Panther Marine 35-SS665 Safe-Skeg - Volvo Penta I/O SX Drives (Single Prop), 1995-2006

We were missing half of our skeg on our Alpha 1. and we didn't want to spend big bucks on repairing it. The boat was old and cheap so it wasn't worth it. We came across this product and we are glad we did. The stainless steel is very thick and durable and we expect it to last a long time. Installation was also a breeze with the included instructions. Product also comes with all of the hardware and loc-tite needed to install. The only thing not included was a drill bit to drill through the skeg. Would buy again but hopefully don't have to!

I chipped the skeg on my 1998 SeaRay Bowrider 180 (I/O - Mercruiser Alpha One outdrive) on a rock, which caused cavitation/instability in the steering. After looking into getting the skeg fixed by welding it, and the associated cost, I started looking into alternatives. After a lot of research I decided to go with the Panther skeg guard, and I'm glad I did. Good product, easy installation and the difference is amazing. **It is very important to mark and drill the holes installation holes on your skeg correctly**. If you aren't mechanically inclined, you may want to ask a boat repair shop about installing it for you, but it isn't all that difficult/time consuming if you take your time, have the correct tools and make sure you understand what you're doing before you start. If you mess up, you might cause more damage to your skeg.

I bought a SeaRay 180 BR with a 3.0 liter Mercruiser last fall from a dealer that had it on consignment. I saw that it had a big chunk broken out of the rear of the skeg so I almost passed on it. The sales guy (a friend of mine) said just install one of these and it will be good as new. It was super easy to install. Just file off any burrs or divots, tap it in place with a rubber hammer and drill the mounting holes. One little trick I have learned over the years is to use a center punch on the aluminum first to center the drill in the holes on the fitting and keep if from "walking". Then start drilling with a smaller drill bit than the final size. Drill about half way through with the small drill then go to the other side and drill the rest of the way through. The first pilot hole you drilled from the first side will help direct the drill back to the center. When you use the recommended drill size to drill the final hole it will hit the other side dead on.

Before discovering this product, I contacted three local welders to repair damage to my Bravo three skeg. Two ignored my calls and emails, one responded that it would be $50 travel, plus $75/hour and would not estimate how long it would take. This product is amazing, quality is high, it fit perfectly and was easy to install. My skeg is fixed and it looks great. There are many models under one heading, make sure you select the correct one. ! UPDATE - After one season in the upper Chesapeake, there is horrible corrosion at the area where the stainless meets the aluminum and all over under the skeg because of the dis similar metals. This will probably not be as bad for everyone but in hindsight it would have been better to repair the aluminum. It required removing it from the boat but I repaired the original damage to my skeg with Alumaweld, I wish I had done that in the first place because of the corrosion that happened with the stainless skeg installed..

These fin "sleeves" are all a repair part. None will be as good as the OEM cast fin... But this one is pretty good. Slip it over you old stub of a broken fin/skeg and drill the mounting holes. Rough up your old stub and slap some JB-Weld on both sides, slip this on and bolt it down.It'll stay and it'll get some of your slow speed steering back, help with tracking, etc. What else do you want?Only other fix is a welding shop and new metal ...

Just installed yesterday and I like how it looks. It didn't fit as perfect as I was hoping (hence the 4 stars) but it seems like it'll be a nice addition to the boat. The skeg was damaged by previous owner and this was the easiest fix by far. It was nerve racking to drill into my motor but I'm pleased with the results. We'll see how it helps low speed steering and I'll update review.

Nice product and helped the handling on my outboard tremendously. I have a 76 mercury 1150 115hp outboard and this fit perfect I don’t think they label this for the outboards just the I/O units but the lower unit on both must be pretty much identical because this fit my outboard perfectly and Looks classy to and super easy to install. The reason I got the panther was because they were the only ones that had dimensions available so I could double check that it would fit and seemed like an expensive gamble to take with out anything to back it up

If I could give this 10 stars I would! First, it shipped and arrived much faster than expected which alone earns 5 stars. Second, this is being used on a 1974 Mercury 50Hp, well beyond the year range called out in the application sheet, but it fits like a glove! Looks great! Another 5 stars! Back on the water.