So I figured I’d circle back with an update on the mangled skeg. Long story short, I saved it!

I screwed the skeg to my bench….you can see how bent over it is….

…and began applying heat. I first reached for a can of MAP gas, then thought better of it, since this is an aluminum casting. Regular propane was used instead…

I thought about using a mallet, but then figured "force" would be better than "impact", so I used a bar clamp as a lever. It took several heat-then-bend cycles, as aluminum cools fast & I didn’t want to snap the casting. I heated it evenly for about 5 minutes, then worked it for about 10 seconds, moving it a dinky little bit each time. I could ‘feel’ when it was time to stop & re-heat.

In short order, things were looking pretty good!

In addition to being bent, the edge had a helluva rollover burr on the edge. That was best ground off with a carbide wheel in a drill. I gave the whole thing a uniform profile…

It was still very hot at this point, and being a casting, I wanted it to cool evenly & slowly. A few minutes in front of my fan & it was cool to the touch.

I ran over the repair with a RAS sander w/ 100 paper to clean it all up….

I’ll take it to work on Monday for a ride in the degreaser, then prime, then paint. Not bad for an hour’s time!