We lost the rudder

ajelford · Post by **ajelford** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:46 am

Father's day morning, we got to the mooring about 9am. Overcast with Nw winds of 25, gusting to35. Motor for about a mile to get over behind an island
and put up the main. Sailed in this area for couple hrs and decide to head back for some hot dogs and beer. About 3/4 way back, we turn to starboard to run down behind another island to drop sail. Couple boat lengths after we turn, the tiller has suddenly a very light feel to it. we are running with wind at our backs and we are moving good!!!!

I turn tiller left and right a few times and nothing happens. Holding front of tiller with one hand, I grab tiller head with other and give a little pull upwards. The tiller comes up and out , with about 2 ft of rudder shat. I'm thinking holy poop!!!. In seas of 3-5 ft , bow swings to port and we heel way over to starboard. I let go the main sheet and holler to Anne we lost the rudder and to quickly drop the main. Meanwhile the boat is rolling back and forth sideways, very rough. I drop the motor and get it started and come to realize that since we had this boat, we only use motor in straight forward position and always steer with tiller.

The motor will not pivot left or right, and I lean over the back and pull and grab all knobs and levers but to no avail. Then a big wave hits the stern and the motor cover is under water and she dies. There are no other boats in sight and we are drifting downriver towards the rocky shoreline. Call over the vhf radio for assistance but not a mayday call. Did this over and over but get no response. We life jacket up and get the flares and air horn out. Made more radio calls but again nothing is heard.
The brand new anchor is on the bow pulpit without chain or rode, as we have not used it yet. The chain was in one under cockpit seat ,the rode was in the other. Its pretty rough and were getting knocked about pretty good and are hanging on most of the time.

Ok, so still drifting out of control and no signs or sounds of help, I let go a flare and begin a series of 3 blasts on the horn. Grab the radio and call out a mayday. No replies from the radio, after few minutes we fire another flare and blast horn again. Then on radio I hear CG rely asking for vessel name and position. We give it several times but no reply comes back. Fire another flare(num 3) and blast away on horn. Unknown to us, this flare is seen by a resident on shore who calls 911. Fire dept gets call of vessel in distress and notifys CG. Meanwhile we get radio call from another sailboat about a mile from us, but even under motor and sail cannot reach us before we reach shoreline. They do however relay our position to CG who dispatch a zodiac our way.

Its been just over an hour since we called mayday and we spot a sailboat coming towards us, Many thanks to this guy, as he is hard over and doing his best to get to us in this chop. Then on his port side we see a boat coming like heck up middle of river but not coming towards us. Let go another flare and he turns straight at us. Its the CG 20ft zodiac, with two young men in it. they nosed right up to bow and I throw them a line. My god, I realize we are only boat length or so from the rocks. They pull us out aways, cast off and come alongside. Takes a few minutes to rig some lines and we raft on to side of them. Wind is howling now and the waves are breaking over both bows and water is rolling over us and the zodiac. Took 45 mins to get back to mooring as we had to slow down as we and the rescue boat are taking on water from over top side.

Fire dept sent a rescue truck to shore but they could not get close to us. They also sent a boat which arrived after the CG had pulled us away from shore. We thanked everyone many times as they checked us over. Many scrapes and bruises on us both, with my left hand getting the worst of it. We were sore for a week. Oh and on the tow back in, water was so rough it ripped the brackets off the anchor holder and now it too is somewhere on the bottom. So we and the boat survived, but we now need a rudder and anchor. Price on new fiberglass rudder and shaft is about $1500 can so are looking to try and find a used one. They are rare around here. WoooHooo what a Fathers day sail it was

Thanks

Tony and Anne

Gus · Post by **Gus** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:11 am

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but going out with 1 anchor with no rode or chain?!?!? I have two in my boat!! Glad to see you made it in one piece.

ajelford · Post by **ajelford** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:50 am

Thanks Gus , yes I did do a few stupid things that day. We have been sailing on other people's boats for number of years, all had one anchor. Have only seen two anchors on boats over 30ft in our area. And I failed to mention in original post that I made sure all nuts and bolts etc , including rudder and post were wrenched, as well as all below waterline caulking sealant replaced before anti fouling paint was applied.

opossum · Post by **opossum** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:17 am

Having put an Islander 30 aground on a stormy leeward shore, I was glad to read of your rescue. Looking back on most disasters one comes up with a series of "pilot errors." My 22 has an inboard diesel; how would I steer her in the case of a rudder failure. Your post has made me aware of the need for rudder backup. Thank you.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:28 am

Thanks for the story. I'm glad to hear that help reached you in the nick of time.

I've been looking at my outboard and thinking about how to quickly remove the bracket that holds it straight. It would be nice to have the option of steering with the motor if we ever lose the rudder.

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:53 am

opossum brings up a good point.

All of us with thru hull rudders should have a backup plan. Even if we just hung hardware on the transom and made a rudder out of a slab of plywood with a posthole digger handle for the tiller ! Store it below, and drop it over the back in a pinch.

EE's outboard LOVES to swivel, won't stay put in a rough chop. But if I lost the rudder and the outboard, I'd be in a mess.

Bhacurly · Post by **Bhacurly** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:18 pm

Thanks for sharing and glad again your all right!

Seems to me that it broke at the weld of the blades? Sound right, I mean if the rudder post came up through the cockpit hole,, I don't know what else could have happened!?? Do you still have the tiller and post or was it lost in the melee afterwards? Would be interesting to see what came apart...

Billy

Gus · Post by **Gus** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:38 am

some C-22's had the rudder assembly made out of aluminum, with a high failure rate.