How will I steer my boat?

[Jim Walsh]

This is a good video which provides one means of steering a boat which has lost its rudder.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ABSCT7y9vnI
Have you given any thought to what you might do to maintain a reasonable course should you lose your rudder? My emergency tiller is a wonderful asset but it's use will only save the day if my rudder is still intact.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Fascinating video. Very educational. Also, very surprising, at least for guys like me who know so little.

Thanks for finding and posting Jim.

[Steve Laume]

I have imagined what I might do but this certainly helps even if you are going to use something other than a drogue for resistance.

I would never have thought to secure the steering lines so far forward. Moving them aft when going downwind might help. I was very impressed with how well the boat turned. I would love to see the same tactics in higher winds and a larger sea state, Steve.

[Jim Walsh]

I have imagined what I might do but this certainly helps even if you are going to use something other than a drogue for resistance.

I would never have thought to secure the steering lines so far forward. Moving them aft when going downwind might help. I was very impressed with how well the boat turned. I would love to see the same tactics in higher winds and a larger sea state, Steve.

I was a little surprised at the lines being run amidships also. I could run my control lines the same way using a soft shackle and a block looped around my midship cleats pretty easily. I have the same drogue used in the video. I bought it off a lady from Long Island a few years ago for fifty bucks. It was clearly sitting in a locker for several years but it was unused. It had all the paperwork still in the storage bag. I have it rigged to deploy as a drogue with two fathoms of chain and an old anchor line. I figured it might get me out of a fix some day.
After seeing this video I see how simple it is to rig for emergency steering. It has taken on a whole new value to me. I was as amazed as you with how well they were able to maneuver that Swan and it's more than double my displacement. It always pays to have another trick up your sleeve......

[Keith]

Truly amazing how much control there is! Thanks Jim

[David Morton]

At about $1000 after all is set up, the Galerider is a pretty expensive item to be sitting in a locker with the probability of never being used. Not really sure what it is about it (other than it is sold to boat owners!) that makes it so dear, but, Jim, I envy your luck at finding that never-used used drogue! But then, I don't usually complain about the insurance premium I pay annually to BoatUS. Oh, well.

[Jim Walsh]

At about $1000 after all is set up, the Galerider is a pretty expensive item to be sitting in a locker with the probability of never being used. Not really sure what it is about it (other than it is sold to boat owners!) that makes it so dear, but, Jim, I envy your luck at finding that never-used used drogue! But then, I don't usually complain about the insurance premium I pay annually to BoatUS. Oh, well.

Very true David. If I'd saved my insurance premiums over the years I'd have sufficient funds to buy a boat. I'd been keeping my eyes open for a drogue for many years just as a "last resort" option. Every commercial one was hideously expensive and rediculously large. I saw how compact the Galerider was (the outer ring twists into a figure eight so it's amazingly small when stowed) and focused my attention on finding one. After several years I saw one on EBay. I just lucked out. Now it has a dual purpose as a sea anchor and an emergency steering assist. I hope I never have to deploy it for either purpose.

[Steve Laume]

I would be messing with an assortment of,chain, anchors, rope, and buckets. The drogue would be nice if you ever needed it, Steve.

[Jim Walsh]

I would be messing with an assortment of,chain, anchors, rope, and buckets. The drogue would be nice if you ever needed it, Steve.

That's what all the old salts would do. Tie an end to each stern cleat and tow a line in a bight. They'd add whatever they had to keep it down or to cause more drag to slow them down. The nice part is it was relatively easy to retrieve by just letting one end go and winching it in. We get to set the windvane and go below where it's safe. They were forced to keep someone at the helm.

[mgphl52]

... My emergency tiller is a wonderful asset ...

<humor> In all my years of sailing, I have yet to see a tiller boat with an emergency wheel... </humor>

[Jim Walsh]

... My emergency tiller is a wonderful asset ...

<humor> In all my years of sailing, I have yet to see a tiller boat with an emergency wheel... </humor>