Rudder Problems

As you may know, we have a 1981 Newport 30 sailboat. We have owned her for over 8 years and she has been a fine old boat. A few weeks ago we noticed that the steering was not as responsive as it should be. We checked the cables and everything looked fine. We went out again and in a lull, a smallish wave hit the boat and we heard the rudder hit the boat. That's not good. We suspected that the rudder post and the rudder may not be connected as they should be. We took her over to the yard and they pulled her out and the rudder came off as soon as they had her on the hard. Lucky we didn't loose the rudder sailing! The pin that holds the rudder to the post had disintegrated due to corrosion over the last 20 years. The yard has welded her back together and we should have her back in the water by mid week. Be sure to check your rudder next time you pull your boat out. I have read another story about a Newport 30 who lost their rudder just outside the Gate and it was not pretty.