On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:44:24 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Not saying the cruisers are wrong... obviously they're right. I'm just
wondering how they do it, esp. in the case of mechanism failure. That's the
point of being a sailor.. dealing with adversity, etc.

The solution(s) are left as a student excercise as they become more
familiar with boats, boating, equipment and seamanship.

Hint: Necessity is the mother of invention.