Tracking Fins

[brick]

I had the unfortunate incident of hitting submerged debris this weekend. Luckily, it was at low speed. But, tt looks like the lead tracking fin was damaged. The fin seems to be slightly bent. Prop and rudder seem to look alright to the naked eye. There is low speed vibration through the steering wheel and the boat pulls to the right.

So, does this seem isolated to the tracking fin? How hard is it to change the fin? Any alignment issues to be aware of or is it simple match the existing holes and bolt.

Thanks, Tim

[WakeUpDude]

Yes, each should have 6 wood screws holding them to the hull.

[bkhallpass]

WE had to replace all of them on a friends 98 Sport. It was not
difficult. A couple of the screws were difficult to get out, but
once out everything lined up fine. Doesn't sound like you hit hard
enough to jeapardize the mounting holes, so you should
have no problem with alignment. If I recall, there was some
type of silicon on the screws to ensure a tight seal, and that was
why a couple were difficult to get out.

BKH

[83sn2001]

I have never removed any but I would think they are through bolted instead of wood screwed. The sealer needs to be below the water line compatible. I think 3M's is 5300 adhesive sealant. Any marine supplier should have it.

[bkhallpass]

I would think they are through bolted

Yeah, I thought so too, but they are not. They are screws (at least
on the 1998 that I changed).

BKH

[OldFart]

Screws. I think the logic is that in case of a hard impact, the fins will go but not rip out the entire bottom. After screws are removed, u may have to LIGHTLY bang them loose from the adhesive w/ a rubber mallet.

[bkhallpass]

After screws are removed, u may have to LIGHTLY bang them loose from the adhesive w/ a rubber mallet.

????? had to read this twice. Thought he was saying you would
need to bang the screws with a mallet.

OF is right. Once the screws are out, you may have to bank
the fin with a rubber mallet to get it loose. It's amazing how strong
the adhesive is. Even more amazing how strong the screws are.
We once dropped an 85 Malibu onto the ground. Didn't even budge
the tracking fins.

BKH

[brick]

Thanks so much for the help. I hope this fixes the problem.

Tim

[ag4ever]

I think Malibu and Mastercraft both thru bolt them.

As said before, CC screws them on to prevent major damage if something is struck.

Loss of three fins is easier to deal with than a huge hole in the bottom of the boat.

[DavidF]

On my '93 SN, the fins are attached with screws. Main reason is that is absolutely no access to that part of bilge to install nuts if they were through bolted. Matter of necessity more than anything else. I am restoring my '93 that I purchased from someone who ran it straight into a rock shore at 20mph. All three fins were bent almost to a 90 degree angle and none of them were ripped off the bottom of the boat and the screw holes are fine.

[BigBald]

I haven't had any damage to my tracking fins....but a word of caution...I hit some stuff last fall and "thought" that I had only bent my prop. I didn't hit that hard and I even had a very very experience direct drive dude with me. We looked and looked and thought we were only looking at a replaced prop......We were even able to get the boat back to the ramp and on the trailer under it's own power. Even the dealer's initial look was prop damage only. Man we where all wrong. The shaft was bent, and the fiberglass around the shaft strut was damaged. We couldn't even see the crack until they got up underneath and starting taking things apart....

Just be careful....For me...it was very hard to tell how hard I hit the objects below the water line.

[EchoLodge]

I bent one of my fins almost 45 degrees. I took it off, heated it up, and pounded it straight. Problem fixed.