"Bob" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 18, 9:29 pm, "Paul" wrote:
"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message

ups.com...
[about emergency rudder/steering]

Depending on
where we were in the failure, my going under with a brace and bit (I
have a full selection aboard) with the hookah, and holing all that
lovely repair work I did on the rudder, passing a line through same,
with double stops on the immediate exteriors, with the lines led up to
winches would be another.

Skip, if you are serious about this particular solution (and it isn't a
bad
one), - Paul
- S/V VALIS


Hello Paul:

Please do not encourage this type of behavior of a 60+ yo retired
banker who is a cardiac patient.

I did underwater work for years. My last job was an emergency stern
tube patch on the Gae Chug Ho, a 600' Korean fish processor. They
needed to repack the stuffing box. They had a small leak: only 10 mt/
hr. This was just south of the Pribilof Islands (Bering Sea) many
Novembers ago. It kicked my ass and I was a very fit 32.

Please don't encourage Skip to jump over the side and expect him to
drill a hole using both hands. Do you really expect him to wrap his
legs around the rudder while doing the equivalent of a 20 minute sit-
up (crunch) and make that happen ??!?! I don't think he has the
abdominals to pull it off.

I agree with you. The time for such rudder mods is IN THE YARD!

Bob
(Divers Institute of Technology 107/80)

Bob, I will let Skip make his own decisions about his ability. It sounds
like you and I are in agreement, though, and I was trying to point out the
difficulty of drilling a hole in the rudder at sea. The "putty trick" will
make the job slightly less impossible, but in reality this is something you
would only attempt in calm conditions, or in extremis.

For what it's worth, my emergency steering options a
1) An emergency tiller which drops through the cockpit sole onto the
rudderpost. I have blocks and lines ready to connect to help control the
tiller.
2) An "MRUD" emergency rudder for my Monitor windvane. I have a tiller
attachment for the windvane.

These have both been tested, admittedly not during difficult conditions.

-Paul
-S/V VALIS