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Well, I took my weekender out into the intercoastal on Saturday during the windstorm which hit Florida. The forcast was for sustained 15 to 20 knott winds with gusts. We got that.. and more, way more.

It started out good enough, I backed the boat in, my friend took photos of me in my underwear.



We headed south on the river and dropped the crab trap off. The wind really started to pick up after that.



A big gust of wind hit us we heeled over quite a bit and as we came back upright I heard a thump followed by a serious lack of steering. We had lost the rudder. I was a bit worried about running into something at this point so I dropped the sails. The wind was too strong to motor against. so we found ourselves on the wrong shore with a broken rudder and wind gusting at about 50mph with 25-30mph sustained winds.



I hopped out of the boat with nothing more than flip flops on and tip toed among the oysters while gently coaxing my boat around the back side of a small spoil island which offered some shelter from the wind. Here, we made a rudder repair using one of the paddles, some duct tape, and some rope for added reinforcement. I unfurled half the jib and gave it a try... Unfortunatly, it didn't work very well. It stayed in place but there was not enough area on the paddle to steer the boat.

Some nice folks from england suggested we tie off to their dock. and we were happy to get out of the wind and tie up to something. I set about the task of repairing the rudder enough to get the boat back home. I looked around the boat for possible material and decided that the gps shelf would make a great temporary rudder.



I keep a repair kit in my boat in a battery case. I assume it'll float if all went to crap. I never thought I would need to make a rudder using that repair kit but here we were, and there was all the things I needed in there, I used the hammer and screwdriver to pound holes in the plywood, I used some spare bolts to bolt it onto the remnants of the broken rudder bolted the rudder back in place and she was good to go..



Except we didn't go There was no way at all that we were going to get ourselves out of that oyster riddled bay in 50mph winds.. So we begged dock space and with a big frown, I left the boat for the evening.



Returned on Sunday to pick it up and indeed the repair held just fine, I sailed back to the ramp, about two miles on that rudder and I'm tempted to say it worked at least as well as the original.

So... this is the latest adventure in Red's Betty And if you're wondering if you should sail a weekender in 50mph winds, I think the answer is no. But if you do, do it in a place where you can get out and stand up If you would like to see all the photos taken that day, (flickr is borked today, check back in the future at this link to see all the great photos)

http://flickr.com/photos/flhippy

Man you belong in the SE Fleet....you're nuts! You'll fit in just right. Looks like you're really enjoying your boat. Wish I was there for that crab dinner. Come on up an join us for a sail sometime, we're getting together in April and June, check the SE Fleet forum for the details, I'd sure like to get a look at that boat of yours. You might think about glassing your next rudder to keep it from breaking while you're sailing around in 50mph winds. Now to quote Craig Gleason as he was perched on the bowsprit when a sudden gust almost knocked the boat over "How fast were we going Bud?"

Keith

The crab trap was never recovered. I doubt there was enough surface area on the float to move it but it's a possibility i guess in those winds.

Usually what happens is, someone accidentally runs over your crab trap line and cuts off the float, sometimes you can find the trap again but usually no. poor trapped starving crabs.

I really do need to come up to a gathering and see all the other boats. Gasoline is almost $3.50 a gallon now These things are getting more and more difficult to consider. But at least I don't need fuel to run my boat.

GOOD on ya Mate!

There's something about building the boat in the first place that gives you confidence to make repairs like that. Sound like you are pretty adept at getting by.

Thanks for the story and the pics.

Only $3.50 a gallon? Diesel is $3.999! I'm thinking about running veg oil and telling exxon to kiss my a$$. I can get a conversion kit for $1200 and get free cooking oil at restaurants. It won't take long with diesel priced like it is to get my money back, now it cost me $130 to fill up :evil: