Pip Hare replaces Medallia's rudder at sea in Southern Ocean

[mike cunningham]

Pretty cool. Respect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi8KwOF6U44

I watched a separate video of her training for this, very interesting process. She did not have to go in the water when she did it for real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_kjoL8DFi8

 

[Intermission]

Pretty cool. Respect!

I agree! If Pip can do it, why can't Alex? I wonder how long she can hold off Charal?

I enjoy following the Vendee; the boats seem like space ships compared to any boat I've ever been aboard, (although I got to board Tuesday's Child once).
.
Race seems slower than some previous years

 

[AlanH]

Wow. RESPECT.

 

[mike cunningham]

I agree! If Pip can do it, why can't Alex?

You aren't the only one. I get the sense the whole Hugo Boss program got too far out there on the bleeding edge. Not enough testing and toughening? After the bow broke followed by a rudder failure maybe they just decided the Southern Ocean was going to be to great a risk. Who knows?

 

[Submarino]

Nice to see dock test and then the real "at sea" application. This should be shown at the one of the E-rudder seminars.

At Bob J's advice, I carried a long dowel to punch the rudder stock down in case it was jammed inside the tubing.

Pip new rudder stock alignment/insertion appeared quite easy, but I don't think the Express 27 would be be. I would have to deploy a bow drogue to reduce the lateral pressure.

Did not see a harness on her torso?

 

[brianb]

In an E 27 you don't have the ability to get the bad rudder out of the water with a swing keel and water ballast. Having replaced two broken rudders at sea over the years the cassette system, or a similar set up that secures the rudder from above deck before it goes into the water, is the only likely successful approach until you have drifted into the Pacific High in no wind and seas.

 

[AlanH]

Yeah, but who on an Express 27 is willing to carry a completely new rudder on board "just in case"? I mean, carry the dowel and hammer, for sure! It would be 10X easier to have brackets prepared on the transom, and deploy a rudder in a cassette, than to try to sink a rudder, get it perfectly vertical, and line it up with the rudder tube.

This very issue is why, were I ever to have a Class 40 or something like that, and consider the craziness of racing more than a couple hundred miles, I'd have a rudder setup like this...


or this, just with the rudders in cassettes...



Not that I ever will, but...

 

[AlanH]

However, having 2-3 people who have actually had to deploy emergency rudders at sea actually speaking at the seminar is a great idea.

Brian B. --- Max C. --- Rob McF.

I know Max had to deploy his on the way back from the Farallones, once. I remember being in the water in 1996, getting Tiger Beetle Rev 1. 's flown-in rudder inserted into the rudder tube in Hanalei. There were two of us in the water and two on deck and of course the bay was completely calm.

I know that Tom Boussie has pulled his Capo 30 rudder, solo, at the dock at the GGYC, and replaced it 'cause I watched him do it. But Tom was in the water in a wetsuit to do it.

 

[mike cunningham]

However, having 2-3 people who have actually had to deploy emergency rudders at sea actually speaking at the seminar is a great idea.

Brian B. --- Max C. --- Rob McF.

I know Max had to deploy his on the way back from the Farallones, once. I remember being in the water in 1996, getting Tiger Beetle Rev 1. 's flown-in rudder inserted into the rudder tube in Hanalei. There were two of us in the water and two on deck and of course the bay was completely calm.

I know that Tom Boussie has pulled his Capo 30 rudder, solo, at the dock at the GGYC, and replaced it 'cause I watched him do it. But Tom was in the water in a wetsuit to do it.

I have a spare rudder which I purchased from a guy parting out a Freedom 30. I would not attempt a replacement at sea but, in theory, I could use the same process as described in the video at the dock. The rudder weighs about 70 lbs and is big and awkward as hell so it wouldn't be a viable spare to carry aboard even if it could be installed at sea. Agree a cassette mounted erud is the way to go at least for smaller boats.

Re harness on Pip's torso. I read some discussion between Vendee racers on topic of harness and tethers. Definitely some strong opinions re wearing or not wearing. Some skippers asserted they felt less safe tethered to the boat. Too much obstruction, too much false confidence. It was an interesting read. I think most of us can relate.

 

[Submarino]

Not sure I follow about swing keel. The E27 has a hole at the rudder post top to tie a line thru. Drive the post down enough so that you can can cinch some line around the post below the hull. Tie some weight to it and throw overboard.

Now that I saw the video, I have two methods of removing rudder out of the water. I would save rudder as it may be a repairable back up if the cassette system did not hold. My borrowed cassette system is nice, but the ultra light transom, even reinforced, was not designed for that.

 

[AlanH]

Not sure I follow about swing keel. The E27 has a hole at the rudder post top to tie a line thru. Drive the post down enough so that you can can cinch some line around the post below the hull. Tie some weight to it and throw overboard.

Now that I saw the video, I have two methods of removing rudder out of the water. I would save rudder as it may be a repairable back up if the cassette system did not hold. My borrowed cassette system is nice, but the ultra light transom, even reinforced, was not designed for that.

I agree with some of what you just wrote, for sure. Like..."save rudder as it may be a repairable back up if the cassette system did not hold. " Absolutely! You'll need a mess of carbon fiber tubing, or whatever your rudder stock is made from...and foam, and fiberglass and epoxy and a lot of sandpaper, but that would give you at least a chance to make a repair and keep going.

You've got me thinking about what I'd do if my cassette failed. I can't imagine busting my emergency rudder, it's just as beefy as my primary rudder, though a bit smaller. I think maybe that a set of s.s. gudgeons and bolts might be the thing to have on board, "just in case", to go along with the plywood/glass and backup pintle.

the ultra light transom, even reinforced, was not designed for that. ... Yes, but it was designed to hold an outboard motor, flailing around back there, and those are pretty substantial loads.