Picture this: the last leeward mark of the last race of the Intergalactic Championships, you’re leading the fleet on the way to an amazing come-from-behind win to take the title of Speedy Smith. Now picture this: Your rudder just popped off the transom……..aw man!!!
Since this has just been a test of the Emergency Keep Your Boat In One Piece System, you can keep that pesky steering thing attached to the back of your boat with a very small investment in time and resources. All you need is one screw (or bolt with locknut) and a halyard lock (or wire ball claw deal thingy) and a DRILL. (You can substitute a similarly shaped piece of stainless steel for the halyard lock – which we’ll call a keeper from now on).
Mark the location of the hole for the screw with a pencil through the hole in the keeper with it just touching the rudder pintle. (The rudder must be installed to do with, and swung to one side). Drill a pilot hole and mount the keeper. Tighten the screw so the keeper is just snug to the hull so it can’t swing around on its own. If you want to be really racy, you can also install overhead screws on either side of the keeper to provide a detent (or hump) that the keeper has to slide over. (An oval head screw looks like a flat head screw, but the top has a slight dome to it). This dome creates a little speed bump that the keeper has to be pushed over.