: I recently retrofitted a skeg to one of my boats.

: I cut the slot with a millimetre to spare each side and set the box
: inside, not through the hull.

: I took care to get a few good layers of epoxy on the bare wood
: edges.

: Before doing the job I had reservations as to weather or not this
: was enough protection for the wood.

: while sealing the slot though I realised that the grain is all
: running with the cut except at the very ends of the slot and
: would actually not be a moisture sponge to any great degree. The
: ends soaked up plenty of resin in any case.

: If I was not doing it as a retro fit on an old boat I would take
: more care though, possibly make the slot a bit wider than
: necessary, then round the slot edges and glass them, then mask
: over the slot and fill with thickened epoxy, then redrill and
: recut the slot to fit the skeg. That would be bombproof.

: Mixing some black colorant, graphite etc., with the thickened resin
: may look a bit better than leaving it White.

: I am planning a skeg in my current boat, so I shall ponder this and
: post my eventual conclusion, as well as the skeg under
: construction. The skegs one can buy seem to be fairly crude and
: loose in their casings, which are like canyons. I am sure there
: must be room for improvement.

: The skeg I retrofitted was an Oono skeg. The actual skeg is a work
: of art. Beautiful. The box though has a bulge in it to allow for
: the hinging of the cable to be extracted for servicing. This
: hinge allows for a very smooth rotation around the axel pin, but
: adds to the width of the cutout.

: Also the axel pin has to be gooped up with some kind of sealant as
: it goes right through the box and will let in water, even though
: it is a tight fit. I just glassed over the whole axel bolt head
: and nut, which is not really ideal.

: also the whole shebang, while light, and very well made, is pricey.
: I would pay the money again if the box was a little more
: sophisticated.

: I am thinking of plumbing fittings bonded to the box where the axel
: passes through. These would be the type that have caps on them
: that can be removed. Then one can slide a pin through and get it
: out again by unscrewing the cap and pulling it out.

: It would be great if Patrick from Oono just sold the skeg blades
: with the pin hole in them and nothing else. That would be a good
: buy.they are really very nice blades.

: Hell maybe he does, should I check with him, or would it be lazy,
: should I make my own blade?

: Et

Even though I've heard nice things about Onno, after Dan Caouette's experience here with them on this forum, I choose to not do business with them. Messing with friends is the same as doing it with me. Personal choice.

Bill H.

Bill H.