Weather still not good enough here (high winds and deep draft plus
shallow water equals bad boo)
It's beginning to loo like ASAin here...

"katy" wrote in message
om...
Weather still not good enough here (high winds and deep draft plus shallow
water equals bad boo)
It's beginning to loo like ASAin here...


I'm going on Tuesday. Short trip.. marina to the yard.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On Feb 23, 2:26*am, katy wrote:
Weather still not good enough here (high winds and deep draft plus
shallow water equals bad boo)
It's beginning to loo like ASAin here...

The wind has been howling here all day, I so wanted to have a good
eekend so I could go!

wrote in message
...
On Feb 23, 2:26 am, katy wrote:
Weather still not good enough here (high winds and deep draft plus
shallow water equals bad boo)
It's beginning to loo like ASAin here...

The wind has been howling here all day, I so wanted to have a good
eekend so I could go!


Where is here?

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Here's someting on topic:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe...cue/index.html

My rudder quadrant is pretty massive. In addition to an emergency tiller,
the wind vane control lines attach to the quadrant so I can steer with the
vane gear or by pulling on the lines. My concern is the stock breaking off
of the steel plate inside the rudder at the weld and starting to just spin
inside the rudder. Like most, mine fills with water and drains all winter.

I'm thinking of adapting an idea from the old sailing ships an attaching a
stout ring through bolted with straps to the rear upper corner of the
rudder. This is just above the waterline on my boat. I can either run a line
to this while standing on the boarding ladder or keep a light line rigged as
shown he

http://www.rogerlongboats.com/images/Esteerline.jpg

Lines taken either side to blocks on the toe rail holes and then to the
winches should give me some control at the cost of some topside chafing.

I also have a very bunk bin board over my holding tank that is nearly as
large as my rudder. I plan to obtain a suitable piece of pipe and pre-drill
it for a tiller and to attach the pre-drilled bunk board to. This can be
lashed to the wind vane tower. The ring on the rudder idea is simple though
and applicable to many boats. If I can't find a suitable storage place for
the stock long enough for plan A, I may just go with it alone.

If Cecil isn't too busy packing, he should be along soon to point out that
only boats with outboard rudders that are painted yellow can be considered
seaworthy. However, I bought this boat and got stuck with it before
discovering this group and having the benifit of his wisdom and experience
so I'll just have to make do.

--
Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
....

If Cecil isn't too busy packing, he should be along soon to point out that
only boats with outboard rudders that are painted yellow can be considered
seaworthy.

In my dinghy/daysailing days I thought a balanced spade rudder was the
be all/end all of rudders. Now I appreciate my skeg hung rudders as a
number of my sister ships with spade rudders have bent their posts on
"uncharted obstructions."

Catamarans of course have an issue since the keels are usually only
slightly deeper than the rudders, so strikes are common. Fortunately,
there are two large rudders so if one is jammed, they can be decoupled
and steered independently. Our forum has a number of threads on the
straightening of posts, and several boats actually carry spare rudders!

Since mine was fitted with diesels (most of the sister ships had
outboards) the rudders are skeg mounted so the skeg can support the
extra weight when beached. Although it makes for a bit more effort and
less maneuverability, I can go through skinny water with more confidence.

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:04:59 -0500, jeff wrote:

Catamarans of course have an issue since the keels are usually only
slightly deeper than the rudders, so strikes are common.

That can happen of course, but most monohull steering failures are
caused by structural issues internal to the rudder or in the cables,
blocks or quadrant.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:04:59 -0500, jeff wrote:

Catamarans of course have an issue since the keels are usually only
slightly deeper than the rudders, so strikes are common.

That can happen of course, but most monohull steering failures are
caused by structural issues internal to the rudder or in the cables,
blocks or quadrant.


I believe that to be the case, also. However, just prior to my buying my
1963 Rawson 30, as it was being taken down the SoCal coast to Newport
Harbor, the rudder post broke inside the rudder requiring a complete
rudder/post rebuild. The boat had been in salt water for nearly 40 years at
that time. The craftsman at Orange Coast College of Sailing and Seamanship
did a magnificent job creating a new rudder for her.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:04:59 -0500, jeff wrote:

Catamarans of course have an issue since the keels are usually only
slightly deeper than the rudders, so strikes are common.

That can happen of course, but most monohull steering failures are
caused by structural issues internal to the rudder or in the cables,
blocks or quadrant.

Failures in the cables , blocks or quadrant are what your emergency tiller
is for and should not present an insuperable problem.
Internal structural failures in the rudder are another story and I have
often wondered why the simple expedient of putting a hole through the top
after part of the rudder is not normal practise as this would enable you to
easily rig a couple of control lines as has been mentioned here before if
that kind of failure occurred.
I hate the idea of a rudder that fills with water because there is no way
of checking what corrosion etc. is taking place inside.

Some emergency tillers leave a lot to be desired. When I got my boat I found
that the rudder head was visible in the cockpit and had a hole into which
about 18" of pipe could be fitted. That was the emergency tiller and it
could not be any longer since it would foul the steering wheel pedestal. I
have a boat that is quick on the helm and has a balanced spade rudder so in
emergency this would only allow me to crouch down in the cockpit steering
with this short tiller while someone else told me where we were going. Not
helpful while single handing.
I have modified this tiller by attaching another arm at right angles to it
so now I can sit up in the cockpit and steer with it while looking where I
am going. The tiller the boat came with was pretty useless for all practical
purposes, yet it appeared to meet the requirements that the boat should have
an emergency tiller and the surveyor noted it as such without commenting on
its uselessness.