Yoe Don where were you Halifax Harbor or Mahone Bay or Prospect?? What
ledge. Mooron will probably wish to know. Ha Ha.

Don White wrote:

Jonathan W. wrote:
snip...

Driving a 20,000 lb, 38 foot sloop drawing about 6 feet over a ledge
with 3 or 4 feet of water over it is an experience I would not wish to
repeat. The full keel and skeg hung rudder took the brunt of the impact
and the bottom of the ruder skeg with it's gudgeon were left on the
ledge (presumably).

The rudder dropped straight down and the now two extra feet of leverage
given overcame the strength of the interface between the rudder's
stuffing box and the hull, ripping open a 2-3 inch hole, depending on
where the rudder/shaft assembly was leaning at any given moment.

snip...

We did the same thing with a Viking 28 about 5 years ago. I was at the
helm but blame it on the owner because he insisted we sail up a narrow
channel with the wind on our nose. I went a bit wide past the red buoy
while tacking and ran into a large boulder field. What a sound smashing
into boulder after boulder while trying to sail out forcing the boat to
heel as much as possible. Luckily we weren't traveling too fast and
suffered no permanent damage.
Another time ran into a ledge during a regatta race opposite our
clubhouse on a Mirage 33. Had to be towed off in fromt of the entire
fleet.....oh the humanity! Again damage minimal.