Capt. Mooron wrote:
I'l try it again as well... I might get it to work on a reach if I
continuously adjust and trim the sails.... I'm not holding my breath. Has
anyone else managed to sail upwing with a rudder swinging free for more than
what would constitute normal momentum over a short period.???





The navigator© wrote:

Yes but it requires a flat sea.


Not really, but if there is a sea running then it requires both skill & patience.
Can you say "dynamic equilibrium"? C'mon, say it with me now. It's really just a
fancy word for saying that the boat will swing one way, then the other, but will
be able to be steered on a course averaging between the swings.

The trickiest part is to keep the boat close to the wind without getting thrown
through stays by some combination of gust & wave; or if the circumstances are such
that this is going to happen anyway, to coax the boat back onto the desired
course.

I'm having a hard time imagining circumstances where one could not at least
immobilize the rudder, much less rig some type of emergency steering. In one
Bermuda Race a few years ago, one boat that lost it's rudder used a bunk lashed to
the spinnaker pole as an emergency rudder & tiller.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King