# Rudder failure whilst sailing



## NoelMc (Feb 6, 2010)

Yesterday a rudder blade snapped off on an AI for no reason. It didn't hit anything, brand new, just broke.
I came alongside & gently nudged the boat to keep it on course while we unclipped the paddle.
The conditions were offshore, gusty & a bit lumpy.
The point of this post is that it is worth while learning to steer under sail using the paddle. It's quite efffective & we managed well.
I lift the rudder & use this steering method when going over a sand bar to enter a creek to avoid damage.

When approaching shore, a group of lads in a runabout was waving.
They had been having trouble with motor when we started off & now 50m off.
The smartest thing they had done was anchor.
The A I towed them in.

Don't we just love off-shore breezes.
Cheers


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

I have never actually broken the rudder pin (which is what I am assuming you did). I do keep 2 spare pins with me at all times, one in each of the hatches as there is a place for them. It is certainly not common to break them, but they are a cheap replacement part for a reason and will save you a lot of hassles if you have spares.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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