Is a Skeg Necessary without an Inboard and with a Transom-Hung Rudder ?

[BudgieSmuggler]

i have a 24 foot adams (no info available anywhere) it has a fin keel. it also has a substantial skeg behind the keel. my rudder is transom mounted. i have a outboard in a well in the cockpit that sits behind the skeg. the weird thing is..... i can see the skeg when looking through the outboard well & it seems (is) about 3 inches off center. the well seems central to the cockpit & the transom hung rudder. is this skeg necessary???.... i`m having all sorts of problems getting more than 3.8 knots with the 8 hp outboard with a new 4 blade high thrust prop (the origninal prop only gave me 2.8 knots.) is there a reason to build a skeg off center? i havnt yet checked to see if the fin keel is also off center.......... if it is, i think ive got problems!!!! any thoughts anyone.

[Wand]

Are you sure it's a Joe Adams? I've not heard of it, but if it is an Adams and the skeg is off-centre then I'll bet it wasn't part of the original build. And anyway, an outboard rudder doesn't need a skeg just aft of the keel.

I'd guess that the boat originally had provision for an outboard and someone decided to cut a well in for the outboard and, well, thought that the outboard leg needs a skeg. Which of course it doesn't.

Just get it out and whip the skeg off. That should also serve to provide a better flow of water to the prop and consequently better performance.

[Wand]

PS: the nearest Adams to that size I can find was an 8 metre. Is this it?
http://www.johncrawfordmarine.com.au...load/1-adams-8

[pillum]

Seems strange to me too.

Could it be that if someone cut a hole for an outboard they then realized that the outboard may be be able to 'trip', so they put a skeg in to protect it (and didn't do a great job of lining it up with the fin).

Fin should protect the outboard, so I would agree. Get rid of the skeg.

[JJB]

Originally Posted by BudgieSmuggler

i have a 24 foot adams (no info available anywhere) it has a fin keel. it also has a substantial skeg behind the keel. my rudder is transom mounted. i have a outboard in a well in the cockpit that sits behind the skeg. the weird thing is..... i can see the skeg when looking through the outboard well & it seems (is) about 3 inches off center. the well seems central to the cockpit & the transom hung rudder. is this skeg necessary???.... i`m having all sorts of problems getting more than 3.8 knots with the 8 hp outboard with a new 4 blade high thrust prop (the origninal prop only gave me 2.8 knots.) is there a reason to build a skeg off center? i havnt yet checked to see if the fin keel is also off center.......... if it is, i think ive got problems!!!! any thoughts anyone.

Hey..
If you need info on a Joe Adams design, try contacting Graham Radford, he worked with Joe Adams for more than 10 years, I would expect he would be a good source on anything Adams.

[BudgieSmuggler]

i`ve been in touch with graham radford and he does`nt know about the smaller adams models. i have a fairly good knowledge of fibreglass as i used to design & build fibreglass cars back in the late 1960s. i would say that my boat would have been built in the very early 70s and possibly one of joe adams very first designs, it`s overbuilt, when knowledge of the strength and lasting qualities of fibreglass were not really known. i have recently seen another adams 24 that has extremely similar,almost exact design to mine but obviously a much later model. this later model was also much beamier at 9 ft 6 ins... mine is 8 ft. my outboard well does look as if it was an afterthought and added on later. would my boat have been designed with a skeg for an inboard? until i slip the boat (save the funds) i cant get a good look underneath, but when i bought it a couple of months ago, i did rest it against a jetty and let the tide run out,to clean the hull. but at the time, i was rather stressed out as i desperately needed a roof over my head and didnt really look too closely. i`m living on her now but getting very frustrated with this speed thing. i`m not an experienced sailor and the few times ive sailed her i havnt been able to get her to go more than 3.5 knots under sail and 3.8 knots under motor. she measures more like 23 ft x 8 ft. she draws approx 3 ft 10 ins. the skeg is almost the lenth of the keel and is substantial. i`m very interested that you seem to think that i can remove the skeg.... i`m not sure how it`s fixed though.

