Quirkster's advice sounds pretty good. I'll have to have him "show me" next time we are out.
Regarding breaking his rudder housing, he was out fishing (no sailing features) in the mouth of a creek/river with ocean swell raising/lowering his boat. My guess is, his rudder/stern came down on a mangrove root--the root jammed between the rudder and stern. This is my backyard simulation of Quirkster's situation. Of course, I am using a small "root" so as to not put any pressure on the system.
In trying to free that, his rudder housing broke. Probably the only way that Quirkster could have freed himself would have been jump into the water, stand on the root as best he could, and lift the boat off from it. Mind you, that would have been a tough choice given that these are shark, croc, and alligator infested waters. See my post at
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=7276&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45. If necessary, scroll down until you see "Google Earth image of the SW corner of mainland Florida." Follow that picture story to see where we were camping AND the creatures residing in the area. Don't get me wrong. My friends and I love this area, but you don't want to push your luck. You don't go swimming after dark, for example.
It is interesting that the rudder housing broke (the small triangular section where the pin attaches to lower part of the rudder, the gudgeon) and not the pin.
Is this another circumstance which Hobie needs to worry about? Probably not--how many people are going to get themselves in Quirkster's situation?
Keith