DSK wrote:

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

Doug, I tried and tried, because the catyawl is supposed to be
ideal for this, but the longest I've ever been able to beat with
the rudder free and stay on course is a minute or so, then some
combination of wave and wind will knock the boat a small but
critical amount, the free rudder will swing a bit, and suddenly
we're doing donuts. (I don't mind doing donuts while I'm at the
tiller, even if I did bust the mainsheet track buffers doing it
once.) So I lash tillers whatever. I suspect tht if I totally
lost my rudder, it would be a lot easier to sail with sails alone
than with a rudder still there but swinging free...

--
Flying Tadpole

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