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Originally Posted by Giulietta
Trodzen,
I know exactly what you mean...it's all nice... on paper....again not easy and very unreliable, as seas and winds make it harder.
I stick with my rope mess thingy!! Besides without rudder, fast is the last I want to go anyway!!
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It’s funny how we are all trapped within our own experience and education. I have used a drag, that is to say a bucket on a dock
line, to steer a single engine powerboat that lost steering. A drag is fine and it’s worth knowing about the technique because it might be appropriate one day. After all you might lose steering on a sailboat while motoring near shore. Of course on a powerboat with twin engines the loss of steering is a minor annoyance at worst.
But while under sail I think steering with balance and if absolutely necessary the smallest jury rudder possible might be a better choice then a drag. A drag doesn’t lend itself to use during severe weather for one thing. The response time isn’t adequate and the strain is significant when you are sailing with any reasonable speed. You also have a greater chance of problems popping up with a jury
rig like a drag. You can expect problems ranging from the sea sweeping a crew member off the deck to fouling the gear because of the boats movement during a storm if you try to steer using something that requires an exposed crewmember and lots of
line run all over the place.
On the other hand I have sailed warm and dry in the cabin during a storm while the boat sailed herself with the tiller tied and in fact she would sail just as well if the rudder was gone as long as the boat could sail a reasonable course using balance alone. The bottom
line is there is more then one way to handle a problem but my experience is that planning ahead and selecting the simplest solution with the fewest chances of failure is the best way to go. And each boat is different so you need a plan that works with your boat,
rig and gear. You also might consider things like this when you are selecting a boat. I am sailing to Greenland this summer and I picked a Tartan 34C because she is suitable for offshore work. Among other things she will sail herself without the need of a windvane system. This is handy if my windvane fails or the rudder decides to become argumentative.
And bad weather is not the time to start experimenting with something like this. Whatever method you select, practice it during the summer in nice warm calm weather. I have experience with sailing in bad weather and it is harder then you think. When things go bad you are probably worn out and not thinking straight so you make mistakes unless you have already thought out a plan and know where you put all the parts that are required to implement the plan.
All the best,
Robert Gainer