[PUP] Emergency tiller

[Truelove39 at aol.com]

Hi  Bob -
 
Seahorse  is a cutaway full-keel sailing hull with a rudder which is about 7 
x 3 feet. A  bit larger than most "trawler" rudders. It's unusual for us to 
use more  than a few degrees of helm to steer her unless docking; it should be 
relatively  easy unless going astern as it is a semi-balanced rudder. The 
sailboat, like  most older designs, does not have any counterbalance at all, and 
can be a bear  when more than a few degrees is needed if the boat isn't 
balanced. You'll recall  that Dennis Conner admonished his helmsmen never to use more 
than 7 degrees  of helm. That is evidently the point where the rudder begins 
to slow the  boat. 
 
Regards,
 
John
"Seahorse"

I have only used emergency tillers in sailboats--but they have larger  rudders
and for the most part larger  forces. 



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