Michael Keyworth has tested methods for steering without a rudder and has published his results in this white paper. It is well worth reading.

We lost steering when a gear box on our Bowman 57 seized mid-Atlantic. We reduced sail and I stayed on deck adjusting sail trim and essentially steering our ketch with the sails while Alex took apart the complex rod steering system. I also established contact with the vessels in our SSB net and two boats behind us diverted to our position to assist if necessary. Fortunately, Aleria sailed herself beautifully.

Eventually, after many hours of coaxing, the gear loosened to work well enough to reach Barbados. Although we did suffer a second steering failure en route -- and totally different problem which was probably caused by the first problem but was much easier to fix, we had to continue on to Grenada as there was no one who could help us fix it properly in Barbados. We prayed a lot on that trip.

We thought of several alternatives while we were at it and had suggestions from the SSB net as well. Virtually all of the alternatives would have required cutting the steering shaft, which we thought was a rather drastic matter but would have done it if we couldn 't work out a viable alternative. We do have an emergency tiller but it involves standing up through an open hatch in the aft cabin coach roof to steer, which is not a great ocean crossing option. The Monitor self-steering has a backup rudder option so that was another thing we could try. Fortunately, soaking the gear box in Liquid Wrench and a lot of "manual persuasion" did the trick.

Michael Keyworth 's solution seems very elegant and a very good use for a drogue.
Every boat is different so each solution is likely to be different. Has anyone else had the experience of rudder failure? What did you do?

Vice Commodore, OCC 

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Roger Harris - 18 Feb 2021

I’ve not yet lost a rudder, and hope I never do.

I have experienced steering gear breakdown, when one of the sheaves that guided cables from wheels to quadrant separated from the hull. We rigged the emergency tiller and used it to steer for the next 36 hours. By the end of that time the tiller was flexing quite a lot, and I suspect would eventually have suffered a fracture from repeated loading (much like spare tires, most emergency tillers are probably not intended for prolonged usage).

The boat was fitted with twin wheels: a configuration that permitted a long emergency tiller to fit between the two helm stations. That was a much better setup than the stubby tillers one often encounters (required by cockpit space limitations), or the uncomfortable helming position Daria mentioned aboard Aleria. The only (minor) issue was that steering in the forward portion of the cockpit it was impossible to see the magnetic compasses that were located aft at the normal helm positions.

Here are several references that are worth careful reading:

1) a Flying Fish article by member Patrick Marshall, describing his mid-Atlantic rudder loss and subsequent passage completion using a drogue: A Directional Challenge. See also his Yachting World article Rudder Failure, which contains a diagram of the drogue arrangement successfully employed;

2) a good academic overview by Evans Starzinger: 3 Emergency Steering Solutions;

3) a Yachting Monthly test report of three makeshift methods (trim and balance, improvised rudder, towing a drogue): Jury Steering;

4) "a simple design for a backup rudder that is light, small, and cheap": A Simple Backup Rudder;

5) various commercially-available options are discussed in this detailed Sail magazine article by Robin Urquhart: Rigging Emergency Rudders.

Hi Roger,
A nice piece of research and good knowledge to have in one’s mental background. Thanks for putting it together.
There are certain complementary sayings that I believe all off-shore sailors should adhere to. The first is: If you go overboard, you are dead. The second could easily be: if you lose your steering ability off-shore, you will (likely) lose your boat.
Now there are exceptions to both these statements, but the ratio of “saves” to “tragedies” is such that it is wise to treat them as facts.
And, should the worse happen all efforts should be made, but…
To prepare, it is my observation, that most skippers pay a good deal of attention to their jack lines, tethers, etc., but not so much to their rudders and steering gear. And, to my mind, many boat’s rudders are not well designed right out of the factory.
For example: those free-standing rudders that follow the contour of the hull beautifully also make it likely that any deflection of the rudder shaft will have the aft upper portion of the rudder jam into the hull. This can be engineered as to be strong enough but often is not. Or the rudder can have “break-away portions. If you put enough miles under your keel, bumps of a log slipping along the hull and hitting the bottom of the rudder (or hitting a whale or a grounding etc.) will occur.
And then there is Nigel Calder’s (among other experts) suggestion that one’s steering cable and chain be replaced every 5 years. When was your last swap? (And, again for off-shore venturing boats, I would do the job yourself: I am experiencing diminished confidence in yard personnel competence and this is not an area where you want a forgotten cotter pin).
And, has there been consideration of a drilled hole in the upper aft portion of the rudder to accept a rope in order to steer if the cable breaks or a sheave comes loose (the hole is filled-in in everyday use by putty -or something- able to be easily pushed out).
And, I have not mentioned the regular maintenance that most steering systems require.
So, at the same time you are reading of emergency procedures, make a list of preventative measure to make rudder/steering failure less likely.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hello Dick,

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' certainly has much application at sea; and you are right that rudder loss can be catastrophic. Your analogy to man-overboard situations seems apt.

[M]ost skippers pay a good deal of attention to their jack lines, tethers, etc., but not so much to their rudders and steering gear

I agree. It's human nature to be lazy and focus on obvious and easily-remedied problems rather than more hidden and difficult issues. But considering the potential consequences, we need to resist the temptation.

Appendix L ("Model Keel and Rudder Inspection Procedure") to the OSRs may be of some general guidance, so I'm posting a link here. It does not purport to establish definitive standards, and of course has no direct relevance to cruising yachts; but like the OSRs generally, it is at least a starting point for preparing for offshore or ocean conditions.

Best wishes, Roger

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Roger Harris - 18 Feb 2021

Hello Dick,

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' certainly has much application at sea; and you are right that rudder loss can be catastrophic. Your analogy to man-overboard situations seems apt.

[M]ost skippers pay a good deal of attention to their jack lines, tethers, etc., but not so much to their rudders and steering gear

I agree. It's human nature to be lazy and focus on obvious and easily-remedied problems rather than more hidden and difficult issues. But considering the potential consequences, we need to resist the temptation.

Appendix L ("Model Keel and Rudder Inspection Procedure") to the OSRs may be of some general guidance, so I'm posting a link here. It does not purport to establish definitive standards, and of course has no direct relevance to cruising yachts; but like the OSRs generally, it is at least a starting point for preparing for offshore or ocean conditions.

Best wishes, Roger

Hi Roger,
This is another nice piece of research and would be valuable to any doing an inspection, but also really valuable for anyone purchasing a new/used boat.
Someone once said, in essence, that running a seaworthy boat was not in any way rocket science: it is just choosing to do the hard thing with consistency and regularity.
On Alchemy, we have coined a pat phrase when faced with a task that we are reluctant to address that goes something like this: “It is just work.” Which leads to the unstated: “Just go ahead and get it over with.”
My best, Dick Stevenson