I had just purchased this rather dubious craft (the idea of a swing keel hanging underneath the boat by a rusting pin like a barnacle was giving me a sense of vertigo) and was taking it out for a little test run out of the Deerfield, Florida inlet when I encountered some decent size wave activity. This little Catalina had just risen up a five footer and smacked down into the trough with a slap that did little to mollify my misgivings when I felt the tiller slip out of my hand. Now I had a 1967 Tylercraft several years ago that I sailed regularly from Montauk to Block Island and when that baby came down it came down with authority, cleaving the brine like an ash Louisville Slugger, none of this K-Mart whiffle bat business. On the other hand, the wing-keeled slug topped out at three and a half knots, so there is a considerable trade-off. Anyway, for a split second I thought that the tiller had merely scooted off to one side the way they do, but when I glanced back I caught a glimpse of it following the rudder to Davy Jones locker. Now I've fashioned a rudder and tiller out of some pressure treated 2x8's and am hoping it will suffice untiller something better comes along. Is this a normal occurence? What is the annual expected outlay for rudders and tillers? How come the darn thing just hangs there like a Christmas ornament anyway? Anybody know of a boat junkyard where I might stumble across a reasonably-priced rudder and tiller?