Skeg damage - leading edge reshaping
 

Brain fart last night led to the metal framing of my lift contacting the skeg towards the bottom of the leading edge and riding up to the nose taking out some very small divots along the way. You really can't tell there is any damage 5ft. away but you get up close you can see the small amounts of material that were removed. You can definitely feel the small divots with your hand. If I wasn't completely fanatical about how my drives and props look I would just knock the sharp edges off and leave it but my OCD won't allow it! My question is what is the best method for me to block the leading edge of the skeg back smooth? It is a very small amount of material that needs to be removed to get back to a completely flat surface but it will need to be done the entire length of the leading edge. Do the make some sort of metal rasp that has enough length to create a nice flat surface? What do you use to recreate the slight taper after getting the leading edge straightened out? Any tips on tools and techniques would be greatly appreciated.

I used my Festool sander from 100 up to 180 to clean up my lowers, i sharpened the leading edge as much as possible, the bottom horizontal surface, the sides and the trailing edge as flat as possible. Just like Wilson did to the lowers I saw at the boat show. Mine was nowhere close to that but they do have smooth surfaces and edges all around. I'm less particular about the paint because once the factory finish comes off or gets chipped it is nearly impossible to keep up. It seemed like the boat ran slightly better right after I did it but could be willful thinking, did seem like a was getting a tenth better mpg.

Thanks. I figured hand tools would not cut it for what I am looking to do. My main concern is not screwing up the straightness of the leading edge by using a file which has limited surface area. Think long boarding (block sanding) a body panel during body work. I talked to the guys at the Bravo Shop last night and they said they do skeg repair/painting so I may just split the lower off and drop it off and let them get me back to square.

If you use an electric sander with the right paper it doesn't remove material so quickly that you would screw up the leading edge. It is pretty easy to see the symmetry of the edge, and to feel it with your fingers. if you sand a little to much to one side you just sand the other to even it out, the factory powder coat is actually pretty thick. I am going to change my zincs and give the lowers a cleanup this weekend, I'll take some pics.

Sorry to learn about the dings-- I did notice that you have an outdrive shower -- what type do you have and if you could estimated cost. Have you noticed any difference in performance. I'm running a 7.4 mpi and have typically got 63 mph-- I'm thinking about that for mine.

thanks in advance.

3pointstar

Simreck Halo. Mine is the older design that you had to drill the cavitation plate for. The new design is no drill. It does not affect performance at all and my drive does not get the lime build up it did before adding the shower.

http://www.driveshowers.com/