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bent skeg

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Ray Jorgensen
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bent skeg

Post by Ray Jorgensen » Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:58 am

First time here.

I've started on the restore of a 57 22'er. Luck there is nor rot or planking that needs replaced. The motor is out - fuel tank out and windshield is off. We've flipped it over and starting to strip the hull for new paint.

The metal skeg is bent as shown in the pics. My black smith wants to know, is it to be straight in both directions? I know the side to side bow needs to come out and pretty sure the up and down bow.

Any pics would be great but a verbal is good enough.

Thanks, I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.
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boat_art
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Re: bent skeg

Post by boat_art » Thu Jun 30, 2016 4:22 pm

Straightness itself is not critical but, the total length is important. Take a measurement on the boat between mounting holes and compare it to the distance on the skeg, then straighten until that distance matches as close as possible.
With that much bend in the skeg I assume you may have pulled the strut a bit which will put stress on the shaft at the cutless bearing. When you reassemble, be sure to check the alignment again both on the hard and in the water. You may need to shim the strut to its proper angle which will of course, mean you need to straighten the skeg even further.

Tom
http://www.boatartgallery.com
1956 CC Connie 47'
1959 Caulkins bartender
1965 Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer
1953 Chris Craft Holiday
1941 Chris Craft Deluxe
Plus 8-12 customer boats at any time
God don't count the days spent messing around in wood boats.

Ray Jorgensen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:32 pm
Location: Iowa - USA
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Re: bent skeg

Post by Ray Jorgensen » Fri Jul 01, 2016 10:09 am

Thank you kindly!!!

Ray Jorgensen
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Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:32 pm
Location: Iowa - USA
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Re: bent skeg

Post by Ray Jorgensen » Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:17 pm

I thought I would update this post. I had the blacksmith straighten this out as close as possible. Still didn't fit. Measurements were good but something was off. The long story short is that even as bad as this was bent I am sure that I could have straightened this with a 3# sledge in less time than the trips back and forth. The reason I say this is that the final fit was done on the boat with the hammer. 3 medium taps and fit perfect. Brass is pretty soft and can bent easier than I thought. Hope this helps someone else.

jim g
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Re: bent skeg

Post by jim g » Sat Jul 23, 2016 12:34 pm

With that much of a bend. I would be surprised if the strut itself wasn't at least tweaked out of alignment.

boat_art
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Re: bent skeg

Post by boat_art » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:21 pm

It is bronze, not just brass. Bronze is much tougher than brass. Again, make sure you check for alignment after installing, the strut may well have been pulled out of place and need some shimming.
Tom
http://www.boatartgallery.com
1956 CC Connie 47'
1959 Caulkins bartender
1965 Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer
1953 Chris Craft Holiday
1941 Chris Craft Deluxe
Plus 8-12 customer boats at any time
God don't count the days spent messing around in wood boats.

jim g
Posts: 1003
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:55 pm
Contact:

Re: bent skeg

Post by jim g » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:39 pm

Even though its bronze its only fixed point is the 4 bolts on the keel. So it doesn't take much force to tweak one and it doesn't take much of a tweak for it to be really off at the engine. The longer the shaft the more it will be off.

The bend in the bar could have definitely pulled the bottom of the strut towards the front of the boat.

boat_art
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Re: bent skeg

Post by boat_art » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:46 pm

Thats what I described to him earlier Jim.
Tom
http://www.boatartgallery.com
1956 CC Connie 47'
1959 Caulkins bartender
1965 Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer
1953 Chris Craft Holiday
1941 Chris Craft Deluxe
Plus 8-12 customer boats at any time
God don't count the days spent messing around in wood boats.

boat_art
Posts: 556
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: bent skeg

Post by boat_art » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:47 pm

boat_art wrote:Straightness itself is not critical but, the total length is important. Take a measurement on the boat between mounting holes and compare it to the distance on the skeg, then straighten until that distance matches as close as possible.
With that much bend in the skeg I assume you may have pulled the strut a bit which will put stress on the shaft at the cutless bearing. When you reassemble, be sure to check the alignment again both on the hard and in the water. You may need to shim the strut to its proper angle which will of course, mean you need to straighten the skeg even further.

Tom
http://www.boatartgallery.com
1956 CC Connie 47'
1959 Caulkins bartender
1965 Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer
1953 Chris Craft Holiday
1941 Chris Craft Deluxe
Plus 8-12 customer boats at any time
God don't count the days spent messing around in wood boats.

Ray Jorgensen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:32 pm
Location: Iowa - USA
Contact:

Re: bent skeg

Post by Ray Jorgensen » Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:03 pm

Still out of the water but shaft turns freely. We'll be flpping the boat mid week and reinstalling the motor. will do final check check then. It did bend and twist the cutless both have been "eyeballed" in line. It also pulled the back 2 bolts on the cutless a bit toward the front and that has been addressed as well as I can at this point. I expect to know more when the motor goes in later this week,

Thanks for all the help!!!

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island time
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Re: bent skeg

Post by island time » Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:10 am

This should be obvious but don't forget to take into consideration that any forging (hammering) will lengthen the metal which depending on how much work was done to the strut could have changed the length it to the point where it will not line up with original holes.
Craig Wilson
Churchville, NY
Alexandria Bay, NY

1968 23' Chris Craft lancer
1971 31' Revelcraft
1988 25' Fourwinns
1972 19' Chris Craft Lancer
1957 18' Chris Craft Sea Skiff
1958 18' Chris Craft Sea Skiff
1968 23' Chris Craft Commander

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