[BudgieSmuggler]

regarding the skeg.... you say "whip it off" is this an easy job and how do i go about it? i have run my hand underneath (through the well) and there doesnt seem to be a joint at the top where it joins to the hull. i would love some detail please.thanks for your help

[Wand]

Originally Posted by BudgieSmuggler

...would my boat have been designed with a skeg for an inboard? until i slip the boat (save the funds) i cant get a good look underneath, but when i bought it a couple of months ago,.... the skeg is almost the lenth of the keel and is substantial. i`m very interested that you seem to think that i can remove the skeg.... i`m not sure how it`s fixed though.

I still wonder what makes you sure it's an Adams...but that's an idle thought and doesn't really matter.

But going to your queries. No, an inboard motor does not require a skeg, but that doesn't mean somebody didn't think otherwise. But you say the skeg is about the length of the keel, yet its aft point is forrard of the cockpit well?

That all sounds too strange to me. I think I'm gonna need some pix before I venture further. Lean it against some posts and snap when the tide is out.

With regard to the speed of the vessel under motor (or windpower, unless you can get it up on a plane), the maximum you'd be able to achieve for a waterline length of (guessing) 18/19 feet would be only about a knot or so more than the 3.8 you're getting now. If you want more speed, get a motor boat.

[bob perry]

This is all very strange.

[BudgieSmuggler]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/attachm...pic52640_2.gif i`m hoping that this link will go to a drawing i did of the hull below the waterline

[BudgieSmuggler]

the link above does go to a drawing albiet not a very good one. the gap between the keel and the skeg, from memory, is 2 to 3 foot. there are 2 bolts through the hull above the skeg. the skeg is approx one & a half inches thick and one foot plus across.. when i`m talking about the speed of my boat... i get with the motor 3.8 knots flat out and screaming. the motor at a `normal` sensible revs (just over half throttle) the boat is doing 2.2 knots. under sail it will do on average about 2.5 knots. only once have i seen it at 3.5 knots (in 15 to 20 knots of wind)and then only for a few seconds before coming back to 2.5 knots. i wish to do a lot of coastal cruising and those speeds seem dangerously slow. thanks for your input on this.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by BudgieSmuggler

http://www.cruisersforum.com/attachm...pic52640_2.gif i`m hoping that this link will go to a drawing i did of the hull below the waterline

Allowing for the fact that you're evidently no draftsman (), I'll have another stab and guess the boat once had an inboard rudder.

Ditching that for the transom version but leaving the skeg in place is a slightly more likely scenario that someone adding a skeg. They then cut the well for the outboard.

So, do you whip off the skeg or return the inboard rudder? The former would be easier but I'd recommend the latter - especially if you're convinced it's an Adams and you want to go fast.

Can I suggest that you post some pix of the vessel; someone may be able to identify it.

[bob perry]

After seeing that sketch I'd say it was getting even stranger.
I think At Sea probably has this figured out.
I just hope that sketch is not accurate.

[David M]

You have two relatively unrelated things going on here which you are thinking relate directly to each other more than they actually do.

A skegs advantage is that it helps stabilize your boats track. The downside is increased drag.

You boats speed is related more to a relatively under powered engine and not the skeg.

It does not help to have the outboards wash hitting the skeg and has nothing to do with being able to steer or your boats directional stability.

Putting the skeg in the outboards wash will not increase directional stability at all. It is the flow of the water past the hull that hits a skeg that increases directional stability.

Putting a rudder in the wash from of a prop will increase steerage.

[BudgieSmuggler]

http://www.cruisersforum.cohttp://ww...php?i=7657&c=2 If these links dont work, i have posted 3 photos in the photo gallery in the monohull yacht section. on my registration papers it say`s Adams 24. it was sold to me as Adams 24. i have seen a much later Adams 24 which was very,very similar but with a bigger beam. the only references anywhere on the internet is for the later models....... so i dont know how to verify the model,make. it`s a great shame that no info is available.