Both the skegs on my Bravo I drives have damage to the leading edges (1988 Bullet) that I would like to repair. Anyone have any experience with SKEGGARD, a bolt-on skeg? Do they affect perfomance?

Doraymond,
Depending on how bad the damage to your front scag edge not sure if I would mess with it. The scag guard I would think would only add more drag to the outdrive.
If they are bad just have the scag replaced by a welder.
My .02.

I think the Skegguard is 99.95 ? I had mine repaired and it was 45.00 ...plus we all are speed concious and the Skegguards would hurt that ....

Some have said they think it actually weakens the skeg because of the 2 drilled holes needed to install. You can buy OEM replacement skegs for $25. Actually they 're just cut off skegs from Merc that are from damaged drives. Paint and all. They just cut them off right under the tordeo. You can buy one and cut out the section you need and have it welded to your drive for the new look. I did this last yr on mine. Can't see the repair now even if you know it is there. Repair, don't cover. The marker marks are along the repair weld, just marking pits needing more touch up after rough grinding the weld.
Note: not sure if the shape is different from your '88 to the current drives.

Thanks for the help guys, I new there was no easy way out.

Do I have to have the drive gutted to weld on a new skeg? Have to worry about the heat affecting the internals and seals?

I had mine repaired a few years ago and I don't believe the drive was was taken apart

It depends on how close to the actual gears and seals you have to weld. If you are repairing just the lower part of the skeg, you won't have to disassemble. If the whole thing is missing, you will.

Steve H

Typically we require the lower unit to be removed from the drive. Then we hook her up to an air system which reduces the heat from the welding. This typically prevents any problems from the heat.


Julie

At the company I owned we repaired many skegs through the years, We never took any of them apart and had no problems. However, if the broken part had to be welded close to the gear case we used wet rags and sometimes water to keep the area cool to be sure that we did not damage any seals or other parts.All welding was done with TIG welders and water cooled torches.

Doraymond,
As mentioned above I had a skeg replaced on a prior boat that I owned with the works inside and as long as they don't let it get hot you should be fine.