Emergency rudder systems

[Fred Rio]

Hello,
I have had my Mac for a year and I am starting to venture further and further. I went to Bimini this fall and intend to go back as often as possible. From reading the forum posts I am starting to get the feeling that one of the likely failures that I am likely to incur is steering.

Many of you mentioned emergency steering and that would seem like a good thing to have.

QUESTION:
What have you come up with or recommend?

Thanks,

Fred

[robbarnes1965]

I would love to know how to rig an emergency tiller on the M. For a Bimini - Florida trip though you could trail a set of lines from one corner of the stern which will cause the boat to slowly turn in that direction. Also, just making adjustments to the sails will allow gradual turns. You can turn pretty well with the sails with practice though. I practice it for fun on light days. It requires cold beer and being alone though.

[Kittiwake]

I recently posted the following (my very limited 'experience' with sculling oars) on another thread. Although I didn't mention it there, part of my logic for making a sculling oar was to have some form of emergency steering - in this case a primitive rudder. I feel a bit dishonest because I have not actually tried the even-more-primitive 'mounting bracket' (a doubled length of twisted mooring line stretched between the port and starboard rail-seat supports); although I have read descriptions of similar things rigged by offshore sailors when they lost their rudder. I promise to try it out this summer; but I would be interested to hear any suggestions prior to the great event.

"As to the sculling oar ... I happened last year to read a little thread by Larry Pardey who (with his wife, Lin) is well known for offshore travels in modest-size, heavy, full-keel sailboats … without a motor. He was writing that people tend to ignore the usefulness of a single stern sculling oar; and that his small wife could effectively manoeuver their multi-ton boat with one. Well I figured if they could push a 10,000 pound boat with one, I could push a Mac. But the oar would have to be long. So, having some Scottish blood, I googled ‘making a sculling oar’. Turns out there are lots of types and instructions, but as usual I went for ‘simple’. I just took a solid piece of (probably) fir 2”x2”x10’. Then I cut an 18” slot ½” wide in one end and epoxied lengthwise into the slot a ½”x6”x3’ fir plank. Sanded the thing and painted it with acrylic mahogany stain. I don’t know how effective it would be for sculling, but it would make a fair weapon. I figure in a pinch I would just twist a double strand of mooring rope between the rail-seat supports (above the engine cowling) and stuff the oar between the twisted strands so I could use it from the area of the steering wheel. Having gone to all the trouble of making one, I notice you can buy similar (but less mean-looking) long oars quite inexpensively. Since you mention it Bill, I just ‘searched’ this site, and people have considered oars on the Mac - with actual experience apparently limited to using them off one or both sides (ie. paddling/rowing). But surely someone must have tried the old fishing dory approach of using just one oar to scull off the stern."

Kittiwake

[mastreb]

if you lose a rudder, you've got a second rudder.

If you lose the second rudder, you've got the outboard with its lower and prop drag.

If you lose helm steering, raise the outboard and the helm seat, and move the rudders by moving the outboard side to side in the transom. You might use a boathook against the transom for leverage.

If you lose all linkage, get your dinghy oar and wedge it between one side of the transom and the outboard as best you can (with your foot if necessary) and use it as a tiller.

Most importantly, practice all these things before you find yourself 50' froma quay wall with a broken steering cable.

[c130king]

I lost my steering in 2007. It was a pretty nice day and I was only about 3-4 miles from my marina.

I was able to steer the boat back by disconnecting the motor from the steering system and then manually moving the motor. I used the boat hook to pull/push the back side of the motor and my foot to push on the front side.



Worked like a champ and maintained about 4-5 knots with no problem.

Cheers,
Jim

[robbarnes1965]

if you lose a rudder, you've got a second rudder.

If you lose the second rudder, you've got the outboard with its lower and prop drag.

If you lose helm steering, raise the outboard and the helm seat, and move the rudders by moving the outboard side to side in the transom. You might use a boathook against the transom for leverage.

If you lose all linkage, get your dinghy oar and wedge it between one side of the transom and the outboard as best you can (with your foot if necessary) and use it as a tiller.

Most importantly, practice all these things before you find yourself 50' froma quay wall with a broken steering cable.

I should have thought about at least ONE of these....

[Billy]

If it's a steering cable failure, there's an easy fix I've used before. Raise one rudder and secure. Attach your boat pole or paddle or both with bungee cords to the raised rudder. You now have a tiller that operates the lowered rudder and engine. (This was discussed here many years ago and it works. )

[Crikey]

This is a scenario where I'd really be glad I had the quick disconnect for the engine (BWY).

[Ixneigh]

I have a quick release pin that works well for me. It's discribed on the YouTube channel I keep for the M model.

In regards to the rudder on boathook. I haven't been able to get my boat to sail that well with only one rudder down.

In regards to the sculling oar. It will need to be pretty long 14 feet possibly. This is on my list of to dos after a folding dinghy. I mostly want it for shallow water sailing when one could help the boat tack by using the oar. IMHO forget actually sculling this boat in any other theN flat calm. The Pardees boat is low freeboard, heavy and fine lined underwater. All the things the Mac is not. I have moved larger boats including my old 33 yawl with a sweep oar off one side and feel that's more effective. Again good luck doing that with the macs narrow high sided hull. The oar needed will be so long that storing it will be a pain unless you use it as a windmill mast the rest of the time or maybe a mizzen. Or both a windmill mast, mizzen, AND emergency oar.

I'm insane

Ixniegh