Hello,
I was on vacation and didn't have internet access for a while. I live in Anoka, just northwest of Minneapolis. Thanks for the correction, looks like a good site to visit. I'll check out the other as well.
To fix the rudder: I ended up visiting a Nisswa sailboat yard, near where I was vacationing and finding a old wooden "C" class scow that was literally rotting away with solid aluminum daggerboards that I had plasma-cut into the shape of suitable rudders. It worked to well enough to get back onto the water with the kids. I only needed my starboard rudder and as far as I could tell didn't seem to affect performance too much for a non-racer. In fact, the rudder was heavy enough to allow me to sail without needing to engage the dropping/self-releasing mechanism (I forgot what it's called) that keeps the rudder in the water while sailing but will release when going into shallow water. It was not working well anyway and I think it was the reason that my rudder broke in the first place. (An ounce of prevention that would have been worth a few pounds of cure; lesson learned the hardway). I am going to see if I can streamline the aluminium rudders as well as lighten them up without weakening them too much.
I appreciate your help. Let me know if you are ever in the area:
jploes@pol.netUntil then: Great sailing to you.
John
