber mallet if its not bad. Get it close enough.

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As the topic says, my front skeg is bent a little to the right from an underwater collision I had about 4 years ago. My dealer and I missed it when it came time to tally everything up for insurnace. There is not a leak or any glass damage but I would like to replace the bent skeg myself if it not too difficult.

Has anyone done this before?

Attack it with a rubber mallet if its not bad. Get it close enough.

Please do not go after your bent skeg with a mallet. You stand little to no chance of getting it straightened correctly, and without damaging your hull. Would you try to fix a blade on your prop this way?

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As the topic says, my front skeg is bent a little to the right from an underwater collision I had about 4 years ago. My dealer and I missed it when it came time to tally everything up for insurnace. There is not a leak or any glass damage but I would like to replace the bent skeg myself if it not too difficult.

Has anyone done this before?

Attack it with a rubber mallet if its not bad. Get it close enough.

I bent the skegs on my Echelon, and pulled them off and took them to a shop with a press to have them straightened. 2 bolts per skeg, and mine were silicon'd on, so I took a rubber mallet to it to get it off.

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As the topic says, my front skeg is bent a little to the right from an underwater collision I had about 4 years ago. My dealer and I missed it when it came time to tally everything up for insurnace. There is not a leak or any glass damage but I would like to replace the bent skeg myself if it not too difficult.

Has anyone done this before?

Attack it with a rubber mallet if its not bad. Get it close enough.

Dontknow.gif No way Cry.gif

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Actually I've gotten a prop back into shape using a mallet.

Difficulty on the fins will depend on a couple things. IIRC, some are bolted from underneath, others from the top side. Difficulty at getting to bolts on the top side will depend on whether you have a v-drive or direct. If you have a v-drive, there will be a fuel tank in your way that you'll have to pull out. I'm pretty sure that's how mine are....bolted from the top under the fuel tank. I don't think I would attack the fin with a mallet until it was off the boat.

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OK, for the record, I am not and will not ever attack anything on my boat with a rubber mallett.

The boat is a direct drive so I will check next time I am at my storage unit. I would imagine that if I can get the bent skeg off I will just order another one from malibu since IIRC they are about $75. I will probably have to do some removal of the old silicone and come back with fresh silicone and then reinstall the new skeg.

Can anyone suggest what 3M silicone I should use?

Thanks for all the help

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OK, for the record, I am not and will not ever attack anything on my boat with a rubber mallett.

The boat is a direct drive so I will check next time I am at my storage unit. I would imagine that if I can get the bent skeg off I will just order another one from malibu since IIRC they are about $75. I will probably have to do some removal of the old silicone and come back with fresh silicone and then reinstall the new skeg.

Can anyone suggest what 3M silicone I should use?

Thanks for all the help

They'll tell you what to use when they sell you the new fins. I sheared one completely off and bent the 2nd one coming home in the dark from the July 1 fireworks one summer. I was surprised how easy it was to change them out. Mine bolted in from underneath.

Edited by bobofthenorth
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Can anyone suggest what 3M silicone I should use?

The 4000 series 3M has a little less than half the tensile strength of the 5200, which I would not use because you'd rather your skeg break away in case of a hit than tear off half the bottom of your boat.

Personally, I'd just use a good silicon based sealant...it should suffice for leak protection, which is all you need it for, not for bonding properties. The bolts will take care of that.

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I see that you have a '97 Sunsetter. I had the '97 Echelon (same running surface) at the time that I had to fix mine, so they should be the same.

It is bolted from the bottom and has silicon on it to seal it. Take out the 2 bolts, if I recall correctly they are a large phillips head, so have a GOOD large phillips with you. Because of the silicon, I used a combination of the rubber mallet and a flat head screwdriver to pry the skeg off.

When I put it back on, I just used a good grade silicon to seal it up again. As was mentioned above, I'd rather have the skeg completely knocked off, than to have a big gaping hole where my skeg used to be because I had used "too good" of sealant. I owned the boat for another 3 years after that, with no problems or leaks.

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3m 5200 is for a permanent bond. I've been told you'll be chipping away fiberglass if you ever want to remove it again. Make sure your silicon is good for applications below the water line. I use aquarium sealant silicon for stuff like that. Got it at Home Depot.

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I see that you have a '97 Sunsetter. I had the '97 Echelon (same running surface) at the time that I had to fix mine, so they should be the same.

It is bolted from the bottom and has silicon on it to seal it. Take out the 2 bolts, if I recall correctly they are a large phillips head, so have a GOOD large phillips with you. Because of the silicon, I used a combination of the rubber mallet and a flat head screwdriver to pry the skeg off.

When I put it back on, I just used a good grade silicon to seal it up again. As was mentioned above, I'd rather have the skeg completely knocked off, than to have a big gaping hole where my skeg used to be because I had used "too good" of sealant. I owned the boat for another 3 years after that, with no problems or leaks.

I agree with the above. I had to replace all three on my 97 Sunsetter.

As far as marine sealants go, hands down 3M 5200 is the best. 5200 seals the outdrive to the motor pod on my houseboat. It has been in the water and underwater for three years now with no problems.

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