lost rudder

[Steve Walsh]

Saw this in Cruisers Forum: Link to article on recent lost rudder in the St. Petersburg Times. I wonder if this is the blue hulled Hunter that was built a few years ago for the show circuit. It was a great looking boat, loaded with features and options.


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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tampa Bay
Boat: Nor Sea 27'
Posts: 85


Another Hunter loses it's rudder
Another Hunter loses it's rudder
St. Pete sailing yacht loses rudder, adrift in gulf



Hunter should have retrofitted every boat they made with a proper rudder post.
Having lost a rudder on a 42', I can tell you that there is no controlling it. It can't even be towed without yawing all over the place.
Hunter makes a emergency rudder that you can bolt on the stern. Perhaps they should simply give one of those to every owner with a fiberglass rudder post.

The owner of this boat is also the owner of Sailor's Wharf. The yard that used to be the Hunter dealer here in St. Pete. I'm kind of surprised that he didn't have one of the emergency rudder kits on board. He certainly knew of the potential for problems.
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[Ed Schenck]

We discussed this a few weeks back when it happened. Actually two boats lost their rudders. The other, an H37C like mine, was sailed the last two hundred miles without the rudder. A regular here on SBO he has not yet updated us as to the details of how he lost it nor how he steered it. We need to know Blaise! http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=118353

 

[Steve Walsh]

We discussed this a few weeks back when it happened. Actually two boats lost their rudders. The other, an H37C like mine, was sailed the last two hundred miles without the rudder. A regular here on SBO he has not yet updated us as to the details of how he lost it nor how he steered it. We need to know Blaise! http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=118353

Thanks for the link, very impressive seamanship to sail w/o a rudder that far. Sure hope he posts the details on how he sailed and steered it. Any idea if the 47 actually had a fiberglass or carbon fiber rudder post? I remember the boat at the St. Pete sailboat show, it had a green hull, not blue as I originally thought. Seems like it was for sale for several years.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Here is the thread on the Helsen 470 Steve: Helsen 470 . In there you will find another link to more Helsen 470 info.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

~sigh~ More poorly written newspaper articles

Hi Steve. Thanks for the link. I guess the days when journalists check "facts" prior to going to print are long gone.

Jopie neither designed nor built that boat. Hunter did.

He made some modifications to it and increased the price. A lot. That's why it's still for sale 10 years later.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice boat, but he was asking something over 400-large.

What I want to know is, what were the circumstances onboard that resulted in pulling the trigger on the EPIRB. Was there any attempt to steer through sail-plan adjustments, trailing warps, fabbing a makeshift rudder, etc. Clearly the boat wasn't sinking. Was radio contact possible?