BROKEN RUDDER: How Do We Get Home?!?!?

This video follows the Farrier-designed F-82R trimaran Unleaded through Swiftsure 2023 when we lost our rudder and sailed 30 miles to safety with an improvised emergency rudder before a gale arrived.
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[@csquaredvisionsfpv8964]

This is a brilliant idea! I'm drilling my paddle as a backup for everglades and blackbeard challenge asap!

[@SailingTipsCa]

We’re so thankful it worked as well as it did - glad it’s a helpful idea for you!

[@steventhorn941]

Good job! I have only been sailing for a few years, 6.6k NM. I have far more hours arm chairing. I have often wondered why I haven't seen or heard of using a canoe paddle/oar for emergency steering. It seems obvious and simple enough to adapt or even pre figure as you did. As/from from my rafting and paddling experience. experience. You sailing is exciting... be well.

[@SailingTipsCa]

Thanks! I think whether the paddle will work or not partly depends on the inherent directional stability of the hulls given the relatively small blade size. The F-82R is quite directionally stable but it might not work with say a larger monohull. Either way the key is to prepare ahead of time!

[@JheregJAB]

Considering its a good idea to have a couple paddles in a small Tri with an outboard anyway, this seems like a pretty smart modification to make. Always good to have options when things go wrong!

[@SailingTipsCa]

Yes the paddle makes a great multi-purpose tool!!!

[@Redmanuka]

cool sailing footage...

[@SailingTipsCa]

Thanks - glad you liked it! Definitely a memorable day!

[@davidisaac4222]

Nice MacGyver move and great sailing!

[@SailingTipsCa]

Thanks - that was a great show!!!

[@davidisaac4222]

@@SailingTipsCa if you guys ever need an extra hand on the tri- let me know! I sail on Ultraman but prepping for R2AK next year and my only cat experience is with my foiling A-class and beach cats.

[@SailingTipsCa]

@@davidisaac4222 Sure things! A-class and beach cats are a great way to learn to sail multis - you can develop an excellent feel for things when they get spicy! Drop me a line at the email address in the about section of the channel so I’ll have your contact info.

[@BryanGlover-py1ng]

First one 2 comment sailors need to be ingenuitive and resourceful

[@SailingTipsCa]

Absolutely!!!

[@Kirmo13]

wow what a great story

[@SailingTipsCa]

Thanks - glad you liked it and glad it has a happy ending!!!

[@OwnerPlt]

I heard big waves bad for the catamarans.. Be careful buddy!

[@SailingTipsCa]

Yes you need to be very mindful of the sea state to remain right-side-up!

[@frodosadventures8757]

A trimaran broke its rudder off Mooloolaba, Queensland Australia recently and had to be towed in by the marine rescue. They should have watched this video!

[@SailingTipsCa]

Yes it’s so much better to be self-sufficient if possible!!!

[@glenn5ft19]

It’s amazing that the rudder broke but the canoe paddle hung in there for the rest of the race. Was the rudder a wood or foam core? Do you know why it failed. Im interested in the design for your new rudder.

[@SailingTipsCa]

This particular rudder had a balsa core machined by CCI./ Phil’s Foils and finished by the original owner/builder. It failed because the head delaminated, possibly due to moisture damage in the core, possibly because the original owner/builder didn’t follow the lamination schedule. This allowed the carbon skins on either side of the rudder to shear up and down in opposite directions in the cassette, eventually breaking them. We really liked the performance and shape so We’re working with CCI / Phil’s Foils to get a new one with the same shape, but an updated core. The blade on the canoe paddle is much smaller, so much less steering purchase, which is what contributed to it lasting. It wasn’t nearly as good for steering though, and was much more of an “go in this approximate direction” device, while the waves still pushed us around quite a bit. With the full (before it broke) rudder the steering was very precise, like a slot car!

[@markthomasson5077]

Great footage…a wild ride. You even managed a very respectable speed with just the jib and paddle. Will you carry a spare / emergency blade in future

[@SailingTipsCa]

Yes it was pretty wild! We don’t plan to carry an additional “proper” rudder blade in the future, other than the paddle, which we typically have aboard and is a multi-purpose device e.g. if the engine dies.

[@robertthomas2942]

No need for a shower if you push a Corsair hard..... Nice job!

[@SailingTipsCa]

LOL - need to bring soap next time!

