rudder skeg/ post -whats the purpose of it?

[sinbad30]

Hi, I have 1979 Hunter 30 which I sailed for around 6 months. Recently I switched bottom cleaning company and new diver discovered rudder skeg (shoe) broken off close to hull... Old diver who cleaned her for last 6 months never even mentioned it... and I myself never noticed any steering problems. So my question is- what's the purpose of this skeg? Can I go around without it? Do I risk loosing rudder?
Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[digby sailor]

does your boat have prop walk in reverse?Just curious....wondering how the skeg affects that,as far as I know the skeg is additional rudder support not sure how critical it is.