FLEETadmiralSCOTT :
I have never capsized my TI (knock on polyethylene), but have been caught in 4-5 waves several times now (never on purpose). I have broken several rudder pins now (3-4 in the last year alone), and worry about if I ever do get into another bad situation it could fail me at the worst possible moment. I'm pretty confident if those huge waves had hit me broadside without the ability to steer I would have capsized.
Just as a safety measure (just in case). What I did was take some grey spectra string(rudder line) which is very strong and made a loop of it behind the gudgeon then around the base of the boss that the rudder pin goes through on the rudder, then tied it to itself. What this does is if the rudder pin were to break (it almost always breaks first at the bottom) the rudder doesn't float hopelessly up (basically loosing all control), what it does is flop around held by the spectra string and you still can maintain some rudder control, at least well enough to steer out of danger and get your rigging down and get to a safe spot to make repairs. I didn't wrap any string around the top because it's held pretty good by the rudder lines, it only appears to break up top after the lower joint fails and pulls the rudder from the back of the boat. I'm pretty sure in all my cases the rudder pin breakage was self induced (hitting the bottom or something) where the pin got damaged, then while out sailing it failed the rest of the way. If you rudder becomes harder to steer, chances are your rudder pin is damaged but maybe not fully broken yet. I've found it's a good idea to check it closely always before going out.
If you think about it the rudder pin usually breaks from impacting the bottom or a rigid object, If you hit something rigid, and it breaks the rudder pin, chances are the loose loop of spectra string will not do more damage, it's just a simple safety valve that hopefully gets me home one of these days.
I also have safety ropes on my AMA's so if the sheer pin on the AKA bar breaks (and they do), the AMA's don't fold in. I consider this to be a bigger deal than the rudder pin.
Of course we don't get the kind of waves they get in Hawaii around here, but when we do I can handle following rollers ok as long as I have good wind on the sails, and can maintain forward momentum, as soon as they start to break, all bets are off. If it's windy make sure to roll your tramps up, they will catch the wind and flip you in rough conditions.
Bob
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