towing a rudderless boat...
...in 14-foot following seas is going to be an exercise in futility, especially when the boat being towed displaces more than 10 tons. A friend of mine, a professional sailor who specializes in long offshore deliveries, was crewing aboard an ARC boat--not a Hunter--last year when they lost their rudder mid-Atlantic. Another boat came to their assistance immediately and was willing to attempt a tow. For three days they experimented with everything from a rudder built from the spinnaker pole affixed to a door to towing a drogue built from chain wrapped around their bicycle frame. The boat wouldn't tow in a straight line, of course, which meant that they'd chafe through their bridle every few hours. Ultimately, after three days of frustration, they had to abandon the boat and ride to St. Lucia aboard the other boat. I suspect that the decision to tow with chain was a decision born in desperation. The real mistake was setting off on a trans-Pacific passage without an emergency rudder at a time of year when prudent sailors wouldn't even consider making that trip. A word about Hunter bashing: I find it fascinating that those who engage in this pastime are almost inevitably correspondents who write under a nom de plume such as "sequitur." They are generally ill-informed about the object of their dispassion; for example, my Hunter 46LE, despite having three sleeping cabins, only sleeps six--there are no salon berths. I honestly think that Hunter bashing is a form of misogyny. Hunter clearly designs interiors to appeal to couples who sail. Open, airy interiors with spacious galleys have a special appeal for women, and Hunter has discovered this to be a way to sell boats. My wife loves our Hunter, and we've been sailing together almost every weekend so far in 2007. She loves entertaining friends aboard, and loves the fact that so many people can socialize in our cockpit comfortably. Stick around this website long enough, and you'll notice that the macho characters who accuse Hunters of not being bluewater boats also grump about the fact that there wives and/or girlfriends won't set foot on their boats. Hmmmmm. Sailing has changed. In the same way that most of us no longer sail full-keel boats that might be towable without a rudder, most of us are no longer content to sail with all-male crews. It turns out that women are too smart to put up with the dark, smelly, cave-like interiors that men used to think were so cool. Unfortunately, there is still a remnant of the old school around, writing under their ancient Latin names, who feel superior if they can bash another person's choice of boat.
