Any downside to Skeggard use?

[johnb]

Considering adding one to my Alpha 1 sterndrive skeg. They are stainless steel, go for about $100 and bolt on. Requires two 1/4" holes.

I like the look, especially matched up with a nice stainless prop (my bowrider is out of the water on trailer most of the time). The Skeggard will protect the original skeg from further scratching and such. I guess if I ever wanted to lose the Skeggard, I'd be left with two holes though. That's not so great.

Thoughts from the CSR crowd?

Thanks,
John B
2003 176 SRX

 

[wish2fish]

John,
On my old boat I had to replace the aluminum propeller in each of the first 2 seasons and also had the skeg repaired after the second season. These aluminum pieces were easily damaged by small debris (sticks and such) we commonly see in the river. After 3rd season I switched to stainless steel prop and added the skeggard. I noticed no ill affects from the addittion and used that combination for 12 more years. Saw the boat the other day and the skeggard looks good but the stainless prop looks like it ate a rock!

If you wanted to remove the skeggard you you could have the shop fill the aluminum holes.

 

[Tallahassee240Sundeck]

hmmmm... after some rock eating about an inch of my skeg, I have been considering one of these...

 

[raffles]

On my old boat a 260 Sundaner with BIII I took a small piece of my skeg by hitting a rock. An inexpenseive fix was the Skeggard - boat performed great with it

 

[Henry Boyd]

While this seems like a good idea, it does a a serious downside - it will increase corrosion of the outdrive components.

You might want to see the thread on powder coating BIII props and the discussion on drive housing corrosion. The problem is that you will be adding stainless steel that will create a galvanic cell and in turn accelerate the corrosion of the aluminum parts of the drive. That you must bolt the skeggard to the drive makes it worse because there is physical contact between two dissimilar metals.

However, if where you boat is full of uncharted rocks, and since corrosion takes time to do damage and a collision with a rock happens in an instant.......

So if you must use such a device (note operative word is 'must'), there are some things you can do. First bare stainless steel should be avoided. Paint, or powder coating (all surfaces inside and out) is a good start. Clean up and paint the drive as well. Increase the zincs. This type of corrosion cell is very localized, so adding zincs has to be done in proximity to the new bits. Needless to say if adding shiny bling is part of the decision process - re-think it.

Also you might consider some installation techniques that commercial vehicle manufacturers (trucks and trailers) use when they have to mechanically join dissimilar metals. First where the gard mounts to the skeg, consider tapeing the painted aluminum with a plastic (mylar) type. The thickest you can find that will fit. I assume that the mounting is with a through hole. A steel fastener threaded into the drive housing should be avoided at all costs. With a through hole you should use a plastic sleeve so there is no contact between the bolt and the drive housing.

You need to consider this even if you are trailering and the boat is only used in fresh water. The direct physical contact of stainless to aluminum is serious business, if you are not diligent you may take the guard off one day and discover that the skeg has eroded away to nothing. So I personally would make removing and renewing the tape and paint an annual event.

Henry

 

[wish2fish]

Henry,

I never really thought about the galvanic action. Mine skeggard was on a long time and I didn't see any damage to the visible portion of the outdrive. Don't know what was going on underneath though. My skeggard came with an epoxy adhesive that you smothered all over the aluminum skeg that would have helped to prevent contact between the 2 metals.

I emailed the manufacturer to see what their response was with regard to glavanic corrosion. I let you know wha they say.

 

[Henry Boyd]

The epoxy would go a long way to insulating the stainless from the drive if liberally applied. While it might be a risk if enough was not used, the epoxy might be a better attachment method as it would reduce scuffing at the interface.

The thing to remember is the stainless will continue to look good. It is the aluminum that will suffer. The additional stainless increases the rate that unprotected aluminum will oxidize, or the paint will tend to fail. For example, after a season what used to be dime sized pitted bare spots in the alu would now be quarter sized.

Henry

 

[Dave S]

As long as the boat is trailered and not wet slipped then I wouldn't worry about galvanic corrosion and I wouldn't hesitate to install one. I had a Drive Shower on my Bravo 3 on my 240SD which was dry stored. The Stainless drive shower required you to drill two holes thru the skeg plate to attach the Drive Shower and there was direct contact between the aluminum and the stainless and in three years there wasn't any sign of galvanic corrosion.

I definitely would not install one however if you wet slip the boat because then I think you will have serious corrosion issues.

 

[Presentation]

Its unusual to put a skeggard on a good looking skeg.

You would not be the first to put a guard over a good looking skeg but you would be the exception, not the rule.

Most of the time they are being installed on skegs that already have damage. They cover the damage and allow the skeggard to act as a complete skeg.

They work like a band aid. Hmmm, that’s a poor analogy. A band aid implies the device will somehow cause the underlying issue to heal. I take it back. They work like a brown paper bag you put over the head of an ugly girl. Yeah, that’s a better analogy!?!!???