Chekika wrote:
Tony, your system is much more sophisticated than I remembered. Please explain what you mean by "stiffen up the rudder" and why it is needed? Why is the pulley needed (2:1 leverage)? Is it that difficult to hold the rudder in position? And, if it is, why don't you need a pulley on the starboard side?
I've never tried my simple system. I have no I idea if it even works! Got to try it next time out.
Keith
Keith, with your simple system, you need to use both hands to steer, as you need to uncleat both sides before you can move the rudder. I decided that in an emergency with broken rudder lines, I might need to keep one hand free for other things.
So on the starboard side, I have a short length of bungee cord. This is attached to a line going forward to a clam cleat next to my seat. I tension the bungee just enough to provide resistance on the port rudder line (obviously, the stronger the wind, the more resistance needs to be built in).
So to steer, I pull on the >port< rudder line, against the bungee tension. This means of course, that releasing the port line, the bungee pulls the rudder into full starboard, but it also means that I can work the rudder to best handle sailing through waves.
The 2:1 ratio is there so that in heavy weather (the time when any failure of the standard rudder is going to be most critical), I can still easily control the steering even with increased return tension built into the bungee.
The port line also has a cleat, so I can cleat it off if hand steering is not needed at the time.
I have tried my system in practice, and although it feels somewhat unnatural at first, steering soon becomes as easy as with the normal tiller. By the way, I added a small 1 inch plastic ball on the end of the port line, which fits nicely in the hand for comfortable steering.
Keith, your system is close to being perfect, but I thoroughly recommend adding the bungee and 2:1 tackle, to make it more effective.