Skeg to hull crack

[backman]

My yard noticed a hairline crack and some water running out of my skeg to hull joint this fall when the boat was hauled. The crack which is now dry is barely visible in the attached picture. When a 200 pounder puts pressure on the end of the skew you can see the crack flex a hair.


I am upgrading from a glass to a stainless rudder effectively doubling the weight the skeg must bear.


Other than grinding out the crack, glassing and fairing - should I be doing anything to add structural stiffness to this connection?

 

[Blitzen]

You could do what Wesmac does and and add a stainless shoe to the bottom of the skeg to tie it back into the keel.

 

[plowin]

Theres no question that your being tested by the man up stairs, you need a break. Seems like everything is a struggle for you lately!

 

[LadyMaureen]

Same thing happened to my previous boat. I ground it deep and glassed it. Seemed to hold. My next step was to add the stainless skeg shoe lige wesmac does but then sold boat. My current boat has the skeg shoe...makes me feel better every time I touch bottom. Shallow in my neck of woods.

Good luck.

 

[Sailorgp]

I would suggest you grind out all the damaged area and build it back up using lamination's of fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. Spread the laminations a substantial distance beyond the cracked area onto the unaffected area.

 

[F/V First Team]

There's that damn epoxy again

That crack isn't anything more than just a superficial blemish from the part cast in a two-piece mold. The skeg is cast hollow and long soaked out tapes are drawn up into and through it creating a solid skeg, obviously at the top part one is finally unable to draw any more material through there so it is capped. That's just the exterior skin having some acne. Hog it out and apply a little bit of what the boat was made with: polyester resin and some mat.

Or leave it, the boat is already cast and built together, crack can't really go anywhere.