[@captguitarj]

I have a couple of canoe paddles just sitting in my garage, they'll now be part of the voyage. Had you not had a back up paddle it would seem the outboard engine with idle power (plus a little more for rougher conditions) could act as a rudder?

[@SailingTipsCa]

We’ve tried the outboard for emergency steering in the past and 1) if there’s any sea state more than 1-2 feet / 0.5m it frequently comes out of the water and 2) even when it’s in the water in such conditions there isn’t sufficient lateral resistance for accurate steering. In other words, the outboard is really only useful in relatively calm seas.

[@crowfriends9421]

We ran over a submerged log . 46’ custom monohull . We removed the door to the head . Drilled holes in the door and laced /lashed it to our spinnaker pole. Looking much like a giant canoe paddle. Lashed to the push pit at a long dragging angle . We made it home. Under power not sail. 🍻 Cheers to making it home

[@SailingTipsCa]

That’s some great ingenuity! It’s important to use the resources you have on hand and keep going - glad you made it home!!!

[@Gonesailn]

Enjoyed you video. Haven't taken my tri out in about a month, but got my fix watching your video. How fast did you go? Amazing you didn't get a strike on your centerboard.

[@SailingTipsCa]

Glad you liked the video! I was trying to capture a sense of what it was like out there with the natural sound, limited voiceovers etc. Our GPS track shows we hit ~12 knots upwind and ~17 knots downwind and there may have been bursts above that. The rudder failed because the head delaminated, possibly due to moisture damage in the core, possibly because the original owner/builder didn’t precisely follow the lamination schedule, or a combination of the two. Whatever the underlying cause this allowed the carbon skins on either side of the rudder to shear up and down in opposite directions in the cassette, eventually breaking them. So we didn’t hit something!

[@hannujarvela9209]

Did you have the daggerboard fully down downwind? How was the boat trimmed, heading up or bearing down? sometimes reefing gives you awful balance if you still have the full jib and have to sail it half empty. When it goes totally empty the balance shifts very rapidly to heading up and you have to correct that hard with rudder. Glad you made it!

[@SailingTipsCa]

This boat is very mainsail-driven and has a pretty small jib, about 1/3 the size of the full main, and even double-reefed the head of the main is still above the head of the jib and the jib is still only about 1/2 the size of the main. It performs very well in higher winds, but is a bit underpowered in light air with the small jib. We typically sail with the daggerboard fully down as the apparent wind is typically forward of the beam, even when sailing downwind. Andrew (who was steering) said everything seemed pretty well balanced. We did try pulling the daggerboard up with the canoe paddle rudder to see if it would help, as the apparent wind was aft of the beam because we were sailing slower, but it became harder to steer so we lowered it again.

[@svintheanajones88]

When I saw only sky near the beginning of the video, I got nervous.

[@SailingTipsCa]

Yes thankfully the boat was still right-side-up!!!

[@adrianbaker9804]

What's the plan for the replacement, I've been building a rudder blade or my tri it's a lot of work but fun

[@SailingTipsCa]

This particular rudder had a balsa core machined by CCI./ Phil’s Foils and finished by the original owner/builder. It failed because the head delaminated, possibly due to moisture damage in the core, possibly because the original owner/builder didn’t follow the lamination schedule. This allowed the carbon skins on either side of the rudder to shear up and down in opposite directions in the cassette, eventually breaking them. We really liked the performance and shape so we’re working with CCI / Phil’s Foils to get a new one with the same shape, but an updated core. We thought of building ourselves but were concerned about the time plus not getting as good of a shape.

[@adrianbaker9804]

@@SailingTipsCa sounds like a good plan thanks for the info very interesting

[@dalebechaz1566]

What speed where you achieving when rudder broke

[@SailingTipsCa]

The speed indicator in water stops working reliably at higher speeds but the GPS was showing about 17 knots!!!

[@RobertdeVries-trimaran-sailing]

Nice ‘instructional’ video!

[@SailingTipsCa]

@@RobertdeVries-trimaran-sailing Certainly feels like we got ‘schooled’!!!

[@billhanna8838]

Could the motor powered up be used ?

[@SailingTipsCa]

Good question! The motor is really only useful in relatively flat water, because in any kind of sea state it comes out of the water between waves and revs to the moon, which isn’t good for it!