Rock Guard

[Apalachee Inshore]

Who all is running a rock guard from porter marine and what do you think about it? Just dropped the boat off there this afternoon to get a new skeg welded on and rock guard installed.

[silverking]

They are pretty substantial. I have heard of some performance/water restrictions issues with some installations.

I've run Skeg Guards on several of my outboards and they have worked well. If you hit some of those rocks hard enough, nothing is going to prevent another skeg removal though.

[Steve Stinson]

I don't have one on my current boat, but ran one on a Sea Pro SV2100 bay boat that I had for about 9 years. They are worth the money he charges for them. There are a couple considerations -

1. It is going to slow you down about 3 mph at top end. The round shape of the guard is not as sleek as the factory edge on the front of your foot, so it doesn't push through the water quite as easily.
2. Make sure you watch your engine temperature the first couple trips after the installation. On some motors, they can cause an air pocket that will extend back to the water intakes at certain speeds. I have only heard of a few folks having this problem. The only solution I know of is to go back to Wavel's and have them make you another one with a thinner diameter rod running up the leading edge.

All that being said, the one on my old boat saved my rear more than once after it was installed. I thought it was well worth the investment.

- Steve Stinson

[tailwaters]

I looked into getting one several years back. One of the mechanics I spoke with said replacing a skeg on an outboard is a lot cheaper than replacing a lower units. A skeg is meant to break away when you hit something. When you hit something with a skeg guard that doesn't happen and the lower unit has to absorb the impact which can cause much greater damage. Have no idea if this is true or not, just something I've heard in the past.

Personally I've had to replace 3 props, 4 skegs and 2 drive shafts from hitting rocks. I understand how frustrating it can be!

[Salty Gator]

I looked into getting one several years back. One of the mechanics I spoke with said replacing a skeg on an outboard is a lot cheaper than replacing a lower units. A skeg is meant to break away when you hit something. When you hit something with a skeg guard that doesn't happen and the lower unit has to absorb the impact which can cause much greater damage. Have no idea if this is true or not, just something I've heard in the past.

Personally I've had to replace 3 props, 4 skegs and 2 drive shafts from hitting rocks. I understand how frustrating it can be!

I'm pretty sure the main purpose of the rock guard is to protect the lower unit more than the skeg.

[Apalachee Inshore]

Thanks that is just the kind of info I was looking for.