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Steering Seminar Videos are Up

You can't set the vane up to support an E Rudder ? Several models do. If you could do that you could then use a tiller pilot to drive the E Rudder if you ever lost your rudder.

I sailed my J24 from mile rock to Richmond with an "oar" (spin pole + floor boards bolted on}. It was no picnic. If you go that route consider having lines attached out near the end of the oar and steer with the lines. I think commodore Tompkins has a good description of an oar set up that is known to work well.

Brian
 
You are correct and oar would work. And you are correct again about the J24 rudder, they are heavy. I played with it over the weekend and used my twings to lower it slowly down from the plate on my split back stay. I also played with lines going to the stern pulpit to steady it and they seemed to work. Only 3 ft. seas and 10 knot winds however. I want a system that I can continue to use my vane and autopilot with, in fact I would hope that I could continue to sail without a significant loss of performance (I am interested to see if the boat performs better with the transom rudder!).
thank you for your input. I am new to this and there is a great deal I have not even begun to consider.
Doug
 
A backup steering method is required of course, but of greater concern is the construction and condition of the primary rudder and post (better to not need the backup).

The Capri 25's rudder post is fairly thin-walled stainless tubing, the same as the Kirby 23 which lost its rudder in the 2006 race. The Kirby's rudder simply snapped off at the hull, presumably due to hidden crevice corrosion in the post. With this manner of construction and its age (guessing mid-80's) I would certainly drop the rudder and inspect the rudder post carefully. Even then you can't see what the post inside the rudder looks like.

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/tech/Capri/Rudderfix.pdf

s/ Mr. Joy and Sunshine
 
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I have a full keel alberg 30 with a Cape Horn Windvane on the transom- my primary self steering gear. I had Yves at Cap Horn fabricate pintles/brackets on the outboard rear edge of the self steering vertical post, so I could hang an emergency rudder. So far never tried it out! Actually dont have the spare rudder yet, alas.

My question is assuming I make up a cassatte and rudder assembly, once mounted, does the emergency rudder aft of the self steering blade render the self steering unit unusable? Seems like it would. If so, id an emergency rudder were mounted off the transom, on the side next to the self steering blade, would the self steering then still be functionable?
 
We need a couple of people to talk about emergency rudders at the January 8 Seminar @ the Oakland Yacht Club. I know there are hundreds of you lurking out there. Now is the time for you to step up and tell us what you have done along with photos of your efforts (taken with your digital camera, no need for a professional photographer). If you have actually used the emergency rudder, mo betta. Tell us how hard it was to use and under what conditions. If it didn't work, why didn't it work? If it worked, why do you think that happened? Email me privately if you prefer. If you are in Maine and can't come out, send photos and your experience. Please. I'm in charge until Lucie comes back and I've never used an emergency rudder. [email protected] (that's jacqueline dot philpott)
 
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Rob spoke from experience with his rudder.

A bigger deal with the Kirby 23 was that after the primary rudder snapped, so did the e-rudder.

Lucie
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and wisdom.

brianb said:
any pics of your boats stern ?
Click to expand...

Imagine, I got called into work yesterday and so was not able to get down to the boat. Some people just do not seem to get their priorities straight! I had boat work to do!!

I have attached a picture of the stern and vane, As you can see there is no way that the servo blade on a Hasler SP vane can act as a rudder (the original blade was a triangular shape, I created the foil shaped servo). As of this weekend there will be rudder fittings for the J24 rudder. I am thinking over whether to make a frame to extend the vane aft so that I can use it with the transom rudder. I am also putting in two 4" drains just above the small ones. I got green water pooped last summer and I learned I want water out of the cockpit FAST. When I got back I looked up the weight of a cubic yard of water ( I figure my cockpit can hold three cubic yards or more). The weight of a cubic yard of water is 1,681.297 pounds so three cubic yards in my cockpit would weigh roughly two and a half tons. Hard for the stern to react to the next wave with that kind of weight.

Thank you for the information on the Kirby rudder, and the suggestions with respect to examining mine. I did repair the slop in the rudder tube a few years ago using West Epoxy and graphite filler injected into the tube holding a well waxed rudder tube. Well, wax or not it was a bear getting the rudder tube back out again. I remove the rudder a few time a year for lubrication and inspection (one of the advantages of dry sailing the boat). I can see down the tube and all seems well on that score.

Again, thank you to all who take the time to contribute to those of us new to this enterprise.photo.jpg
 
Jan 8th Skype Cast of seminar - 7 30 pm, you need to connect to account

For those of you who are out of town we will attempt a SKYPE conference call. Rick of LightSpeed was our guinea pig for the last seminar and found the SKYPE live feed useful. Here is how to join in.

You create a SKYPE account, the free version should work.
You then search for facebook:brian.boschma and request to befriend Mr. Boschma.
He will accept your request and place you in a call group.

On Jan 8th the SKYPE conference will be started at 7 20 PM. You should connect to the conference at that time.

The video will be from a laptop computer pointed at the speaker. The video will be only as good as the PC's camera.

We will again have video's of the seminar available afterwards.

Brian
 
In any race to Hawaii, the steering system takes more abuse than any other moving part on the boat. In tradewind running conditions it is not unusual for the steering to move 2,000-3,000 times/hour. If the boat is not balanced, there is gonna be a lot of strain on the steering system.

With compromised steering, getting safely to port is one thing. The other half of the equation is: wouldn't it be more fun to continue sailing to Hanalei, finish before the deadline, partake of Tree Time, and be awarded your SHTP belt buckle?

As one designs and builds emergency steering, keep in mind the goal is to sail near maximum efficiency. And get to Hanalei on time. Otherwise you may have to divert to someplace you don't want to go.

This is not an unachievable goal. Transpac Race boats have a long tradition of finishing in style after facing steering adversity. In 1949, FLYING CLOUD won Class A in the Honolulu Race after sailing two days without a rudder. In 1982, MERLIN was first-to-finish Pacific Cup after losing her steering sprocket, chain, cable, and quadrant, and steering under emergency tiller for the final 100 miles.
 
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Call for Emergency Rudder examples:

In years past we had seminars where a few souls brought in their emergency rudders and spent a few minutes describing them. I assume we have entrants that would like to see some implementations. If anyone has a rudder they could share with the group please bring it along and please let us know you will bring it.

Regards,

Brian
 
brianb said:
Call for Emergency Rudder examples:

In years past we had seminars where a few souls brought in their emergency rudders and spent a few minutes describing them. I assume we have entrants that would like to see some implementations. If anyone has a rudder they could share with the group please bring it along and please let us know you will bring it.

Regards,

Brian
Click to expand...

Brian, I will bring Lightspeed's, it was built by Gordie Nash. Carbon Fiber cassette type. If Gordie is in attendance maybe he can walk through the construction.
 
Great ! I will toss mine in the car so we can see at least two implementations. Mine has about 10 passages logged and was once actually used to get to Kanehoe.

BB
 
I plan to bring mine, although it's tainted by being dragged along on the PacCup instead of the TransPac. Actually it's originally Alan H's so I guess it's legit. Pat
 
I think that rudder lives in infamy. And will Mr Hebert be joining us? Max Crittenden is bringing his emergency rudder and so is Pat Broderick. Brian Cline will be bringing photos of the installation of a Cape Horn windvane onto Maris, his Dana 24. Installations are tricky, and the brackets are important. Not everybody will buy a new windvane with ready made brackets (says she who bought a used Navik and is still angsting about the brackets). Lots of visual aids and problem solving methods.
 
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