Late last fall I was sailing (my SC 22) in 18 knt. winds with gusts of 25knts, had too

much sail up (full main and 150 genoa) for my abilities when the problem

occurred. A gust of wind hit and I experienced SEVERE weather helm. I eased

the sheets fast and got through it but it repeated two more times. The third

time I lost all response from the tiller. Looking aft I saw my rudder

floating in my wake, towed by the retracting line. I dropped the sails, fired

up the outboard and returned to the marina.

Inspection revealed the rudder had sheared off it's pivot attachment even with

the bottom of the tiller. The SEVERE weather helm was when the rudder was

twisting out of line with the tiller. That was the problem, but what was the

cause. I took the rudder to a local boat builder and he diagnosed it right

away.

The rudder is a sandwich of fiberglass and two sheets of plywood. The outer

fiberglass has a chine around it, but the chine needed to be removed where the

rudder pivots in the tiller bracket. This chine had been ground off and

ground too far. They went right through the fiberglass and exposed the wood.

Once it was apart I could see where sealant had been used to try and protect

this area. It didn't work and for 25 years this wood had been exposed to and

soaking up water. The wood was rotted and the rudder weighed heavy from the

water it contained. It was inevitable that it would twist off at the most

stressed point.

The boatbuilder made me a rudder that looks identical to the original but is

constructed much better. It was $265, but if the old shoddy one lasted 25

years, this should outlast the boat. South coast owners should check this area

of the rudder closely. Better to find it before you're sailing and it breaks.

John Mayotte