Full length skeg ?

[Bill Perkins]

I'm converting a traditional design to more modern construction , to be stored dry and live on a trailer . This 24 ft. planeing boat's straight keel was originally got out of a 6 by 6 . A 2 by 2 section was left exposed outboard of the planking . One of it’s functions was to protect the caulked planking , but my bottom will have a synthetic armor of Xynol and epoxy .

My question is , should I recreate the original by gluing on a 2 by 2 external skeg over my sheathing ? I'll need to turn the boat around in tight spaces and it seems the skeg would only be a hindrance . At speed the boat needs to wind its way through the tight turns of the Georgia marshes .When grounding it seems a skeg would make the boat stick . I realize that this appendage stiffens the keel to some extent ,but I want to leave that issue aside and address the hydrodynamics of the hull ( I can add wood inboard if I think it's necessary). Would a full length skeg enhance performance or hinder ? Should I compromise and just have a skeg on the aft quarter of the boat ( six feet ) ? Or is no skeg needed ? A bit of deadrise runs right through to the transom .

[ 09-14-2003, 09:29 AM: Message edited by: Bill Perkins ]

[mmd]

The full-length skeg would certainly make the boat track straighter. Whether this is an advantage or disadvantage I guess is pretty much up to your useage. It would have added strength to the keel, but its loss will be made up for by the monocoque construction of your epoxied hull. If you want a bit of insurance for that last bit, increase the internal thickness of the keel by a 1/2 inch. You should have some form of sacrificial rubbing strake on the keel (over the 'glass sheathing) to take the abuse of going on and off your trailer, but a 1/2" thick strip of oak would do. In the long run, if you don't put the 2" skeg on and find that the boat wanders or is easily blown around by the breeze, you can easily retro-fit a skeg. Taking one off that is epoxied in place would be a taller order.

[Bill Perkins]

Thanks mmd ,I'll go with the 1/2 in. Oak you suggest .I'd like to glue it down with no fasteners piercing my sheathing , useing one of the mastic adhesives I guess .