rudder failure

[john churchill]

has anyone had any problems with their rudder? i am considering an offshore trip and would like to find out beforehand about any weaknesses. the boat will be surveyed in a couple of weeks, and i have not seen any postings about rudder problems, and it is well protected and well supported, but the prospect of failure is still a little worrisome. i have a cd 26 with a tiller so it should be foolproof, i hope.

[Jerry]

has anyone had any problems with their rudder? i am considering an offshore trip and would like to find out beforehand about any weaknesses. the boat will be surveyed in a couple of weeks, and i have not seen any postings about rudder problems, and it is well protected and well supported, but the prospect of failure is still a little worrisome. i have a cd 26 with a tiller so it should be foolproof, i hope.

We have sailed our 25D over11000 miles, Bahamas, Nova Scotia Sea of Cortez, etc. No problems of any kind. I do grease the lower and upper bushings by raising the rudder as high as I can { about 1/2 -5/8 inch} when ever it is out of the water. You can lube the upper bushing by raising the rudder in the cockpit any time. Happy sailing.



jlecocq@milehigh.net

[Bob B]

You may want to consider carrying a spare tiller and nut to attach to your rudder fitting with. Some carry a complete fitting but you should be OK. Have you tried sailing without a rudder before? It is interesting to balance your boat with your sails and learn more about how more or less jib/main may make a difference with your boat. Good practice too. Have a great trip offshore.
Bob B.

[Rod Morris]

Have you tried sailing without a rudder before? It is interesting to balance your boat with your sails and learn more about how more or less jib/main may make a difference with your boat. Good practice too.
Bob B.

On a very light wind day this last summer I tied the tiller down straight ahead and steered totally with the jib and main. As long as I didn't let the boat get too far out of line I could keep it going the way I wanted it to go, but I never could get it in a groove and let it go. I'm not at all sure I would want to have to steer that way with much wind, though. As you say, it was great practice, and maybe next summer with my new full batten main, I'll be able to do better.

Rod
CD26 "Achates"



RVRMorris@compuserve.com