[Public-List] Dolor sailor on Alberg 30 made it to Hawaii, broken rudder

[Gordon Laco]

Hi Stephen, 

The rudder was swinging freely after the blade broke away from the shaft… 

Steering by sail trim and a bit of assistance from a small blade or drogue is how every singlehander did it until vanes became efficient in the mid 1960’s…  it requires more attention, but once upon a time, it was the normal way to do long distance voyaging.


Gord




> On Sep 23, 2021, at 1:46 PM, Stephen Gwyn via Public-List <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> I don't know if you saw the video of the rudder damage,
> but the rudder had been partial ripped off the shaft and
> was jammed against the hull. You couldn't steer with
> a rope attached to the trailing edge of the rudder,
> because the rudder was jammed at an angle.
> He's repaired it using trucking tie-down straps to secure
> the rudder to the shaft. He plans to sail around Hawaii a bit then
> ship the boat back home.
> 
> His boat is one of the earlier ones where the rudder is
> screwed to the shaft with long, thin bolts screwed through
> the rudder shaft and into the rudder. A very flimsy arrangement,
> suitable for the light air situations A30s were originally designed
> for, but not offshore.
> 
> As for steering with the sails, while fine for an hour or two, I think it would
> get really tiring if you had to do it for non-stop for 2 weeks.
> 
> SG
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